Appointment of judges-members of councils for the judiciary

However, the development of new indicators, notably regarding judicial independence, has made the Justice Scoreboard increasingly relevant to what are growing threats to the rule of law in certain Member States. In this vein, it is to be noted that, in 2019, the Justice Scoreboard data regarding the appointment of judges-members of councils for the judiciary (see table below, as updated in the 2020 Justice Scoreboard) were cited for the first time by an Advocate General to the ECJ in the A.K. case regarding judicial independence in Poland, thus showing the potential of this tool to contribute to more effective compliance with EU values by Member States and how different mechanisms to protect EU values intersect with each other. Similarly, it can be argued that the potential of this monitoring tool could be strengthened if it were to be placed in the context of other monitoring and enforcement mechanisms encompassing democracy and fundamental rights, including their outcomes as regards all Member States. In this vein, the European Commission initiative aiming to incorporate the Justice Scoreboard in its annual report on the rule of law is to be welcomed. Similarly, the European Parliament’s calls to expand the scope of the Justice Scoreboard to criminal justice, in the form of a separate Justice Scoreboard in criminal matters, and for it to be included in an overall monitoring mechanism on democracy, the rule of law and fundamental rights, could also enhance the effectiveness of this monitoring tool