Minister of Justice Waldemar Żurek announced that he will likely present, as early as next week, a draft law regulating the status of judges appointed between 2018 and 2025. The announcement provoked a sharp reaction from Supreme Court judge Kamil Zaradkiewicz.
According to the head of the Ministry of Justice, a draft law concerning the functioning of the National Council of the Judiciary is also in an advanced stage of preparation. Meanwhile, the spokesperson for the Prosecutor General’s Office recently reported that Minister Żurek had sent formal summonses to Supreme Court judges who had received their appointments through procedures before the National Council of the Judiciary was constituted after 2018. The current ruling camp derogatorily refers to these judges as “neo-judges,” regardless of their professional achievements, many of whom have long years of judicial experience.
“Nothing Will Come of It”
Supreme Court judge Kamil Zaradkiewicz sharply criticized the minister’s statements.
“The usurpers in robes keep drafting new legislative projects every six months, all of which boil down to eliminating the democratic standard of constitutional bodies and seizing control of the courts by a clique of cronies. Nothing will come of it, but of course, one has to justify somehow the salary received from the Prime Minister,” the judge wrote.
In a subsequent post, Zaradkiewicz went even further, suggesting what plans the ruling authorities might have concerning the Supreme Court.
“The squirrels are whispering that the regime’s collaborators are considering a ‘reset’ in the Supreme Court—sending all current judges into retirement and then, through the hands of a new National Council of the Judiciary in 2026, selecting or reinstating chosen comrades from the so-called ‘struggle for the rule of law,’” he wrote.