DISCIPLINARY COMMISSIONER
OF THE ORDINARY COURT JUDGES

COMMUNICATION
of the Disciplinary Commissioner of the Ordinary Court Judges
on the initiation of disciplinary proceedings against Krystian M.,
Judge of the Regional Court in Katowice

I declare that, on 3 December 2019, Judge Przemysław W. Radzik, the deputy disciplinary commissioner of the ordinary court judges, initiated disciplinary proceedings against Krystian M., Judge of the Regional Court in Katowice, and pressed charges on him of having committed 55 disciplinary offences under Article 107 § 1 of the Law on the System of Ordinary Courts of 27 July 2001 (Journal of Laws of 2019, item 52, as amended) involving the fact that, on 29 May 2019, acting each time in various configurations of people, as President of the  Association of Polish Judges, ‘Iustitia’, in letters dated as above that were publicised and addressed personally to specified presidents and judges of the disciplinary courts at the courts of appeal, he presented a political manifesto, in which, by questioning the independence and legality of the operation of a constitutional authority of the state, namely the National Council of the Judiciary, and undermining the constitutionality of the Disciplinary Chamber of the Supreme Court, he incited everyone to commit a disciplinary tort involving not respecting the legal order of the Republic of Poland by withholding from adjudicating and stopping to present appeals of parties and disciplinary case files to the Disciplinary Chamber of the Supreme Court and then to suspend disciplinary proceedings “until the status of the people appointed to the office of judge in the Disciplinary Chamber is clarified”, by which he breached the principle of apoliticality of judges arising from Article 178, para. 3 of the Constitution and the obligation to behave in accordance with the judicial oath arising from the Law on the System of Ordinary Courts, including, in particular, the obligation to uphold the law, diligently perform the duties of a judge and the obligation to safeguard the gravity of the office of judge while in service and outside the service and not to even appear to not comply with the legal order, namely conduct that defies the dignity of a judge and undermines the confidence in his independence and impartiality and breaches the principles of professional ethics specified in § 5 para. 2, § 10 and 16 of the resolution of the National Council of the Judiciary on the adoption of the Set of Rules of Professional Ethics of Judges and Court Assessors.

In accordance with the principles of the set of rules of professional ethics of judges cited above:

• a judge should always be guided by the principles of honesty, dignity, honour and the sense of duty, as well as observing the principles of good practice;
• a judge should care for the authority of his office, the good of the court where he works, as well as the good of the justice administration and the systemic position of the judicial authority;
• a judge may not even appear to disregard the legal order by any conduct.

Simultaneously to this decision being issued, the Deputy Disciplinary Commissioner of the Ordinary Court Judges requested the President of the Supreme Court, who manages the work of the Disciplinary Chamber, to nominate a disciplinary court to hear the case in the first instance.

Immediately afterwards, the person handling the disciplinary proceedings will consider submitting a petition to the disciplinary court to suspend the accused judge in his official duties and to reduce his remuneration for the duration of this suspension (Article 129 § 1 of the Law on the System of Ordinary Courts).

(-) Regional Court Judge Piotr Schab

DISCIPLINARY COMMISSIONER
OF THE ORDINARY COURT JUDGES