Resolution 1

of the Meeting of Judges of the Regional Court in Słupsk of 10 July 2018

We, Judges of the Regional Court in Słupsk, concerned about the sovereignty of the courts and the independence of the judges, with respect for the separation of powers and the balancing of the powers, as well as the principle of the superiority of the norms of the Constitution,

1. express our objection to the changes introduced in the Act on the Supreme Court, including making the holding of office dependent on the decision of a representative of the executive, and we acknowledge that, pursuant to Article 183, para. 3 of the Constitution of the Republic of Poland, Supreme Court Judge Prof. Małgorzata Gersdorf is the First President of the Supreme Court until the end of her term of office, namely until 30 April 2020; we support and solidarize with the position of the Supreme Court Judges expressed in the resolutions of the General Assembly of Supreme Court Judges of 28 June 2018;
2. we commend the work of the Supreme Court Judges and the activities of all Judges performed in public space in defence of the sovereignty of the courts and the independence of the judges;
3. we solidarize with all the Judges who, by their attitude, pursue the principles arising from the oath made when taking office;
4. we object to giving the executive authority the right to entrust duties of administering justice to judges in the disciplinary courts at the courts of appeal without obtaining the consent of these judges; we also express the view that the new disciplinary procedures against judges introduced by the recent amendments to the Act on the Supreme Court and the system of ordinary courts, granting the Minister of Justice the right to choose the judges of the disciplinary courts of the first instance and the politicized National Council of the Judiciary the right to choose members of the Disciplinary Chamber of the Supreme Court, and simultaneously awarding extensive rights to the Minister of Justice in these proceedings and reducing the level of procedural guarantees for the accused, have the objective of introducing a freezing effect among the judges and their subordination to the executive authority;
5. we appeal to the representatives of the legislative and executive authorities to stop slandering the judges and the courts, to take immediate steps to restore the balance between the legislative and executive authorities and the judiciary by eliminating the legal regulations which raise serious doubts as to their compliance with the Constitution of the Republic of Poland, with regard to, inter alia, the National Council of the Judiciary, which is a constitutional body, and the implementation of its constitutional nature and position to ensure that everyone is entitled to his case being heard by an impartial, independent and sovereign court;
6. we note that the reforms which were introduced in the justice system are far from addressing real needs; they are creating chaos, contributing to the excessive tardiness of proceedings and are resulting in a reduction in the quality of judgments, which constitutes a significant threat to every citizen in exercising his right to a court hearing.

Resolution 2

The Meeting of the Judges of the Regional Court in Słupsk

entrusts the President of the Regional Court in Słupsk – as the Chairperson of the Meeting:

• with posting Resolution 1, passed by the meeting of the Judges of the Regional Court in Słupsk, on the Court’s website, because the awareness of the public of the opinion of the judges of the Regional Court in Słupsk lies in the public interest and serves the needs of citizens who, pursuant to Article 45 of the Constitution of the Republic of Poland, have the right to an impartial and independent court hearing;
• with sending copies to the President of the Republic of Poland, the Speakers of the Polish Sejm and Senate, the Prime Minister, the Minister of Justice, the First President of the Supreme Court, the Polish Ombudsman, the President of the Supreme Administrative Court, the Chairperson of the National Council of the Judiciary, the Presidents of the Courts of Appeal and the Regional Courts, the Chairperson of the National Council of Public Prosecutors, the President of the Supreme Bar Council, the President of the National Council of Legal Advisers, the President of the National Council of Notaries and the President of the Constitutional Tribunal, the President of the Main Management Board of the Association of Judges “Themis”, the President of the Association of Polish Judges “Iustitia” and the Chairperson of the Judges’ Cooperation Forum.