On the morning of Tuesday, July 23, Minister of Justice Adam Bodnar announced on TOK FM radio his intention to file an appeal.

“I believe there are very serious arguments indicating that immunity simply does not apply,” he stated.

Adam Bodnar also cited the opinions of experts—Professors Andrzej Zoll and Marek Safjan—who asserted that in this situation, “there is a usurpation of competence by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, because the act of which Mr. Romanowski is suspected has nothing to do with activities in the Council of Europe.”

“Immunity applied in the context of performing functions in the national parliament […] I am convinced that there is no immunity from the Parliamentary Assembly; it is being overly interpreted,” emphasized the Minister of Justice.

On July 16, just before midnight, the District Court for Warsaw-Mokotów released Marcin Romanowski from custody. According to the justification of the decision obtained by OKO.press, Judge Agata Pomianowska did not analyze the charges against Romanowski (totaling 11) or the grounds for pre-trial detention. The court only examined whether the request for pre-trial detention was formally admissible and concluded that it was not, due to Romanowski’s immunity as a member of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe.

To recap: After the detention and interrogation of Romanowski—a former Deputy Minister of Justice responsible for the Justice Fund—on July 15, his defense attorney informed the Chairman of the Parliamentary Assembly. On July 16, Theodoros Rousopoulos sent a letter to Szymon Hołownia, warning that Romanowski was entitled to immunity as a member of the Parliamentary Assembly. The prosecutor’s office believed that revoking the immunity by the Polish Sejm was sufficient for his detention—a decision made on July 12.

Judge Pomianowska did not independently analyze whether Romanowski was protected by the second immunity. She stated that since there were conflicting opinions on the matter, she was compelled to resolve the issue in favor of the suspect.

The prosecutor’s office believes this decision is erroneous.

Awaiting the Council of Europe

Meanwhile, after the debacle of Romanowski’s release from custody, the National Prosecutor’s Office provided the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe with additional information about the ongoing investigation and the charges against Romanowski.

In a response dated July 19, Theodoros Rousopoulos reiterated that Marcin Romanowski possesses a second immunity, which Polish authorities cannot ignore. He also provided the National Prosecutor Dariusz Korneluk with instructions on how to revoke the immunity of a member of the Parliamentary Assembly.

The request should first be directed to the Chairman of the Assembly. It is announced at a plenary session (or a meeting of the Standing Committee if it occurs earlier than the plenary session). It is then referred to the Committee on Rules of Procedure, Immunities, and Institutional Affairs, which should promptly consider the request and prepare a draft resolution.

“Immediately after you submit a request to revoke the immunity granted to Mr. Romanowski due to his membership in the Parliamentary Assembly, I can initiate the necessary internal procedures to consider this request in accordance with Article 73 of the Rules of Procedure, which I attach for your reference,” assured Rousopoulos.

The Greek emphasized that the Rules Committee would check whether the conditions for revoking immunity are met. It will not address the merits of the case or determine guilt or innocence. Instead, it will consider whether the judicial proceedings do not threaten the proper functioning of the Parliamentary Assembly and whether the request is solely for the purpose of dispensing justice.

According to the letter from the Chairman of the Parliamentary Assembly, the earliest the Assembly can decide on immunity is at the plenary session scheduled for September 30-October 4.

Immunity protects against charges

At a press conference on July 17, Prosecutor Korneluk defended himself against accusations of a failed investigative action. He emphasized that the prosecutor’s office independently analyzed the regulations and relied on legal opinions commissioned by the Ministry of Justice.

The authors of the opinions, Dr. Hab. Andrzej Jackiewicz and Dr. Hab. Joanna Juchniewicz, stated that when a member of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe is on the territory of their country, they are protected only by national immunity. Therefore, there is no need to revoke the immunity of the Parliamentary Assembly.

Both experts also pointed out that the rules regarding the immunity of the Parliamentary Assembly are unclear. Thus, the final decision in this matter rests with the courts.

The National Prosecutor warned that the prosecutor’s office would review the court’s decision to release Romanowski and would likely appeal it. Korneluk did not rule out that if this decision were upheld by the appellate court, they would request the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe to consent to the revocation of Romanowski’s immunity.

The investigative team No. 2 of the National Prosecutor’s Office is demanding the arrest of Romanowski in connection with the scandal in the Justice Fund. The prosecutor’s office charges Romanowski—currently a member of Sovereign Poland and previously a deputy minister in the ministry led by Zbigniew Ziobro—with 11 counts related to his supervision of the Fund. Among these are charges of participating in an organized criminal group, abuse of power, and causing significant harm to the State Treasury (nearly PLN 112 million).

The Presidium of the Sejm of the 10th term on December 19, 2023, approved the party quotas for deputies-delegates to international institutions. In the case of the Parliamentary Assembly, it agreed on three representatives and three deputy representatives from the PiS club. On January 18, 2024, it agreed that one of the delegates (a deputy member of the Parliamentary Assembly) would be Marcin Romanowski—following the custom of not questioning the selection of delegation members by individual parties. He has held this position since January 22.

The Ministry of Justice, under the leadership of Adam Bodnar, began examining the issue of immunity at the end of 2023. Dr. Hab. Jackiewicz, the author of one of the two opinions commissioned by the ministry, recalls that the ministry authorities commissioned it on December 20, 2023.

The above text by Maria Pankowska was published in OKO.press on July 23.

https://oko.press/prokuratura-zaskarzy-decyzje-sadu-o-uwolnieniu-marcina-romanowskiego