The National Prosecutor’s Office has filed motions with the Supreme Court to lift the immunity of Judges Piotr Schab, Przemysław Radzik, and Michał Lasota. It is not the first – and likely not the last – but this time the justification is particularly surprising: alleged persistent harassment of former judge, now Minister of Justice, Waldemar Żurek.
The case concerns, among other things, disciplinary proceedings related to rulings issued in Kraków at times when the judge may have been staying, for example, in Kyiv or Germany. The situation is all the more unusual because – as Niezalezna.pl has established – the same prosecutor’s office is still conducting an investigation initiated by the disciplinary spokespersons regarding precisely those doubts.
Investigation into Żurek’s Rulings
In July last year, Niezalezna.pl revealed that the Internal Affairs Department of the National Prosecutor’s Office had launched an investigation to clarify the circumstances surrounding dozens of rulings issued with the participation of Waldemar Żurek, then a judge of the Regional Court in Kraków and today Minister of Justice and Prosecutor General.
“It concerns certification of untruth in documents in the form of rulings of the Regional Court in Kraków by an identified judge of that court – in particular with regard to the date of issuance of the rulings,” confirmed at the time Prosecutor Przemysław Nowak, spokesperson for the National Prosecutor’s Office.
The investigation is a consequence of a notification submitted by the disciplinary spokespersons.
Prosecutors Target the Judges
Therefore, the information from mid-January this year was surprising: the Internal Affairs Department of the National Prosecutor’s Office submitted motions to the Professional Responsibility Chamber of the Supreme Court seeking to lift the immunity of Judges Piotr Schab, Przemysław Radzik, and Michał Lasota. Article 190a of the Criminal Code – concerning “persistent harassment” – was cited, along with Article 212 – defamation.
A fragment of the motion was quoted by the outlet Oko.press:
“(…) persistently harassed former judge of the Regional Court in Kraków Waldemar Żurek by unjustifiably initiating disciplinary proceedings against him, thereby causing him a justified sense of threat, humiliation and distress, and significantly violating his privacy.”
One of the cases referred to was precisely the disciplinary proceedings concerning rulings issued by Judge Żurek.
Prosecution and the Minister’s Comfort
“The prosecution is demonstrating that it is an institution subordinated to ensuring the well-being and comfort of the Minister of Justice,” Judge Piotr Schab told Niezalezna.pl. The legally appointed Chief Disciplinary Spokesperson for Ordinary Court Judges emphasized: “We relied on documents. Importantly, positively verified by a court.”
Judge Schab expressed astonishment that the prosecution initiated proceedings on its own motion regarding alleged defamation of its superior.
“Juxtaposing the public interest – which the prosecution is supposed to safeguard – with Waldemar Żurek’s peaceful functioning in office is absurd. It proves that the prosecution today is an institution completely destroyed, subordinated to the current, mindlessly emphasized political will,” he explained.
He also recalled: “One of the first actions of the illegally operating disciplinary spokespersons of the Minister of Justice was to take over this case and derail it.”
“This is also proof that there has been a disgraceful fusion of private interest – indeed of sheer self-interest understood as an undeserved political position – with the actions of state authorities,” he added.
“We are able to immediately prove that we were right, even if someone destroys the documents,” the Chief Disciplinary Spokesperson stated.
Continuation of Repression
Judge Radzik assesses the latest motion to lift immunity unequivocally: “a continuation of the repression that the political authorities have been conducting against the lawful spokespersons for at least two years.”
“Accusing me of mobbing to the detriment of Waldemar Żurek is absurd,” he stressed. “Attempting to accuse a disciplinary spokesperson of persistently harassing Waldemar Żurek because he conducted disciplinary proceedings against him is like prosecuting a bailiff for carrying out enforcement proceedings against a debtor who evaded payment. This is a new ‘quality’ of prosecutorial action.”
“The prosecution alleges that we initiated groundless disciplinary proceedings against Żurek when he was still a judge. Yet most of those cases were groundlessly discontinued by the ad hoc spokespersons of the Minister of Justice. The court will therefore have to examine whether those proceedings were indeed groundless. That is when things will become very interesting,” Judge Radzik told Niezalezna.pl. “Perhaps the prosecution did not take that into account.”
The Investigation Continues!
What about the investigation mentioned at the outset concerning Żurek’s rulings? Questions were sent in January, but TV Republika and Niezalezna.pl waited four weeks for a response. It finally arrived.
“The proceedings under reference number 1001-14.Ds.3.2025 are ongoing,” Prosecutor Nowak informed.
“I have no grounds to assess whether there is or is not any contradiction between the proceedings,” stated the spokesperson of the National Prosecutor’s Office.
“However, it is nothing extraordinary for the prosecution to conduct two or more proceedings concerning the same or related events if notifications were submitted by opposing parties,” he explained.
Judges Surprised
“A complete absurdity,” Judge Schab assessed. “They would prefer that the case not proceed at all, but only that the public hear that one, a second, a third immunity motion has been filed against us. That is what matters most to them.”
Judge Radzik was also surprised by the information about the ongoing investigation:
“How can one simultaneously conduct proceedings against spokespersons for initiating proceedings in exactly the same scope? It is illogical and ridiculous. It only confirms the thesis that this is an element of repression applied by the political authorities.”
“It should not be forgotten that the prosecution submitted the motion to the Supreme Court at a time when its current superior is Waldemar Żurek,” emphasized the lawful Deputy Chief Disciplinary Spokesperson. “In one of his media statements, Mr. Żurek announced that he would not let Radzik off the hook. He is fulfilling that declaration.”
Every Stick Has Two Ends…
“I am calm, because I did my job well. I maintain – and will continue to maintain – that Waldemar Żurek certified untruth in court rulings. He could not have been in Kraków if he was in Kyiv, Germany, or Warsaw. The evidence is so strong that it cannot be refuted, regardless of what Mr. Żurek and his acolytes say,” Judge Radzik emphasized.
During any potential trial of the disciplinary spokespersons, it will be necessary, among other things, to analyze where Żurek actually was when the ruling was issued – in Kraków or Kyiv. Was this not taken into account?
“I represent the view that Mr. Żurek has subjected very few of the things he does to deep reflection. He is a man who diminishes – indeed compromises – the office,” Judge Schab concluded.