1 October 2021, 14:29 [Update: 1 October 2021 15:31]
Judge Majchrowski sent a notice regarding this matter to the National Prosecutor’s Office, with a copy to the Prosecutor General, Zbigniew Ziobro. / ShutterStock
Jan Majchrowski, Judge of the Disciplinary Chamber, sent a notice to the prosecutor’s office reporting the suspicion of the commitment of a crime by four of the so-called old judges of the Supreme Court, including Judge Józef Iwulski –the Polish Press Agency (PAP) found out. This applies to overstepping rights.
Judge Majchrowski sent a notice regarding this matter to the National Prosecutor’s Office, with a copy to the Prosecutor General, Zbigniew Ziobro.
In the notice, which PAP obtained, Majchrowski pointed out that the Disciplinary Chamber had lifted the immunity of former president of the Labour and Social Insurance Chamber of the Supreme Court, Józef Iwulski, in a non-final judgment in July of this year, suspended him from his official duties and reduced his salary by 25%. An appeal was filed against this decision. The prosecutor’s office of the Institute of National Remembrance requested the lifting of Iwulski’s immunity, as it wants to charge him with the illegal conviction of a 21-year-old worker under martial law for distributing leaflets targeted at the communist authorities in Poland.
In his notice to the prosecutor’s office, Judge Majchrowski emphasised that the appeal filed by Judge Iwulski does not suspend the enforcement of the Disciplinary Chamber’s resolution. He also emphasised that Judge Iwulski had adjudicated in several cases even after the decision was made to lift his immunity. The benches presided over by Mr Iwulski included three judges of the Labour Chamber of the Supreme Court, to whom Majchrowski’s notice also applies.
In his opinion, there is a reasonable suspicion that Supreme Court Judge Józef Iwulski had overstepped his powers, while the others had failed to fulfil their duties. ‘A suspended judge cannot perform his duties, which undoubtedly include adjudicating on cases,’ Majchrowski stated in the notice.
He accused the other judges of admitting a suspended judge to adjudication. ‘I simultaneously have no information that these people had taken any action in any way to prevent these cases from being heard by this bench,’ Majchrowski argued. In his opinion, this could cause damage to the parties.
Consequently, Judge Majchrowski considers it reasonable to consider instituting criminal proceedings in this case.
Bohdan Bieniek, one of the Supreme Court judges to whom the notice to the prosecutor’s office applies, referred to this notice in an interview with PAP. ‘It is possible to adjudicate with Judge Iwulski. This is how we performed the rulings of the EU Court of Justice of 14 and 15 July this year. It arises from these rulings that judgments of the Disciplinary Chamber do not exist in law. So I did not see any obstacles to adjudicating with Judge Iwulski,’ said Judge Bieniek.
‘Secondly, as far as I understand, Judge Iwulski is receiving a full salary for his work and has access to all information systems of the Supreme Court, so, also from this point of view, I can say that the Disciplinary Chamber’s ruling has not been executed.
‘I am not surprised that such moves are being made by the members of the Disciplinary Chamber. I consider this to be an inept attempt at getting their own back for saying that the institution in which they are operating is not a court in the meaning of national or European law,’ said Judge Bieniek.
The dispute over the operation of the Disciplinary Chamber has been ongoing since it was established. The CJEU ruled on 15 July that the system of disciplinary liability of judges in Poland was incompatible with EU law. The day before, the CJEU obliged Poland to suspend the application of the regulations, in particular, regarding the rights of the Disciplinary Chamber of the Supreme Court, including on matters such as lifting the immunity of judges.
In turn, having considered a question from the Disciplinary Chamber of the Supreme Court, the Constitutional Tribunal ruled on 14 July that the provision of the EU Treaty by which the CJEU obliges Member States to apply interim measures regarding the judiciary is incompatible with the Polish Constitution.
In the middle of August, the Polish government’s reply to the European Commission on the matter of the Disciplinary Chamber stated that Poland would continue its reforms of the judiciary, including with regard to the accountability of judges. The Council of Ministers also informed the EC of its plans to liquidate this Chamber in its current form. At the beginning of September, the EC announced that it had decided to request the CJEU to impose fines on Poland for failing to comply with its decision on interim measures of 14 July.
Source: PAP
Link to the original publication in Polish: