The Rule of Law Saga Continues at the European Court of Justice: Is the Future Political?-G v MS (C-181/21 and C-269/21)

G v MS is the continuation of case law, and another insight into the ECJs' approach to the 2015-2023 rule of law crisis in Poland. Polish courts referred two questions to the Court for a preliminary ruling in Joined Cases C-181/21 and C-269/21 under art.267 TFEU. The national courts considered recent changes to the judicial appointment procedure, introduced by the 2019 justice reform in Poland, to be breaching EU law; especially the second subparagraph of art.19(1) TEU, read in conjunction with art.47 of the Charter. The referred questions were ruled inadmissible by the Court, against the advice given by Advocate General Collins, as it did not find a sufficient link between the questions and the main proceedings in both cases. In the judgment, the ECJ focused its reasoning on the remit of the procedure in art.267 TFEU. Even though there is an argument to be made in favour of pragmatism and for the Court to practice what it preaches, it is impossible not to wonder whether the Courts' decision not to intervene was influenced by the 2023 parliamentary election in Poland. Excessive reliance on political landscape and the Courts' decision in G v MS might have adverse consequences on the state of the rule of law in the EU in the future.