Resolution of the Management Board of the Association of Judges ‘Themis’ of 31 May 2021 on the harassment of Judge Gąciarek and three judges of the District Court in Bydgoszcz

On behalf of the Association of Judges ’Themis’, we strongly protest against the unfounded and thus unlawful decision of the acting President of the Regional Court in Warsaw, Piotr Schab, to transfer Judge Piotr Gąciarek from the division adjudicating on the most serious criminal cases to the department dealing with the enforcement of judgments. Given that Piotr Schab’s decision was issued only a week after Judge Gąciarek made a dissenting opinion in one of the cases, in which he publicly questioned the status of a judge promoted to the Regional Court with the participation of the neo-NCJ and questioned the independence of the neo-NCJ and the Disciplinary Chamber of the Supreme Court, it is obvious that this constitutes a form of politically motivated repression. It is significant that the decision made by Piotr Schab, whose career progressed rapidly under the current government and currently combines the function of the president of the court and the chief disciplinary commissioner, confirms the argument expressed by the CJEU Advocate General Michal Bobek of 20 May 2021 (in Joined Cases C-748/19, and C-754/19) that judges acting as Disciplinary Commissioners can exercise ‘dispersed control and supervision’. The unjustified removal of an experienced judge from a division dealing with the most serious criminal cases is a detriment to the administration of justice and undermines the right of citizens to have their case heard by an independent and impartial tribunal. While the transfer of judges between divisions by court presidents may be justified in exceptional situations by special staffing needs, in Poland, it is currently one of the forms of repression against defiant judges, as evidenced by similar decisions previously made with respect to Judges Łukasz Biliński and Waldemar Żurek.

We also express our objection to the resolution of the neo-NCJ of 28 May 2021, in which that body, which exists in conflict with the Polish Constitution, condemned judges of the District Court in Bydgoszcz, Iwona Wiśniewska, Katarzyna Błażejowska and Anetta Marciniak. The reason for the neo-NCJ’s resolution was that these judges issued a ruling by which they reinstated Paweł Juszczyszyn, a judge of the District Court in Olsztyn, as a precautionary measure, after he had been groundlessly and unlawfully suspended from his judicial duties by the Disciplinary Chamber of the Supreme Court. It should be reiterated that the reason for Judge Juszczyszyn’s suspension was his attempt to implement the ruling of the CJEU of 19 November 2019 (in joined cases C-585/18, C-624/18 and C-625/18). By condemning these judges and simultaneously requesting the Minister of Justice–Prosecutor General to initiate criminal proceedings against them for an alleged offence committed within the framework of their judicial activity, the neo-NCJ once again proved that it has ceased to fulfil its constitutional function of guardian of the independence of the judiciary and impartiality of judges, becoming a politicised committee intending to subordinate the judiciary to the executive.

We express our solidarity and respect for all judges who remain independent in their rulings despite such huge pressure exerted by politicians, the State media, the politicised Prosecutor’s Office, the neo-NCJ and the disciplinary bodies. Piotr, Iwona, Katarzyna, Anetta, we are with you!