Every government that decides to accommodate these judicial castes will, sooner or later, pay the price for it. If today’s government, if Minister Waldemar Żurek thinks they are going hand in hand, there will come a moment when this judicial caste will corner the political power — said Judge Przemysław Radzik, the lawful Vice President of the Court of Appeal in Poznań, speaking today in the Sejm.
On Wednesday, the Sejm hosted a meeting of the Parliamentary Team for Combating Lawlessness — Safe Poland. Invited judges spoke about how the politicization of the judiciary affects court rulings in practice. Minister of Justice Waldemar Żurek declined the invitation.
Judge Przemysław Radzik, the lawful Vice President of the Poznań Court of Appeal and Deputy Disciplinary Spokesman for Common Court Judges, shared a shocking account of his work at the Court of Appeal in Poznań.
“Questioning a judge’s status within the Polish legal system is entirely illegal. I won’t quote the provisions, I’ll just mention Articles 9d, 42a §1 and §2, and 55 §6 — they prohibit courts from questioning state authorities or the appointment of a judge. And according to Article 55, ‘the circumstances of a judge’s appointment cannot constitute grounds for overturning a verdict,’” he began.
He emphasized that “such actions constitute grounds for disciplinary responsibility.”
“There is a legal provision that penalizes actions aimed at questioning a judge’s status,” he added, pointing to the Law on the Organization of Common Courts.
He said he was appointed Vice President of the Poznań Court of Appeal on June 5, 2023, for a six-year term, but in practice, his work there ended in January 2024, when Minister Adam Bodnar unlawfully dismissed him.
“Formally, I still hold the position, but in practice, I don’t. There are now usurpers — Mr. Karol Ratajczak and Mr. Krzysztof Lewandowski,” he noted. He admitted that “those seven months were a good school of life.”
“Anyone unfamiliar with the Poznań judicial environment doesn’t know what judges there are capable of doing to another judge. Judge Mateusz Bartoszek, President of the Court of Appeal, experienced it most — in December 2023, a group of senior judges broke into his office and, using unlawful threats, tried to force him to resign. A criminal complaint was filed, but the prosecution refused to open an investigation,” Radzik recounted.
He continued:
“The Poznań environment is extremely tight-knit. To put it simply — Judge Bartoszek and I had the entire court against us. Nothing could be resolved; communication through normal channels was impossible. When I first arrived at the court, two senior judges came to me and made me an offer I couldn’t refuse — they said they would acknowledge my presence there, but I wouldn’t be allowed to rule in appellate cases or three-judge panels. I don’t give in to blackmail, and it’s my duty to adjudicate — so of course I refused.”
He reminded that he was the first court president to be dismissed.
“That’s because together with Judge Bartoszek, we prepared a reform of the court. We had already drafted documents dismissing the heads of divisions — that’s where all the ‘evil’ came from. They made sure we were removed as quickly as possible,” said Judge Radzik.
He stressed that “there are no random people in the criminal division.”
“These are carefully chosen, handpicked individuals. In Poznań, the concept of a ‘dissenting opinion’ practically doesn’t exist. I dare say that the more high-profile a case is, the more sensational the ruling — the more certain it is that ‘we will overturn it, because we, the caste, will show who’s in charge. We don’t care about the law, the citizen, or the state — things will go our way,’” he explained.
He warned that “every government that tries to appease these judicial castes will sooner or later pay for it.”
“If today’s government, if Minister Waldemar Żurek thinks they are walking hand in hand, there will come a moment when they turn against the political authorities and corner them,” he said, referring to the Ministry of Justice’s leadership.
He concluded:
“There is also Judge Piotr Michalski in the Poznań Court of Appeal — the same one who took part in issuing a ruling in a sexual offender’s case. This is a judge who was nominated and went through the procedure before the current National Council of the Judiciary (KRS). The claim that the KRS is illegal, etc., is just a pretext — fairy tales. ‘If he’s one of ours, we accept him. We’ll sit with him on three-judge panels, we’ll rule with him, even make him a vice-chairman of the division. If you have our stamp of approval, you’re accepted’ — that’s how it works. The 2017 law changed that. That’s why there’s this war — over who will rule and direct the judiciary. This is why the caste cannot forgive the KRS for acting lawfully, transparently, and legally.”