“We are entering an Orwellian era. This is not about me; it’s about the citizens. The terror of political power is terrifying,” says Judge Przemysław Radzik in an interview with Niezalezna.pl, commenting on the latest decision by Minister of Justice Adam Bodnar, which he made contrary to existing law.
Yesterday, the Ministry of Justice announced that Minister Bodnar had dismissed Judge Przemysław Radzik from his position as Deputy Disciplinary Officer for judges of common courts—with a bizarre rationale. They admitted that, in principle, he could not be dismissed, yet they chose to interpret the existing law differently. We asked Judge Radzik for his thoughts on this matter.
It was the “triggering impulse”
“They strike with whatever they have at hand! And that is a crowbar—lawlessness, tyranny, and ridiculous arguments. The same arguments used by the minister in his quasi-indictment have always been used,” he says in conversation with Niezalezna.pl, recalling that these very arguments were also used when he was dismissed from his position as Vice President of the Poznań Court of Appeal.
“The most humiliating charge against the minister is that I allegedly lost my attribute of independent character. They even stated I do not provide a guarantee for performing the job. This is the People’s Republic of Poland (PRL) all over again! That’s exactly how judges were dismissed during martial law—under the pretext that they do not provide a guarantee of proper service in the Polish People’s Republic,” Judge Radzik points out.
Which decision might have prompted Adam Bodnar’s action?
“A triggering impulse was that I launched preliminary investigations into the massive personal data leak at the Warsaw Court of Appeal. I reached out twice to the acting president of that court, who refused to share information, so on April 3 I issued a formal order under the Code of Criminal Procedure demanding that she produce the relevant documents. I think this caused Adam Bodnar to act as he did,” Judge Radzik tells us.
“There’s also the argument that I had the audacity to initiate preliminary steps regarding what was effectively a coup in the judiciary. And apparently I committed a host of other sins—they might as well have said I’m responsible for COVID!” he adds.
When asked whether this was Bodnar’s own decision or that of those around him, Judge Radzik replied that it was more about the influence of politicized judicial circles on the minister. “There was constant pressure; the judicial community demanded my dismissal.”
Radzik also revealed that Minister Adam Bodnar notified the National Council of the Judiciary (KRS) about the dismissal—even though he does not recognize the Council as a properly constituted body.
“We are entering Orwell’s time”
In his interview with Niezalezna.pl, Judge Przemysław Radzik offered a broader assessment of the current leadership at the Ministry of Justice. “There is no finesse or thinking there. It’s a ‘decorative plant’ ministry—the main idea is to put figureheads in the courts. One embarrassment follows another,” he said.
He added that the National Council of the Judiciary may deem Minister Bodnar’s decision ineffective, but some judges might not recognize that decision, since by some arbitrary principle they refuse to recognize the KRS. “I see what happened around convicted Cyba, Ms. Wójcik, earlier Father Olszewski, around the prosecutor’s office. The scale of lawlessness is shocking—it’s the rule of a tyrant! People do not see it yet, but they will,” he stressed.
“‘First Radzik, the KRS, and then they will come for you!’” the judge recalled, summing up, “We are entering a time of ongoing lawlessness. It’s not about me—it’s about the citizen. The terror of political power is terrifying.”