PiS government`s law 6 - control over judiciary system

[Bonobo]

Symbolic picture showing how PiS reforms the judiciary - PiS nominee, chairman of Olsztyn court, is tearing down the resolution by his 31 subordinate judges to lift the suspension of their colleague. BTW, destroying official documents submited to the meeting protocol is a crime in Poland. This guy is finished as a judge and lawyer.





Poles, that shows PiS` attitude to yuor rights:

[Bonobo]

PiS has tried to subjugate and take control of independent judges, yet they are still fighting. Now, they are backed by the EU which has withheld huge funds for Poland unless PiS dissolves illegal bodies and brings back illegally suspended judges to work.
Good! Thank you, EU!


Is Poland, entering 2022, still a state of law? Polish Titanic on the way to polexit

- Non-recognition of judgments of both Polish courts and the most important European courts. We are in this legal, or rather non-legal, state today. Poland is not a state of law anymore, says Onet judge Igor Tuleya, who from mid-November 2020 cannot work in court as deprived of immunity by the Disciplinary Chamber of the Supreme Court, which is not recognized in Europe.

Magdalena Gałczyńska
4.6k
January 1, 2022, 10:13

The fight against both the European Union and its most important court, i.e. the European Court of Justice, whose judgments the Polish authorities do not want to recognize - that was the leitmotif of the passing year
This is not the end, because Poland has entered into a dispute with the European Court of Human Rights - the most important court of the Council of Europe, which has equally criticized the changes implemented by the authorities in the Polish judiciary
- I have increasing doubts as to whether Poland is still a state of law - this is how the situation in the country is assessed by judge Igor Tuleya, who emphasizes that, apart from the fight against the EU, the rulers in Poland have intensified the wave of repression against independent judges
All these activities of the United Right, which are already planning further changes in the judiciary, are closely monitored by the European Commission. The latter has an extremely effective tool to make the Polish authorities aware of the consequences of breaking the rule of law
It is approved by all EU countries, the so-called a conditionality mechanism that allows a country to withhold EU funds if it breaks the rule of law. And that Poland is breaking them, it is stated both by the judgments of the CJEU and the subsequent anti-infringement proceedings initiated by the European Commission against our country
You can read more similar stories on the main website of Onet
The year 2021 is a constant battle between independent judges and the rulers. The latter were helped by court presidents appointed by Zbigniew Ziobro as well as central disciplinary spokesmen, who also owe their functions to Ziobro . Finally, the power was also supported by the Disciplinary Chamber of the Supreme Court, recognized as illegal in Europe, and the Constitutional Tribunal controlled by the ruling party, headed by Julia Przyłębska. The results were fatal.


The next NCJ will be unconstitutionally appointed? Żurek appeals to the judges. "Do not take part in this procedure"
The judgments of the European Court of Justice (CJEU, the most important EU court) and the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR, the most important court of the Council of Europe) left no doubt. According to the judgments of these tribunals, the Polish justice system does not actually exist today.


Firstly, there are illegal appointments of new judges by the illegal new National Council of the Judiciary - by the CJEU recognized as a body that does not guarantee independence from politicians. According to the ruling of the CJEU of March 2021, the judgments of the persons so appointed may be considered void, non-existent. And such people - judges who passed through the new National Council of the Judiciary - are currently around 1,500 in the system. The decisions issued by such persons can be challenged in the future and it may be assumed that they never existed. This may cause a tsunami in the Polish justice system - but the rulers seem not to take such a scenario into account at all.

The CJEU assesses the National Council of the Judiciary - the prime minister enters the game, involving the Constitutional Tribunal. And so Poland becomes a country "a bit in the Union"
After the March judgment of the CJEU in the case of the National Council of the Judiciary , the head of the government, Mateusz Morawiecki, decided to intervene - constantly pressed against the right, extremely Eurosceptic "wall" by Zbigniew Ziobro, head of the coalition Solidarna Polska (19 MPs necessary to maintain the parliamentary majority), the minister of justice and the prosecutor general. Morawiecki, in response to the CJEU ruling on the National Council of the Judiciary, applied to the Constitutional Tribunal, headed by Julia Przyłębska, for the Tribunal to examine whether the EU tribunal assesses changes in the Polish judiciary in accordance with the Polish constitution. And the Tribunal, without hesitation, ruled in October 2021 that three articles of the EU Treaty - the document which is the basis of our functioning in the Union - are allegedly inconsistent with the Polish constitution.


The verdict caused a shock in Europe, because what the Constitutional Tribunal staffed only with the appointees of the current government did, was in fact a legal polexit. At the same time, it gave the rulers in Poland an alleged "pad" and an alibi not to comply with the judgments of the CJEU.

The march beyond the EU legal framework started earlier
The first step in this direction - disregarding the decisions of the most important tribunal in the EU, i.e. the European Court of Justice - had been made earlier. In July 2021, the Constitutional Tribunal consisting of only five members, chaired by the former PiS MP and the prosecutor from the times of the Polish People's Republic, Stanisław Piotrowicz, decided that Poland was not bound by the so-called temporary measures, or security. The judgment was handed down on the same day that the European Court of Justice imposed such a security on the Disciplinary Chamber of the Supreme Court, recognizing it once again as an authority that is not a legal court, which has no right to deal with disciplinary cases of judges and ordered the Chamber to immediately freeze its activities. According to the CJEU, the so-called the muzzle act, which forbids judges to examine the status of persons appointed to serve as judges by the new National Council of the Judiciary.

Only that on the same day the rulers received an apparent possibility from the Constitutional Tribunal not to comply with these safeguards. The judgment of the Tribunal was issued after the motion of the Disciplinary Chamber of the Supreme Court. The Constitutional Tribunal examined whether Poland is to strictly comply with the interim measures imposed by the CJEU . It is the responsibility of each member state to comply with the decisions of the European Court of Justice. Meanwhile, the Constitutional Tribunal stated that such safeguards breach the Polish constitution to the extent that they relate to the system of common courts.


During the first hearing, on April 28, the chairman of the hearing, Krystyna Pawłowicz, agreed with the Ombudsman's motion to adjourn it. Earlier, however, she allowed the author of the legal question to the Tribunal to take the floor, i.e. Małgorzata Bednarek from the Disciplinary Chamber of the Supreme Court. For several dozen minutes, the former prosecutor presented the rationale behind the Disciplinary Chamber of the Supreme Court. The Chamber that is most interested in having the Constitutional Tribunal rule on the non-compliance of the safeguards imposed by the CJEU with the Polish constitution. This is because the operation of this Chamber significantly limited the security of the EU Court from April 2020.


Poland responded to the July security of the CJEU in the case of the Disciplinary Chamber of the Supreme Court - referring to the judgment of the Constitutional Tribunal - for which our country faced serious consequences. The CJEU has the right to impose penalties for each day of disregarding security - and this is the penalty imposed on Poland. Powerful - from November 3, we pay one million euros a day for the continued operation of the Disciplinary Chamber. The fine is already around PLN 270 million and is growing every day. When we add to this the penalties paid from September 20, 2021 for failure to comply with the CJEU's order to suspend coal mining in the Turów mine (EUR 500,000 per day), the total penalties at the end of 2021 amounted to over PLN half a billion.

What is happening in the Polish judiciary? Disputes with the EU are one thing. The second "passion" of the rulers is the harassment of independent judges. A wave of repression
- I have growing doubts as to whether Poland is still a state of law - this is how the situation in the country is assessed by Judge Igor Tuleya, who was suspended in court by the Disciplinary Chamber of the Supreme Court, not recognized in Europe, in mid-November 2020 . Since then, the judge has not been able to adjudicate, although the Warsaw Court of Appeal found his suspension to be invalid. - It is clearly visible that the situation in Poland is getting worse every year. The judgments of Polish courts and the judgments of European courts are not respected. Next, it can only get worse - the judge points out in an interview with Onet.

- After all, before us is the vision of Zbigniew Ziobro, the so-called flattening the structure of the courts, or actually plowing them up so as to get rid of all "defiant" judges fighting for the rule of law. Along with this flattening, each judge is to be verified - explains Judge Tuleya. - The next step may be, after all, the ban on independent judges' associations, because nothing will surprise me from this authority anymore - he emphasizes. - We judges fighting for the rule of law must do what we have done so far - that is, act within the law and defend this right. Because the ruling party will tighten its course now, they have little to lose - judge Tuleya says.

Let no one think that when we enter 2022, we, the independent judges, are defenseless. Oh no. After all, we have opened new fronts, there are judgments of labor and civil courts directly saying that the suspension of judges by the Disciplinary Chamber is illegal, the judge emphasizes. - Yes, the rulers and their nominees do not want to respect these judgments - like Mr. Nawacki, president of the District Court from Olsztyn in the case of judge Paweł Juszczyszyn - but they do not die. And it is not us who are struggling and we do not know what to do, but those who raised their hands to the rule of law - he points out.

"I'm sorry and I'm bad"
- Now I will say something that may cause a feeling of triumph in those who wanted to oust me, throw me out of the judiciary. You made it, I am sorry and bad about this forced unemployment, which has lasted since November 2020. I have never got used to this forced banishment - says Judge Tuleya. - And that was what the authorities meant, they did not remove me from judging to please me. Well, you did it, gentlemen, but I can assure you that I will return to court. Just like Paweł Juszczyszyn will come back. Even the fact that he could officially rule for about four hours was a successwhen Mr. Nawacki temporarily ceased to be the president of the Olsztyn SR, and his vice-president restored judge Juszczyszyn to work. Of course, a few hours later, Mr. Nawacki returned to the SR in Olsztyn for another presidency and immediately suspended Judge Juszczyszyn - reminds Judge Tuleya. - Nevertheless, Paweł (Juszczyszyn - ed.) Returned to court for a few hours. He will come back, and permanently, all we need is a little more determination and fight - judge Tuleya points out.

Judges Tuleya and Juszczyszyn are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the repression of judges fighting for the rule of law. In recent months, the ruling camp - in the part responsible for the judiciary - has developed a proven practice of indefinitely eliminating judges from the profession who openly defend the rule of law and directly apply the judgments of both the European Court of Justice and the European Court of Human Rights. First, such judges are suspended from their duties for a month by the president of their court - mostly a nominee of Zbigniew Ziobro - and then they are removed from work indefinitely by the Disciplinary Chamber of the Supreme Court, recognized as illegal by the most important tribunals in Europe.

The CJEU and the ECtHR recognized the Disciplinary Chamber of the Supreme Court as "non-court", the activity of which should be immediately discontinued. These are the judgments of the CJEU of 14 and 15 July 2021 . and the decision of the ECtHR of 22 July in the case of Reczkowicz v. Poland. The same tribunals found that persons appointed through the new, politically shaped National Council of the Judiciary did not meet the requirements for independent judges, and therefore their judgments may be declared null and void.

Judges punished for applying judgments of European courts
This is how the decisions issued by the nominees of the new NCJ were treated by other judges, for which they faced severe repressions. Judge Maciej Ferek from Krakow was first suspended for a month by the President of the District Court of Krakow, Dagmara Pawełczyk-Woicka, for a position appointed by Zbigniew Ziobro, his school friend and member of the new National Council of the Judiciary. Shortly thereafter, also on the initiative of the president of the Krakow SO and through the judge disciplinary spokesmen appointed by Ziobro, judge Ferek was suspended indefinitely by the Disciplinary Chamber of the Supreme Court.The same company, which since mid-July 2021, when the CJEU made it illegal, should completely stop its activity. Let us add that Judge Ferek found out about the decision of the Disciplinary Chamber in his case after the body had made a decision concerning him.

It was similar with judge Piotr Gąciarek from the Warsaw District Court . Also, after his suspension for a month by the president of the court, the Disciplinary Chamber suspended him indefinitely. He, too, had no idea that the Disciplinary Chamber was going to look into his case.

Another "to be shot" - that is, to be suspended by the Disciplinary Chamber of the Supreme Court, was to be judge Agnieszka Niklas-Bibik from the Słupsk District Court. The reason was supposed to be that the judge quashed the judgment issued by the nominee of the new National Council of the Judiciary - recognized as a defective body in the light of EU law by the European Court of Justice - and the referral to the CJEU for a preliminary ruling. Just such "offenses" were committed by judge Niklas-Bibik. For these actions, the president of her court, Andrzej Michałowicz - the husband of a member of the new KRS, Joanna Kołodziej-Michałowicz, was promoted by the will of Zbigniew Ziobro, suspended her for a month.

During the suspension, the judges appointed by Ziobro, the judge's discipline commissioners applied to the Disciplinary Chamber of the Supreme Court for its suspension for an indefinite period of time for the duration of the disciplinary proceedings. This tool is convenient because such a procedure has no time limits, so in fact it can last as long as you like.

Examples? Judge Igor Tuleya suspended by this chamber has not worked for over a year , and judge Paweł Juszczyszyn has been removed from his duties for almost two years . Meanwhile, the suspended judges are usually deprived of a part of their remuneration, and without the possibility of returning to work, they face the prospect of permanent dismissal - because the Disciplinary Chamber of the Supreme Court also has such powers. The chamber which - as we wrote above - has been declared illegal by both the European Court of Justice and the European Court of Human Rights , i.e. the two most important courts of the EU and the Council of Europe.

This chamber formally, after the judgment of the Grand Chamber of the CJEU of 15 July 2021, should immediately freeze its activities - however, its partial suspension took place only in August, when the First President of the Supreme Court, Prof. Małgorzata Manowska issued orders significantly limiting the work of the Disciplinary Chamber. The ordinances expired on November 15, and a day later, on November 16, President Manowska once again - until January 2022 - suspended the operation of this chamber.

The hearing concerning the possible suspension of judge Niklas-Bibik's duties did not take place, because the files of this case were received - at the request of prof. Manowska - at her disposal. - The files were handed over to the First President of the Supreme Court with the arguments that this case was not covered by the CJEU ruling. The first president analyzes the arguments presented to her - said Onet spokesman of the Supreme Court, Aleksander Stępkowski. - And the President of the Supreme Court has long demanded the return of cases that were received and transferred to the Disciplinary Chamber for registration and return. Today, this much earlier call was fulfilled by the Disciplinary Chamber, he emphasized.

Let us remind you once again that the CJEU demands the liquidation of the Disciplinary Chamber of the Supreme Court, and the ECtHR also considers it illegal. The problem is that the official narrative of the Polish government did not recognize these judgments of European tribunals - although as a member of both the EU and the Council of Europe it is obliged to do so. The judgments of the politically subordinate Constitutional Tribunal , which tries to weaken the significance of the judgments of these tribunals through its decisions, are to serve as the "pseudo-alibi" for this disregard of the judgments of the European tribunals. Only that this tool in the form of a decision of the Polish Constitutional Tribunal - which the president of the ruling party's head called his "social discovery" - is not recognized by anyone in the European arena. Among other things, becauseIn the judgment of Xero Flor v. Poland, the ECtHR explicitly stated that all decisions of the Polish Constitutional Tribunal issued with the participation of double judges, i.e. persons elected to places already occupied, have no legal force, they are judgments that simply do not exist in international legal transactions .

Meanwhile, in cases concerning judgments of European tribunals, a significant part of decisions in the Polish Constitutional Tribunal is made in full bench. Which means participation in the panel of judges as many as three "doubles". The presence of at least one of them makes such a verdict in Europe a "non-judgment" or a verdict that simply does not exist.

What's next? Only worse, the Polish Titanic flows to the Polexit iceberg
In view of the constantly weakening United Right polls, the ubiquitous price tag and rampant inflation, and the records of deaths due to the coronavirus pandemic, which the rulers try to ignore, the authorities may decide to take radical steps in the courts to divert attention from the widespread collapse of moods in society. Except that the plans for further changes in the courts, announced by Zbigniew Ziobro and publicly approved by the PiS president - i.e. flattening their structure - are a road to nowhere, because the European Commission will immediately react to such changes. And this one has a powerful mechanism that allows Poland to withhold the money owed to it under the new financial perspective for 2021-2027.

The decision on the use of the so-called The conditionality mechanism, i.e. the principle of "money for the rule of law", was adopted by the leaders of EU countries in December 2020. Also then, decisions were made on the EU budget for 2021-2027. Poland, which Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki boasted about in the government's campaign in the spring of 2021, was to receive a record EUR 770 billion from the EU.

These are both the funds that were to be allocated to Poland under the Post-Vid Reconstruction Fund (EUR 58.1 billion, i.e. about PLN 270 billion) , as well as funds allocated to the member states under the standard financial perspectives (for Poland it is nearly EUR 108 billion, i.e. about PLN 440 billion). PLN billion).

The problem is that these measures in the case of Poland are currently under serious threat. Especially since the Advocate General of the CJEU issued an opinion at the beginning of December 2021 that the application of the conditionality mechanism by the European Commission is fully compliant with EU law . This means that if this opinion of the spokesman is shared by the entire judiciary of the CJEU, which almost always happens, the European Commission will be able to suspend funds for Poland.

However, the rulers of the Vistula River have already "turned away" - or they thought that they had dealt a serious blow to Europe. Well, it turned out that the Polish prosecutor's office - led by Ziobro - would investigate whether the CJEU judges had committed a crime.The Warsaw public prosecutor's office registered a procedure in which investigators are to investigate whether judges from the European Court of Justice committed no crimes when they misjudged the state of the Polish rule of law in their judgments. - A grotesque situation, like in Bareja - judge Dariusz Mazur, spokesman of the Themis Association told Onet. - If in fact someone instituted proceedings on such grounds, I would not consider it in legal terms, in psychological and psychiatric terms - he added. - It seems that someone in this country has been given too much power and is trying to fulfill his obsession with moving Poland out of the EU. This authority is not enough to do this. However, it is certainly large enough to achieve a high degree of self-compromise, he emphasized.

When we add to this, at least surprising information about the activities of the Polish prosecutor's office, the fact that the Constitutional Tribunal led by Julia Przyłębska is to investigate whether the CJEU has the right to impose financial penalties on Poland (based on a motion to the Constitutional Tribunal by Zbigniew Ziobro), it becomes clear that the Polish it can bet on a sharp confrontation course with Brussels. And this is only one way - to polexit . Unfortunately, it is treated not as a bogeyman, but a real threat in a situation where the Union suspends payments to Poland under the conditionality mechanism.

Magdalena Gałczyńska