Tag: disciplinary proceedings

Jarosław Kaczyński: “there is indeed a problem in Poland with the rule of law, but the main sources of this state of affairs are court judgments contra legem. It is our duty to ensure that these judgments made in conflict with the law are swiftly revoked and the judges who issue them held accountable on disciplinary charges and, consequently, removed from the profession.”

“The involvement of a judge, who speaks up on such public matters related to the rule of law is certainly not a political voice.” Prof. Marek Safjan, judge of the Court of Justice of the EU and retired judge of the Constitutional Tribunal, comments on the reports that the disciplinary commissioners want to prosecute 1,200 judges throughout Poland who signed the letter to the OSCE asking it to oversee the postal presidential elections, which were to be held in May 2020.

Disciplinary Commissioner Przemysław Radzik attacks the authorities of an informal group of judges, which helps defend the independence of the courts and provides support to repressed judges. The commissioner pressed disciplinary charges against them, including the chairperson of this group, Bartłomiej Starosta, and Judge Waldemar Żurek

Judges from all over Poland are reporting themselves to the disciplinary commissioners. This is how they are supporting judges from Piotrków Trybunalski, who are being prosecuted for signing a letter to the OSCE, as well as the head of the largest association of judges in Poland, Krystian Markiewicz.

Two disciplinary hearings for Judge Waldemar Żurek will be held at the Court of Appeal in Katowice on Friday, 3 July. Each of them applies to different charges which the disciplinary commissioners have brought against the judge. Only eight people will be able to enter the courtroom each time as the public. The hearings will be held one after the other. Such an order was issued by the president of the Katowice Court of Appeal – Witold Mazur, nominated by Zbigniew Ziobro, privately, the brother of the head of the new NCJ.

In my opinion, each of the two points of the CJEU order is sufficient for the Disciplinary Chamber of the Supreme Court to stop all judicial activity with regard to judges, until the final judgment is delivered by the CJEU or until the safeguard order is amended, Adam Bodnar emphasizes.

Proceedings on Judge Igor Tuleya’s immunity are not covered by the freezing order of the EU Court of Justice – Supreme Court press officer Judge Aleksander Stępkowski told journalists on the 27th of May

The Disciplinary Chamber of the Supreme Court will consider a request to waive the immunity of judge Igor Tuleya. The prosecutor’s office wants to press charges against him in connection with a ruling in which he strongly criticised PiS and demanded an investigation into how the 2017 budget was passed

The CJEU has ruled that the Disciplinary Chamber of the Polish Supreme Court may not conduct disciplinary proceedings against judges or refer them to courts which do not meet the criterion of independence under Union law. The ruling is in force until the CJEU renders final judgment on the European Commission’s complaint against the Polish government. The judgment will be handed down in the second half of 2020.

The Court of Justice of the EU found inadmissible referrals for preliminary rulings submitted by judges Igor Tuleya and Ewa Maciejewska for formal reasons. However, it did emphasize in its ruling that disciplinary repression cannot be applied against judges of national courts in the EU for submitting questions to the CJEU. The Court will shortly assess the model of disciplinary liability for judges in Poland in an infringement proceedings case initiated by the European Commission.