The competition commission appointed by the Ministry of Justice of Adam Bodnar for the new National Prosecutor chose on Monday, February 26, 2024. They opted for the experienced Warsaw prosecutor Dariusz Korneluk.

The commission’s vote was not unanimous; he won by a margin of 4 to 3. Minister Bodnar emphasized that he would respect the commission’s choice and present Korneluk for appointment to Prime Minister Donald Tusk.

The results of the competition were announced in the evening by the Minister of Justice, Adam Bodnar, and Deputy Minister Maria Ejchart, who chaired the 7-person competition commission.

Minister Bodnar emphasized at the press conference that this is the first such choice of the National Prosecutor by a competition commission. It was also the first time that a public hearing of candidates for the National Prosecutor took place. Bodnar emphasized his commitment to openness and transparency.

Deputy Minister Maria Ejchart presented the reasons for choosing Korneluk. She said at the conference: “He was the best evaluated by the competition team. We assessed that he has the most experience in managing teams of prosecutors at various levels. He understands the needs of the prosecution, the concept of which he presented to us. As the only one, he mentioned how important the prosecution’s strategy is during armed conflict” [war in Ukraine – ed.].

Korneluk has 30 years of experience as a prosecutor. He has led district and regional prosecutor’s offices in the capital, and before 2015, he was the head of the Appellate Prosecutor’s Office in Warsaw. He was responsible for supervising the most important investigations. In 2016, when Zbigniew Ziobro took over control of the prosecution, he was demoted to a district prosecutor’s office. Currently, he serves as the deputy acting National Prosecutor under Jacek Bilewicz.

Korneluk is the vice president of the association of independent prosecutors Lex Super Omnia. He is reputed as a good organizer. During the PiS administration, he faced disciplinary action for a critical statement regarding Ziobro’s prosecution policy issued by Lex Super Omnia. He was acquitted by a disciplinary court after the last elections.

The Minister announced that Korneluk will lead the National Prosecutor’s Office until the separation of the positions of the Attorney General and the Minister of Justice. Bodnar plans to submit a relevant bill in the first half of 2024. Everything will depend on whether the President will sign it after its adoption. There is an idea for the independent Attorney General to be elected by the Sejm.

The Minister of Justice also announced that there will be further competitions. In mid-March 2024, another competition commission will convene to select a new director for the National School of Judiciary and Public Prosecution. Ten candidates have applied for this competition. On Monday, February 26, 2024, it was announced who will be running. The commission is chaired by retired Constitutional Tribunal judge, Prof. Mirosław Wyrzykowski.

Bodnar also announced that there will be a competition for a Polish prosecutor who will represent Poland in the European Public Prosecutor’s Office. It is rumored that the current acting National Prosecutor, Jacek Bilewicz from Lex Super Omnia, will want to compete in this competition.

On Monday, February 26, 2024, Minister Bodnar also received the green light to dismiss the president of the District Court in Poznań, neo-judge Daniel Jurkiewicz, and his deputy Michał Inglot. Poznań judges do not want them in these positions, and they appealed to the Minister of Justice for their dismissal.

On Friday, February 23, the minister initiated the dismissal procedure, and on Monday, the Collegium of the District Court in Poznań, composed of presidents of district courts and a representative of the district court, gave their consent. There were 17 members of the Collegium in favor of their dismissal, 3 against, and 1 abstained.

This means that the minister can now sign the decision to dismiss them. The president of the District Court in Poznań is the 5th president of the court dismissed by the minister under Ziobro’s appointment. It can be expected that there will be more dismissals to follow.

Bodnar also announced that there will be a competition for a Polish prosecutor who will represent Poland in the European Public Prosecutor’s Office. It is rumored that the current acting National Prosecutor, Jacek Bilewicz from Lex Super Omnia, will want to compete in this competition.

On Monday, February 26, 2024, Minister Bodnar also received the green light to dismiss the president of the District Court in Poznań, neo-judge Daniel Jurkiewicz, and his deputy Michał Inglot. Poznań judges do not want them in these positions, and they appealed to the Minister of Justice for their dismissal.

On Friday, February 23, the minister initiated the dismissal procedure, and on Monday, the Collegium of the District Court in Poznań, composed of presidents of district courts and a representative of the district court, gave their consent. There were 17 members of the Collegium in favor of their dismissal, 3 against, and 1 abstained.

This means that the minister can now sign the decision to dismiss them. The president of the District Court in Poznań is the 5th president of the court dismissed by the minister under Ziobro’s appointment. It can be expected that there will be more dismissals to follow.

How the Commission Chose Korneluk

Five prosecutors vied for the position of the new National Prosecutor: Dariusz Korneluk, former president of Lex Super Omnia Katarzyna Kwiatkowska (who resigned from leading the association a few days ago), district prosecutor Ewa Wrzosek from Warsaw, union activist Jacek Skała, and the head of the District Prosecutor’s Office in Gorzów Wielkopolski Agnieszka Leszczyńska.

They were evaluated by the competition commission composed of: Deputy Minister of Justice Maria Ejchart, social advisors to the Minister of Justice Professor Zbigniew Ćwiąkalski and lawyer Radosław Baszuk, representatives of the National Council of Prosecutors at the Attorney General, Prosecutor Małgorzata Szeroczyńska, and Prosecutor Seweryn Borka, as well as Professor Ewa Gruza and Vice President of the National Council of Legal Advisors Zbigniew Tur.

What convinced them about Dariusz Korneluk? Commission member Professor Ćwiąkalski said on TVN 24 in the evening that in a prosecution office where there are a lot of “Ziobrists,” now a strong and decisive person is needed.

Before the competition, Korneluk told OKO.press: “I would like to use my experience to build a completely independent prosecution office. I want to create a prosecution office open to citizens. To achieve this, it is important to strengthen the staffing of administrative positions and district prosecutor’s offices, which are closest to the people. Dignity should also be restored to prosecutors and prosecution office staff. And absolutely separate politics from the prosecution.”

He continued: “Recent years have demolished the prosecution office. Promotions to higher positions were often given to individuals with little professional experience who were tasked with handling serious and sensitive cases. I want to review all cases where controversial decisions were made or where case files ended up in the garage [as was the case in the Regional Prosecutor’s Office in Lublin – ed.].

I also want to analyze and evaluate the work of prosecutors who handled these cases and take consequences, including removal from the profession if decisions were made without merit or for political reasons.”

During the hearing on Monday, February 26, 2024, Korneluk emphasized independence and autonomy for prosecutors. He opposed taking cases away from them and advocated for limiting substantive supervision over prosecutors. Prosecutors should not fear making decisions.

He isn’t in favor of using temporary arrests unless necessary and believes prosecutors should bear responsibility for them. Korneluk strongly supports the idea that every prosecutor, after filing an indictment, should represent the case in court until the end of the trial.

He aims to improve the situation of prosecution staff who earn low wages and to abolish special teams in prosecutors’ offices dealing with medical errors. These teams were established during Zbigniew Ziobro’s tenure. Korneluk believes such cases can be handled by district prosecutors but supports specialization of prosecutors in specific fields at higher levels.

He advocates for limiting the delegation of prosecutors to higher authorities. Under Ziobro’s leadership, this led to the promotion of “loyalists,” draining resources from district prosecutors’ offices. Korneluk opposes rapid promotions to higher levels of the prosecution.

He supports having prosecutors who uphold the rule of law in managerial positions within the prosecution. He wants to review guidelines issued by previous prosecution leadership, especially concerning ideological matters. He also seeks changes regarding operational control, stressing the need to clarify surveillance practices during the PiS government.

Korneluk believes that independent prosecutors during Ziobro’s tenure were not solely from Lex Super Omnia. However, he seeks accountability within the prosecution, which he sees as politicized and aligned with Ziobro’s party interests. He also wants to hold prosecutors accountable for investigations that have negatively impacted citizens, including those related to ideological matters. He opposes the institution of investigative judges but supports introducing adversarial procedures into criminal law.

Candidates for the New Director of KSSiP

The Ministry of Justice announced on Monday, February 26, the list of candidates for the new director of KSSiP. The minister appointed him because the previously appointed candidate during the final weeks of PiS rule, Supreme Court Judge Kamil Zaradkiewcz, suddenly resigned.

Ten people applied for the position:

– Prof. Przemysław Banasik, a judge at the Court of Appeal in Gdańsk and head of the Department of Entrepreneurship at the Faculty of Management and Economics at the Gdańsk University of Technology. From 2013 to 2017, he was the president of the District Court in Gdańsk but was dismissed during his term by Minister Ziobro. He was dismissed by fax.

– Dr. hab. Katarzyna Gajda-Roszczynialska, a judge at the District Court for Kraków-Krowodrzy in Kraków, a member of the Legal Sciences Committee of the Polish Academy of Sciences in Kraków. She is also a member of the Social Codification Commission, director of the Interdisciplinary Center for Justice Studies, vice president of the Civil Proceduralists Scientific Society, and a member of the IAPL and European Law Institute in Vienna.

– Prof. Piotr Girdwoyń, a lawyer and director of the Center for Judicial Studies at the University of Warsaw. He is also the director of the Institute of Criminal Law at the Faculty of Law and Administration at the University of Warsaw, a member of the Scientific Council of the Polish Criminalistics Society.

– Prof. Grzegorz Kuca, a lawyer and deputy head of the Center for Interdisciplinary Constitutional Studies. From 2021 to 2022, he was the head of the Department of Comparative Constitutional Law at the Jagiellonian University.

– Dr. Sebastian Ładoś, a judge at the District Court in Warsaw and president of the District Court for Warsaw-Wola in Warsaw, appointed by Minister Ziobro. He is a lecturer at KSSiP.

– Beata Morawiec, a judge at the District Court in Kraków and president of the Themis Judges Association. From 2015 to 2017, she was the president of the District Court in Kraków, dismissed during her term by Minister Ziobro. From 2002 to 2010, she was a member of the National Council of the Judiciary, from 2008 to 2009, she was the deputy director of the National Center for Training of Judicial Personnel and the KSSiP. In recent years, she has defended the rule of law and has been repressed for it. The National Prosecutor’s Office wanted to bring unfounded criminal charges against her, but even the illegal Disciplinary Chamber did not agree to it.

– Agnieszka Owczarewicz, a judge at the District Court in Warsaw, lecturer at the Postgraduate Education Center of Lazarski University in Warsaw. Chair of the Polish Section of the European Association of Judges for Mediation GEMME, from 2006 to 2010, deputy chairman for economic affairs of the District Court for the capital city of Warsaw.

– Wojciech Postulski, a judge at the District Court in Lubartów, head of the Justice Personnel Training Team of the European Commission. From 2014 to 2019, he was the Secretary-General of the European Judicial Training Network (EJTN), from 2008 to 2014, he was the head of the International Cooperation Department of KSSiP.

– Prof. Rafał Stankiewicz, a legal advisor, vice dean of the Regional Council of the Bar Council in Warsaw. Head of the Research, Studies, and Legislation Center of the National Council of Legal Advisors, member of the European Law Institute based in Vienna.

– Prof. Leszek Wieczorek, a lawyer, member of the University Council and the Senate of Jan Kochanowski University in Kielce. From 2018 to 2019, he was the director of the Institute of Forensic Expertise named after Prof. Jan Sehn in Kraków.

The new director of KSSiP will be chosen by a competition panel consisting of: Prof. Mirosław Wyrzykowski (chairman, University of Warsaw professor, retired Constitutional Tribunal judge), Prof. Janina Błachut (Jagiellonian University, member of the KSSiP Program Board), Jarosław Gwizdak (Foundation for Law and Society Board member), Prof. Zbigniew Kmieciak (University of Łódź, retired judge of the Supreme Administrative Court), Ewa Leszczyńska-Furtak (judge at the Court of Appeal in Warsaw), Andrzej Pogorzelski (prosecutor at the National Prosecutor’s Office), Małgorzata Szeroczyńska (prosecutor at the Regional Prosecutor’s Office in Żyrardów, member of the National Council of Prosecutors at the Attorney General), Stefan Śnieżko (retired prosecutor at the National Prosecutor’s Office), Igor Tuleya (judge at the District Court in Warsaw), a representative of the Department of Personnel and Organization of General and Military Courts of the Ministry of Justice.

The chairman may invite other individuals to the panel who will have an advisory vote. The panel will meet and hear the candidates on March 12-14, 2024. Afterwards, the panel will present the minister of justice with a ranking of candidates.

The article was published in Polish in OKO.press on 26 February 2024.