Almost all judges – members of the old, legal National Council of Judiciary (Krajowa Rada Sądownictwa, KRS), which was dissolved by PiS, have signed an appeal to the authorities to implement the ECtHR and CJEU judgments. They are appealing to the authorities to appoint an NCJ which is consistent with the Constitution. They are also appealing to judges to boycott recruitment for the second term of office of the neo-NCJ.

The National Prosecutor’s Office wants to strike at the president of the association of judges, Iustitia. Krystian Markiewicz is facing criminal charges for his statements to OKO.press, in which he talks about the need to implement CJEU rulings. The prosecutor’s office wants OKO.press to hand over materials that are subject to secrecy.

Step by step, the neo-judges are taking control over the old, legal Supreme Court. The First President of the Supreme Court, Małgorzata Manowska, has just dismissed all the heads of division in the Civil Chamber. Manowska is also blocking the implementation of a CJEU ruling regarding the legality of the Supreme Court’s neo-judges

The reorganisation planned for January is to give the neo-judges full control over the Civil Chamber. Its result will be that old judges will lose the managerial positions of the divisions and neo-judges will take their place. The names in line for ‘promotion’ include Kamil Zaradkiewicz.

Judge Maciej Rutkiewicz was suspended for a month for applying the CJEU judgment and the Supreme Court resolution. He was suspended by a nominee of Minister Ziobro. Rutkiewicz is the sixth judge in Poland suspended for applying EU law and in clear violation of the CJEU order

Judge Agnieszka Niklas-Bibik from Słupsk is the first Polish judge suspended for asking preliminary questions to the CJEU. She was also repressed for enforcing judgments of the ECtHR and the CJEU. The judge was suspended by the president of the Słupsk court, appointed by Zbigniew Ziobro

A dozen or so judges from Kraków issued a statement that they would not adjudicate with neo-judges. For that, the court president, a nominee of Minister Ziobro quickly reported them to the disciplinary commissioner. But more judges from Warsaw and Rzeszów are contesting the legality of the neo-judges.

Disciplinary commissioner Piotr Schab suspended judge Piotr Gąciarek for a month for a declaration made a few days earlier in which Gąciarek refused to adjudicate in a bench with a judge promoted by the new, political National Council of the Judiciary. Gąciarek is the second judge recently suspended for refusing to adjudicate with a neo-judge in the performance of the July judgment of the CJEU and the ECtHR.

The Minister of Justice suspended Judge Adam Synakiewicz from Częstochowa for a month for challenging the status of neo-judges and implementing the judgments of the CJEU and ECtHR. Zbigniew Ziobro breached the CJEU judgment in this way, for which he may be criminally liable in the future

Judges from across Poland call on the government and the president of the Supreme Court to implement the CJEU rulings. The appeal was signed by a record number of Polish judges, including over 400 judges from Krakow. More signatures are still being collected. Supreme Court judges are also signing the appeal.