“Police are always present wherever something potentially problematic may occur, as part of preventive measures. We do not rule out such action, especially since there has already been enough theatrics surrounding the president’s refusal to accept the oath, which he is obliged to do,” announced Tomasz Szymański, Deputy Minister of the Interior and Administration, when asked about a possible police presence during the illegal swearing-in of judges in the Sejm.
On Thursday at 12:30 p.m., four candidates elected as judges of the Constitutional Tribunal—but not sworn in by President Karol Nawrocki—are set to take an “oath” in the Sejm before Speaker Włodzimierz Czarzasty. This act will be invalid, as under Polish law Constitutional Tribunal judges must take their oath before the President of the Republic of Poland.
Yesterday, in an interview with the Niezalezna.pl portal, Deputy Head of the Presidential Chancellery Adam Andruszkiewicz stated that President Karol Nawrocki would not take part in the parliamentary event.
This morning, Head of the Presidential Chancellery Zbigniew Bogucki issued a statement on the matter:
“Overt and deliberate actions contrary to the law should be treated as a refusal to take the oath in the manner provided for in Article 4(1) of the Act on the Status of Constitutional Tribunal Judges. (…) Such a refusal produces the effect explicitly provided for in Article 4(2) of the aforementioned act, according to which refusal to take the oath is equivalent to resigning from the office of a Constitutional Tribunal judge.”
According to media reports, Speaker of the Sejm Włodzimierz Czarzasty is expected to attend the event, along with former presidents of the Constitutional Tribunal—except for Andrzej Rzepliński. It is also likely that following the events in the Sejm, the judges will proceed to the headquarters of the Constitutional Tribunal.
Police Will Also Be Present
Yesterday, the “Gazeta Polska” Clubs together with the Border Defense Movement announced a protest in front of the Sejm building. The demonstration is scheduled to begin at 12:00 p.m.
Speaking on Polish Radio 24, Deputy Minister Tomasz Szymański confirmed that police would be present at the scene.
“Police are always present wherever something potentially problematic may occur, as part of preventive measures. We do not rule out such action, especially since there has already been enough theatrics surrounding the president’s refusal to accept the oath, which he is obliged to do. He is essentially the final element that, in reality, adds nothing to the status of judges who have been lawfully appointed by the Sejm of the Republic of Poland,” said the deputy to Marcin Kierwiński.
When asked about the limits of police jurisdiction within the Constitutional Tribunal, he replied that it mainly concerns “securing the entire situation.” Pressed further by a journalist about a scenario in which the gate leading to the Tribunal’s headquarters is closed—and whether the Tribunal’s guard would have to open it for the police—he said he “would not speculate on what will happen.”
“There are certainly plans in place, but plans, by their nature, are not disclosed. Operational activities of the police—even in the case of facilitating access for lawfully elected Constitutional Tribunal judges—also exist. This falls under operational law and know-how, the so-called inner workings of the services,” he added.