The keynote speaker (online) was James A. Goldston – the executive director at the Open Society Justice Initiative, which promotes the rule of law and protects individual freedoms and rights across the world. As a lawyer, he has also argued several ground-breaking cases before the European Court of Human Rights and the United Nations treaty bodies.

The organizers of the meeting were guided by the key idea that guaranteeing an adequate level of protection of the rule of law is one of the key challenges of the 21st century manifested in many countries and societies. It is of considerable importance for civil society, which can be understood as a society of free, informed, active and publicly engaged  citizens.

The meeting discussed strategies used to fight the rule of law crisis across the world, and ways in which we, as the civil society, can take action to guarantee an adequate level of protection for the rule of law.

The meeting began with a discussion of the current situation in Poland and the United States. The audience from Poland stressed how important (and at the same time problematic) cooperation between civil society and public authorities is in the process of countering the crisis of the rule of law. The participants also pointed out that a huge problem is the formation of an appropriate level of public awareness in Poland regarding the rule of law, whereas the  general public still does not perceive this issue as important enough.  James Goldston presented the American perspective and compared the situation in Poland with events in the United States, and then he shared his experiences and pointed out some problems he noticed in implementing measures to ensure a proper level of protection for the rule of law.

In his speech, James A. Goldston characterized how he believed the issue of the rule of law should be viewed and he motivated the Polish audience to take action to fight the rule of law crisis in their own country, presenting specific examples and strategies used in other parts of the world. The issue was also discussed in the context of Ukraine and there were presented some methods used there to counter the rule of law crisis.

According to James A. Glodston, it is extremely important to point out that the problem of the rule of law crisis is present not only in Poland and the United States, but it is also a global problem noticeable in many countries across the world, including some EU member states.

Later at the meeting the rule of law crisis was characterized as manifested in several selected countries of the European Union and on the territory of Ukraine. Discussing the situation in Ukraine, James Goldston also addressed the question of how today's geopolitical situation in the country and the ongoing armed conflict may affect the level of protection of the rule of law in the country in the future. Moreover, the speaker outlined how, in his opinion, the Ukrainian society would view the issue of the rule of law in the long term, including after the reconstruction of Ukraine and the change of citizens’ perception of public administration.

At the end of the meeting, possible solutions for the Polish public to combat the crisis of the rule of law were identified, and specific advice was given to the Polish audience.

“Polish-U.S. Civil Society Roundtables” is a project implemented by the International Institute of Civil Society and the U.S. Embassy in Poland. These are cyclical meetings with the participation of American experts, in a roundtable format, on the development of civil society in selected thematic areas. The aim of the project is to exchange Polish and American experiences in improving civic competence and developing civil society, with a particular focus on human rights, disinformation, media freedom, fundraising, and diversity and tolerance - depending on the topic of a given meeting. The format of each meeting includes an online speech by an American expert who presents the American perspective to the Polish audience gathered at MISO headquarters. After the speech, the moderator opens a discussion focused on sharing experiences and best practices (with the participation of the US expert). The project is intended for NGO and civil society leaders, lawyers, representatives of public administration, business and academia.