‘The whole of the Polish Constitutional Tribunal has lost its ability to adjudicate lawfully,’ held the Supreme Administrative Court.

Zbigniew Ziobro’s schoolmate and simultaneously the head of the politicised NCJ, Dagmara Pawełczyk-Woicka, will not have to pay a fine. The decision was made in bizarre circumstances, with one of the judges reporting the suspicion of the court ruling having been illegally influenced.

It is clear to us that ODIHR should devote the maximum possible time and effort to observing the parliamentary election next year in Poland including on election day. Given that the election campaign has already begun, this overview could, as much as possible, include political processes taking place before the official start of the campaign – 13 Polish NGOs call on OSCE/ODIHR to monitor 2023 elections

 Igor Tuleya, a symbol of the free courts, filed a complaint with the ECtHR because the court presidents nominated by Ziobro are not implementing the judgments ordering his return to work. Tuleya will also request a fine of PLN 15,000 and the arrest of the minister’s nominee

No representative of any non-governmental organisation supporting the authorities was chosen for the National Recovery Plan Monitoring Committee, which is supposed to supervise the spending of EU money. So the Ministry of Development Funds and Regional Policy decided to re-select its members from the beginning.

Minister Ziobro’s people step up the repression of independent judges. Piotr Schab has just taken steps against former First President of the Supreme Court Małgorzata Gersdorf for allowing legal Supreme Court judges to pass a historic resolution undermining the legality of the neo-NCJ and the Disciplinary Chamber.

Kozielewicz is a legitimate judge of the Supreme Court, so the President’s gesture should be viewed in the context of the dispute of the PiS authorities with the EU over the rule of law. Meanwhile, acting President of the Supreme Court Małgorzata Manowska is taking steps that could lead to 30 legal judges being thrown out of the Supreme Court. This is a new development in the attempt by the current government and its nominees to take complete control over the still legal part of the Supreme Court and another attempt to pacify the old Supreme Court judges.

The electoral process is overseen by all courts – from district courts to the Supreme Court. And they are all tainted by their unconstitutional design and staffed by the politicised National Council of the Judiciary, so they do not provide basic guarantees of fair and honest voting.

Michał Lasota, Minister Ziobro’s disciplinary commissioner, has instigated disciplinary action against Judge Dorota Tyrała. The judge’s ‘guilt’ is that she issued a ruling that was favourable for Igor Tuleya and implemented the judgments of the CJEU and the ECtHR. Additionally, charges were filed against three other appellate judges for the same thing.

The declaration of the 30 judges of the Supreme Court is a strong message addressed to all judges in Poland. The judges of the Supreme Court show that the judgments of the CJEU and the ECtHR and the historic resolution of the full panel of the Supreme Court that challenged the neo-NCJ and the neo-judges it nominated should be implemented.