The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has today accepted complaints concerning Fr. Michał Olszewski and the Justice Fund, specifically regarding the abandonment of the Random Case Assignment System in the Warsaw District Court and the improper appointment of Poland’s National Prosecutor. The very fact that attorney Michał Skwarzyński’s complaints were accepted means that the ECHR has agreed with his argument about the “systemic violation of law in Poland.”
These complaints mark the next stage in the fight for Fr. Olszewski’s right to a fair trial. The ECHR had previously accepted complaints pointing to procedural flaws, including limitations on the right to defense. Today, the filing of further complaints has also ended in success.
“The new complaints are particularly important because they concern the entire issue of the National Prosecutor — namely, who actually holds this position, which is currently Mr. Dariusz Barski. I demonstrated before the ECHR that on 12 January 2024, Mr. Bilewicz could not, according to Adam Bodnar himself, have been appointed to the National Prosecutor’s Office, and thus could not have become acting National Prosecutor, nor appoint Korneluk to that office. Therefore, Korneluk also cannot be the National Prosecutor. This triggers massive legal problems that we, as lawyers, will soon face in Poland — problems concerning operational surveillance, extensions of investigations handled by National Prosecutor’s Office officials, as well as the promotions and ‘demotions’ carried out by Adam Bodnar and now Waldemar Żurek,” attorney Skwarzyński told Telewizja Republika, explaining the matter.
Another complaint concerns the Warsaw District Court and judges Magdalena Wójcik and Justyna Koska-Janusz.
“I demonstrated that what Adam Bodnar did with the Warsaw District Court — namely, abandoning the actual RCAS (Random Case Assignment System), creating special sections, and in a short time delegating many judges to the District Court so that the Justice Fund case would land in the hands of a delegated judge — meant there was no random assignment in this case. The judge was simply hand-picked. This matter has also been accepted for examination,” Skwarzyński said.
He stressed that in both cases he referred to the principles of so-called “militant democracy,” which Donald Tusk had publicly spoken about. “It is in this spirit that the violation of the law should be assessed — it is systemic in Poland,” Skwarzyński emphasized, adding that the ECHR apparently agreed with this line of reasoning.
“I would remind you that Waldemar Żurek is now unhappy with the Venice Commission, because it no longer issues opinions in line with the ‘will of the judging people of the towns and villages,’ that is, Iustitia. Perhaps that’s because the Venice Commission has finally received an accurate translation of the Polish constitution and laws, instead of a manipulated one. It may now be the case that we will not comply with ECHR judgments and with cases sent there in this way,” attorney Skwarzyński also said.