It was not a good day for Waldemar Żurek and his ministry. First, Judge Dariusz Łubowski lifted the European Arrest Warrant against Marcin Romanowski, pointing to political pressure in the case, and later it emerged that from 1 January 2026 many centres awaiting funding under the Justice Fund will not receive money because officials are afraid to make decisions. This was discussed today by journalists from TV Republika on the programme “Rewolwer”.
Yesterday, attorney Bartosz Lewandowski announced that the court had lifted the European Arrest Warrant against Marcin Romanowski. In the reasoning, Judge Dariusz Łubowski shared the view of attorney Lewandowski that political pressure had been exerted in the case.
“This is unlawful proceedings, as it violates the most fundamental human rights of all accused persons, namely the presumption of innocence. These are actions that devastate the image of the Polish justice system domestically and, what is most important in this case, also on the international stage,” we read in the justification.
Judge Łubowski also emphasised that “the situation currently prevailing in the Polish state can be classified as a cryptodictatorship.”
The ruling by Judge Łubowski and what is happening in the Polish justice system were discussed in the TV Republika studio by journalists from the station. “To say that this is a disgrace for all those Żureks, Bodnars and Tusks, the authors of this mess, is to say nothing,” said programme director Michał Rachoń.
“This is basically a bunch of incompetents. The disgrace is even greater when we look at the judge who issued this ruling. Judge Łubowski is the judge who did not agree to extradite to Germany a Ukrainian suspected of blowing up the Nord Stream gas pipeline. Even Prime Minister Tusk commented on his decision and said that there are independent courts in Poland and we must respect their rulings. And now the ruling is not convenient for Donald Tusk, so it starts that this judge has to be taken out, because he is some ‘PiS guy’ in a robe, not a judge,” stated Jarosław Olechowski.
Editor Katarzyna Gójska drew attention to one fragment of Judge Łubowski’s reasoning.
“The judge points out that Hungary followed the entire formal path required under European Union law to grant asylum and then notify it, and no one challenged this. So this granting of asylum is currently binding law in the European Union,” she stressed. Ewa Bugała, in turn, pointed to the scandal related to the Justice Fund. “Many centres will cease operations from 1 January because officials are afraid to make decisions,” said Ewa Bugała.
Paralysis of the Justice Fund
Lawyer Adam Gomoła described on the X service the backstage of the Ministry of Justice’s actions concerning competitions for assistance to victims from the Justice Fund. As he indicated, the ministry hired an external company for an amount approaching nearly one million zlotys to handle the evaluation of applications in the aid competitions.
“And finally the hit – they tried to involve Ms Karolina, my client, a former official, in the work of evaluating applications by sending her an email with an offer,” added Gomoła.
Katarzyna Gójska pointed out that officials reacted with common sense in this matter.
“Even when officials act correctly, they may still face consequences, and that is why no one signs off on it,” she added.
Ewa Bugała, for her part, pointed to the reason why subsequent competitions under the Justice Fund are allegedly not being announced.
“The ministry has too many obligations related to settling irregularities in the Fund from the period when the ministry was headed by Zbigniew Ziobro and Marcin Romanowski,” she quoted the response of the Ministry of Justice.