An analysis of an enormous body of evidence, over fifty hearings, and a trial that lasted five years and cost a fortune – finally ended with a guilty verdict. However, all this work may now go down the drain, and the ruling will likely be thrown out. Because some judges are undermining the authority of others – to the delight of the accused!
“We are cleaning up the system after years of chaos. We are rebuilding trust in the courts and the prosecutor’s office,” claimed the Ministry of Justice. But how much does this populism have to do with reality? As proof, consider an outrageous case that contradicts the narrative promoted by the ministry led by Waldemar Żurek.
It concerns a scandal that took place in Olsztyn between 2007 and 2013 – when Poland was governed by the Civic Platform (PO) and Polish People’s Party (PSL) coalition, with Donald Tusk as prime minister. Prosecutors charged the suspects with crimes involving sums counted in hundreds of thousands of złoty, including causing financial losses to local government institutions in Warmia and Mazury.
The indictment reached the District Court in Olsztyn in June 2019. The trial proved complex and lengthy. Importantly, it was held before a single judge – Bartłomiej Gadecki.
“A total of 60 hearings were held. The verdict was delivered on December 23, 2024,” reported Judge Adam Barczak, spokesperson for the Olsztyn court. He also shared the judgment’s summary. The three defendants were found guilty – one was sentenced to one and a half years in prison, two received suspended sentences, and all were ordered to repair the damage, meaning they had to return the money.
Since the defense attorneys appealed the verdict, the case files went to the Court of Appeal in Białystok. And there – as we have learned – it is highly probable that the verdict will be overturned. Not because of any errors in the evaluation of evidence, but because earlier, the same appellate court had annulled another judgment involving Judge Gadecki, solely due to the “improper composition of the adjudicating panel.” Gadecki had participated in the selection process before the National Council of the Judiciary (KRS) and, according to “defenders of the rule of law,” is counted among the so-called “neo-judges.”
Will the same fate befall the verdict mentioned here? Most likely, yes.
“The case has been scheduled for a session on October 29, 2025, at 10:30 a.m., to consider a decision under Article 439 §1 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, due to the fact that all appeals raised the allegation of an absolute appellate cause stemming from the improper composition of the adjudicating panel in the first instance, which included Judge Bartłomiej Gadecki,” said Judge Halina Czaban, spokesperson for the Białystok Court of Appeal and the reporting judge in this case.
This scenario is all the more plausible since she has already participated in panels that overturned other verdicts for the same reason – for instance, one sentencing a Latvian driver to four years in prison for smuggling 68 kilograms of hashish. “This defect falls into the category of absolute appellate causes,” Judge Czaban said at the time in her justification.
In other words, the die seems to be cast.