Minister Adam Bodnar has been systematically changing the leadership in various courts since the beginning of his term. First, he initiates the procedure to dismiss a court president and suspends them. Then, he waits for the opinion on the dismissal from the College of a given court, which consists of other court presidents.

If he receives approval, he dismisses the court president, and then the Assembly of Judges nominates candidates for new presidents. The idea that candidates should be proposed by the judicial self-government is Bodnar’s. The minister appoints the president from among them, who then requests the minister to appoint vice-presidents of the courts.

The first to be dismissed by the minister was the president of the Court of Appeal in Poznań, neo-judge Mateusz Bartoszek, along with his deputies, including Przemysław Radzik, known for prosecuting independent judges. Some vacancies open up by themselves as presidents’ terms come to an end.

On Friday, June 14, 2024, the minister started changes in another court. He initiated the procedure to dismiss Agnieszka Leszkiewicz, president of the District Court in Słupsk, and vice-president Ryszard Błencki. Their dismissal was requested by Słupsk judges, who passed an appropriate resolution on the matter. Now the minister must receive approval from the court’s College for their dismissal. Until then, the president and vice-president have been suspended.

A similar resolution was passed a week ago by judges of the District Court Poznań-Stare Miasto. They want to dismiss president Danuta Felińska-Żukowska and her deputy Marek Szyszko. These are neo-judges who signed support lists for the neo-National Council of the Judiciary (neo-KRS) for Marek Jaskulski. The resolution was supported by the vast majority of judges.

Meanwhile, previously initiated procedures to dismiss the leadership in courts in Białystok, Konin, Piotrków Trybunalski, Koszalin, and Rzeszów are ongoing. Here, the minister is still waiting for the opinion of the College, or he already has it and only needs to sign the dismissal decisions.

On June 12, 2024, the minister received approval from the College of the District Court in Rzeszów to dismiss:

• President of the District Court in Rzeszów, neo-judge Waldemar Krok, and vice-president, neo-judge Grzegorz Pliś (both already dismissed).
• President of the District Court in Rzeszów, neo-judge Tomasz Berezowski (already dismissed). The minister also wanted to dismiss vice-president Wojciech Dudek, but he resigned in the meantime.
• President of the District Court in Dębica, Katarzyna Radzik.

He also has the approval of the College to dismiss:

• President of the District Court in Białystok, neo-judge Ewa Kołodziej-Dubowska (sister of a neo-KRS member) and vice-president Dorota Sosna.
• President of the District Court in Białystok, neo-judge Paweł Dzienis, and vice-president Alina Krejza-Aleksiejuk (both already dismissed). The minister also wanted to dismiss vice-president Piotr Wypych, but he resigned during the dismissal procedure.
• President of the District Court in Bielsk Podlaski, Mirosława Mironiuk.
• President of the District Court in Piotrków Trybunalski, Bartłomiej Szkudlarek.

In these courts, only the signing of the dismissals is required.

The minister is still waiting for the College’s decisions on the dismissal of:

• President of the District Court in Koszalin, neo-judge Justyna Celińska, and vice-president Tomasz Krzemianowski.
• President of the District Court in Konin, Michał Jankowski, and vice-president Kinga Śliwińska-Buśkiewicz. Both are neo-judges.

We publish a list of all presidents dismissed by minister Bodnar in the further part of the text.

Appointments of new court presidents

At the same time, the minister appoints new presidents and vice-presidents, including to positions vacated by those whose terms have ended. In recent days, the minister appointed, among others:

• Vice-president of the Court of Appeal in Lublin, Barbara du Chateau. In recent years, she has been involved in defending the rule of law and has been persecuted for her media statements.
• President of the District Court Łódź-Widzew, Marek Pietruszka.
• Vice-president of the District Court in Bydgoszcz, Maria Gatz-Rubelowska.
• Vice-president of the Court of Appeal in Warsaw, Paulina Asłanowicz. She will handle the civil division. She was involved in defending the rule of law and faced disciplinary action for ignoring the “muzzle law” to protect her child’s welfare.
• President of the District Court in Olecko, Adam Kowalczyk.
• President of the District Court in Węgrów, Izabela Iwanowska.
• President of the District Court in Świdnica, Jacek Szerer. In 2014, he was named European Judge of the Year. Several years ago, he was already the president of this court.

List of new court presidents

Previously, minister Bodnar appointed:

Courts of Appeal (6)

• President of the Court of Appeal in Szczecin, Maciej Żelazowski.
• President of the Court of Appeal in Warsaw, Dorota Markiewicz. She replaced neo-judge Piotr Schab, known for prosecuting independent judges. The minister appointed Dorota Tyrała as vice-president here, who had faced disciplinary action for applying European law. Anna Michalik and Paulina Asłanowicz, who also defended the rule of law, became vice-presidents here as well.
• President of the Court of Appeal in Kraków, Paweł Rygle. He was involved in defending the rule of law. Tomasz Szymański was recently appointed vice-president here. In previous years, he was the deputy disciplinary officer at the Kraków Court of Appeal but refused to prosecute judges known for defending the rule of law.
• President of the Court of Appeal in Poznań, Karol Ratajczak.
• President of the Court of Appeal in Lublin, Jerzy Nawrocki, who was involved in defending the rule of law.
• President of the Court of Appeal in Katowice, Aleksandra Janas. She was one of the first judges in Poland to face repression. She was threatened with suspension for, together with judge Irena Piotrowska, implementing the CJEU ruling of November 2019, aimed at assessing the status of the neo-National Council of the Judiciary and the judges it nominated. For this, disciplinary proceedings were initiated against them. Janas was previously the spokesperson for the Katowice Court of Appeal. As president, she will replace Katarzyna Frydrych, previously dismissed by the minister and a former deputy minister of justice in the PiS government.

District courts (21)

• President of the District Court in Lublin, Dorota Stańczyk.
• President of the District Court in Piotrków Trybunalski, Urszula Sipińska-Sęk.
• President of the District Court in Jelenia Góra, Ryszard Sułtanowski.
• President of the District Court in Słupsk, Agnieszka Niklas-Bibik. She was heavily involved in defending the rule of law and faced repression for it.
• President of the District Court in Radom, Michał Gałek.
• President of the District Court in Częstochowa, Jarosław Poch.
• President of the District Court in Kraków, Janusz Kawałek. He was also involved in defending the rule of law. His deputies are Katarzyna Serafin-Tabor, Marta Kowalska, Paweł Wicherek, and Katarzyna Wierzbicka. The latter faced disciplinary action for applying European law and was punitively transferred to another court division.
• President of the District Court in Bydgoszcz, Maria Leszczyńska.
• President of the District Court in Kielce, Małgorzata Solecka.
• President of the District Court in Łódź, Marta Witoszyńska.
• President of the District Court in Poznań, Piotr Marciniak.
• President of the District Court in Gorzów Wielkopolski, Kamil Jarocki. He was prosecuted for asking preliminary questions to the CJEU.
• President of the District Court in Gliwice, Henryk Brzyżkiewicz.
• President of the District Court in Toruń, Wojciech Modrzyński.
• President of the District Court in Ostrołęka, Grażyna Załęska-Bartkowiak.
• President of the District Court in Olsztyn, Rafał Jerka, who supported judge Paweł Juszczyszyn in his disputes with the president of the District Court in Olsztyn, Maciej Nawacki. He was involved in defending the rule of law. He authored a historic appeal by Polish judges in 2021 to implement CJEU rulings regarding the illegal Disciplinary Chamber. In 2023, the then-president of the District Court, Michał Lasota, forcibly transferred him to another division. His vice-presidents are Dorota Lutostańska and Krystyna Skiepko, both of whom were involved in defending the rule of law and faced prosecution. Lutostańska faced one of the first disciplinary actions in Poland for wearing a T-shirt with the inscription “Constitution.” She was later forcibly transferred to another court division. Judge Skiepko was prosecuted along with a group of judges from Olsztyn for asking legal questions to the Supreme Court about the status of neo-judges. She was threatened with suspension.
• President of the District Court in Elbląg, Marek Nawrocki, who was prosecuted under the previous government.
• President of the District Court in Łomża, Wiesława Kozikowska.
• President of the District Court in Warsaw-Praga, Agnieszka Wojciechowska-Langda. Her vice-presidents are Agnieszka Gradowska-Okrój and Paulina Wawrzynkiewicz.
• President of the District Court in Rybnik, Edyta Pachla.
• President of the District Court in Włocławek, Romuald Jankowski.

New presidents in district courts (32)

The minister also appointed presidents of district courts. Thus, he appointed:

• President of the District Court in Legnica, Paweł Oborski.
• President of the District Court in Strzyżów, Małgorzata Pirga.
• President of the District Court in Białogard, Agnieszka Bajor.
• President of the District Court in Ostrów Mazowiecka, Joanna Raducha-Modrzejewska.
• President of the District Court in Radom, Marek Miłosz.
• President of the District Court in Nowy Targ, Tomasz Bigoszewski.
• President of the District Court in Pabianice, Adrianna Pokrywiecka.
• President of the District Court in Łask, Magdalena Socha.
• President of the District Court in Wieliczka, Natasza Czarny.
• President of the District Court for Kraków-Śródmieście, Łukasz Sajdak.
• President of the District Court for Kraków-Podgórze, Cezary Czech-Śmiałkowski.
• President of the District Court for Bytów, Włodzimierz Uchmanowicz.
• President of the District Court in Kutno, Szymon Kozłowski.
• President of the District Court for Kraków-Nowa Huta, Mariusz Sitka.
• President of the District Court in Myślenice, Krzysztof Trojan.
• President of the District Court in Olsztyn, Krzysztof Krygielski. His deputies are Paweł Juszczyszyn and Katarzyna Zabuska.
• President of the District Court in Koszalin, Marta Knotz, who was involved in defending the rule of law.
• President of the District Court in Gorzów Wielkopolski, Olimpia Barańska-Małuszek. She is associated with Iustitia and was one of the first repressed judges under the previous government. She faced several disciplinary actions for enforcing ECHR and CJEU rulings, criticizing changes in the judiciary, and meeting with citizens. She will replace the previously dismissed president, Jarosław Dudzicz, a former member of the neo-KRS.
• President of the District Court in Bełchatów, Sławomir Forenc.
• President of the District Court in Kozienice, Krzysztof Piaseczny.
• President of the District Court in Poznań-Nowe Miasto and Wilda, Monika Frąckowiak. She is a member of Iustitia and was involved in defending the rule of law, for which she was repressed.
• President of the District Court Poznań-Grunwald and Jeżyce, Robert Kubicki.
• President of the District Court in Pułtusk, Marcin Korajczyk.
• President of the District Court in Biskupiec, Katarzyna Wilchowska.
• President of the District Court in Świdnica, Kamila Firko.
• President of the District Court in Ruda Śląska, Jolanta Zarzycka.
• President of the District Court in Tarnobrzeg, Edyta Kociubowska.
• President of the District Court in Końskie, Dorota Kaniowska.
• President of the District Court in Gliwice, Danuta Wocław-Klyta.
• President of the District Court in Tarnowskie Góry, Adam Skowron.
• President of the District Court in Miechów, Artur Onderek.
• President of the District Court in Świnoujście, Kamila Gajewska.

Whom minister Bodnar has already dismissed

So far, minister Bodnar has dismissed presidents and their deputies in 27 courts:

• President of the Court of Appeal in Poznań, neo-judge Mateusz Bartoszek, and vice-presidents, neo-judge Przemysław Radzik and neo-judge Sylwia Dembska.
• President of the Court of Appeal in Kraków, neo-judge Zygmunt Drożdżejko, and vice-president, neo-judge Katarzyna Wysokińska-Walenciak.
• President of the District Court in Kielce, neo-judge Paweł Stępień.
• President of the District Court in Poznań, neo-judge Daniel Jurkiewicz, and vice-president Michał Inglot.
• President of the Court of Appeal in Warsaw, neo-judge Piotr Schab. Initially, he did not acknowledge Bodnar’s decision. Ultimately, however, on March 22, 2024, he left the president’s office. Recently, minister Bodnar also dismissed vice-presidents of this court, neo-judges Edyta Dzielińska and Agnieszka Stachniak-Rogalska.
• President of the District Court in Olsztyn, neo-judge Michał Lasota, and his deputies, neo-judges Tomasz Kosakowski and Marcin Czapski.
• President of the District Court in Olsztyn, Maciej Nawacki, and his deputies, neo-judges Tomasz Koszewski and Adam Jaroczyński.
• President of the District Court in Biskupiec, neo-judge Tomasz Turkowski.
• President of the District Court in Kraków, neo-judge Bartłomiej Migda, and his deputies: neo-judge Michał Puza, neo-KRS member Irena Bochniak, and neo-judge Piotr Kowalski.
• President of the District Court for Kraków-Nowa Huta, neo-judge Maciej Pragłowski, and vice-president of this court, neo-judge Łukasz Felisiak.
• President of the District Court for Kraków-Podgórze, neo-judge Marcin Cichoński.
• President of the District Court for Kraków-Śródmieście, neo-judge Piotr Skrzyszowski.
• President of the District Court in Myślenice, neo-judge Małgorzata Święch.
• President of the District Court in Wieliczka, Ewa Motyczyńska-Pałys.
• President of the Court of Appeal in Katowice, Katarzyna Frydrych, former deputy minister of justice in the PiS government.
• President of the District Court Warsaw-Praga, neo-judge Michał Bukiewicz, and vice-president Kinga Kubuj.
• President of the District Court in Ostrołęka, Jarosław Tekliński.
• President of the District Court in Gliwice, neo-judge Patryk Poniatowski, and vice-president, neo-judge Wojciech Głowacki.
• President of the District Court in Gliwice, Joanna Zachorowska, and two vice-presidents of this court, neo-judge Anna Jaworska-Wieloch (formerly an assessor) and Barbara Klepacz.
• President of the District Court in Ruda Śląska, Ewa Żarkiewicz-Marek, and vice-president Adrian Klanka.
• President of the District Court in Rybnik, Bartłomiej Witek, and vice-presidents, neo-judge Paweł Stępień and neo-judge Ewa Janik.
• Vice-president of the District Court Poznań-Grunwald and Jeżyce, Marek Jaskulski, neo-KRS member.
• President of the District Court in Gorzów Wielkopolski, Anna Kuśnierz-Milczarek, and vice-president, neo-judge Kinga Wochnia.
• President of the District Court in Gorzów Wielkopolski, Jarosław Dudzicz, and vice-president, Dorota Bobrowicz.
• President of the District Court in Elbląg, neo-judge Agnieszka Walkowiak.
• President of the District Court in Sulęcin, Ewa Kuś-Wasilewska.
• President of the District Court in Toruń, Krzysztof Dąbkiewicz.

Who resigned voluntarily – 33 people

Several presidents and vice-presidents have resigned voluntarily, under pressure from the judicial community. They are:

• President of the District Court Poznań-Nowe Miasto and Wilda, Michał Tasarek.
• President of the District Court in Koszalin, neo-judge Piotr Boguszewski.
• Vice-president of the District Court in Elbląg, neo-judge Anna Długajczyk.
• President of the District Court in Bełchatów, neo-judge Robert Sobczak.
• President of the Court of Appeal in Lublin, neo-judge Jerzy Daniluk, and vice-president, neo-judge Piotr Czerski.
• President of the District Court in Elbląg, neo-judge Jacek Bryl, and vice-president, neo-judge Katarzyna Jacewicz-Okuniewicz.
• Vice-president of the District Court Warsaw-Praga, Przemysław Chrzanowski.
• President of the District Court in Tarnowskie Góry, Marcin Kulikowski.
• President of the District Court Poznań-Grunwald and Jeżyce, Tomasz Sroka, and vice-president Sylwester Ksiądz.
• Vice-president of the District Court in Kielce, neo-judge Monika Wrona.
• Vice-president of the District Court in Gliwice, Gabriela Sobczyk.
• Vice-president of the Court of Appeal in Warsaw, neo-judge Arkadiusz Ziarko. He recently resigned but helped minister Bodnar implement personnel changes in this court at a crucial moment when the dismissed president of this court, Piotr Schab, was rebelling.
• Vice-president of the District Court in Legnica, Paweł Oborski.
• President of the District Court in Ropczyce, Anna Zięć.
• President of the District Court in Bytów, Patrycja Bona.
• President of the District Court in Kraśnik, Anna Plewa.
• President of the District Court in Żagań, Michał Wołowicz.
• President of the District Court for Łódź-Śródmieście, Artur Wewióra.
• Vice-president of the District Court in Łask, Magdalena Socha.
• Vice-president of the District Court in Łódź, Michał Krakowiak.
• Vice-president of the District Court in Bielsk Podlaski, Marcin Mosiołek.
• Vice-president of the District Court in Żory, Miłosz Dubiel.
• Vice-president of the District Court for Kraków-Śródmieście, Grzegorz Kurcz.
• Vice-president of the District Court in Wadowice, Romana Sołtysek.
• Vice-president of the District Court for Łódź-Śródmieście, Janusz Pelczarski.
• Vice-president of the District Court in Łomża, Wiesława Kozikowska.
• Vice-president of the District Court in Bydgoszcz, Sylwia Suska-Obidowska.
• Vice-president of the District Court in Bydgoszcz, Iwona Piekańska-Szymańska.
• Vice-president of the District Court in Białystok, Piotr Wypych.
• Vice-president of the District Court in Rzeszów, Wojciech Dudek.

So far, minister Adam Bodnar has not received approval to dismiss the leadership of the district courts in Bielsko-Biała and Sosnowiec. The colleges also did not approve the dismissals of the presidents of the district courts in Bartoszyce, Kętrzyn, Miechów, Chrzanów, Olkusz, Wadowice, Sucha Beskidzka, and the vice-president from Myślenice.