Krystian Markiewicz stated that, following his election by the Sejm as a judge of the Constitutional Tribunal, he had resigned from his position as a judge of a common court, namely the District Court in Katowice. He said he had done so “so that there would be no slightest doubts, so that everything would be 100 percent clean”. However, information obtained by TV Republika suggests that… the court knows nothing about it.
Markiewicz has finally resigned from his position as a common court judge
Krystian Markiewicz and Anna Korwin-Piotrowska, who took the “oath” before the Sejm without the presence of the President, are active judges. Until now, Markiewicz served as a judge of the District Court in Katowice, while Korwin-Piotrowska was the President of the District Court in Opole.
According to the law, both should have resigned from their status as common court judges no later than the day they took the oath. Markiewicz claims he only did so now. He spoke about the details on Polish Radio.
“Yes, I resigned from the position of a judge of a common court, the District Court in Katowice”, he stated in response to a question. He added that he did so “so that there would be no slightest doubts, so that everything would be 100 percent clean”.
Did Markiewicz mislead the public?
Meanwhile, according to information reported by TV Republika, it appears that Markiewicz may not have told the truth. The station’s journalist Konrad Wąż sent an inquiry to the District Court in Katowice regarding the judge’s current status. The response indicates that the President of the District Court in Kraków “has no knowledge” of his resignation.
“By order of the President of the District Court in Katowice, Judge Agata Stankiewicz-Rataj, I kindly inform you that the President has no knowledge of Judge Krystian Markiewicz resigning from his position as a judge of a common court, apart from media reports. She has requested information from the Ministry of Justice and is awaiting a response”, the reply stated.
Head of the National Council of the Judiciary: No statement from Markiewicz has been received so far
The Chair of the National Council of the Judiciary stated yesterday that the Council “has not received from the Ministry of Justice any statement from Krystian Markiewicz regarding his resignation from the position of a judge of the District Court in Katowice”. She also recalled that “according to Minister Żurek, he was supposed to submit this statement on Monday”.
Korwin-Piotrowska does not intend to resign
Another judge elected to the Constitutional Tribunal, who has also not been allowed to begin her duties – and who previously held a position in a common court – Anna Korwin-Piotrowska stated in a letter to the Minister of Justice on Tuesday that she does not intend to resign from her office. In her view, there has been an “implicit termination” of that position – along with her “effective assumption” of the office of a Constitutional Tribunal judge.
As justification, she pointed out that Article 98 §2 of the Law on the System of Common Courts “undoubtedly does not cover election to the position of a Constitutional Tribunal judge, just as it does not cover appointment to the position of a judge of the Supreme Court or the Supreme Administrative Court”. According to her, the organizational and systemic distinctiveness of the Constitutional Tribunal does not differ “from the distinctiveness of the Supreme Court and the Supreme Administrative Court”, and the information she obtained indicates that judges previously serving in common courts who were appointed to the Supreme Court or the Supreme Administrative Court “did not resign” from their positions in common courts.
This provision states that a judge who has been appointed, nominated, or elected to perform functions in, among others, state authorities, local government, or in the diplomatic or consular service is “obliged to resign immediately from their office, unless they retire”.