Judgment of the Court (Grand Chamber) of 24 March 2026.#MJ v AA.#Reference for a preliminary ruling – Rule of law – Effective legal protection in the fields covered by EU law – Judicial independence – Second subparagraph of Article 19(1) TEU – Second paragraph of Article 47 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union – National legislation and case-law prohibiting national courts from calling into question the legitimacy of constitutional courts and bodies or from establishing or assessing the lawfulness of the appointment of judges or of their judicial powers – Obligation for a judge hearing an application for the recusal of another judge to ascertain whether the requirement of a ‘tribunal previously established by law’ has been met – Appointment of judges of the ordinary courts in Poland – Lack of independence of the Krajowa Rada Sądownictwa (National Council of the Judiciary, Poland) – No effective remedy for candidates for the judicial post concerned – Judge not constituting an ‘independent and impartial tribunal previously established by law’ – Possibility of removing a judge from a panel of judges of the court.#Case C-521/21.