Tragicomic standards of the Polish-German seminar on the judiciary – on both sides of the Oder. The event will be attended by prominent “defenders of the rule of law,” including Deputy Minister Dariusz Mazur and the head of Iustiti Bartłomiej Przymusiński. At first, the organizers accepted the application of a judge who had previously criticized the harassment of colleagues appointed after 2018 to deliver a paper. They probably overlooked this major mistake, but when they realized that words might be spoken that did not quite fit the narrative – the judge was stripped of her paper!
On Monday, in Wustrau, Germany, a Polish-German seminar is scheduled to take place on the issue of the rule of law from the perspective of the needs and expectations of the judiciary and law enforcement, organized by the National School of Judiciary and Public Prosecution (KSSiP) in cooperation with the German Judicial Academy.
The Polish-German discussions are to focus on the rule of law in Poland in the years 2015-2023, that is, during the rule of Law and Justice. It is not hard to guess what the narrative will be.
Among the speakers are, among others, Judge Justyna Koska-Janusz, head of Iustitia Bartłomiej Przymusiński, and Deputy Minister of Justice Dariusz Mazur. Yes, Judge Mazur will be talking about “the rule of law in Poland after the 2023 elections,” while Przymusiński, together with a German judge, will deliver a paper titled “Judicial independence in light of the latest case law of the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg – implementation in Germany and Poland.” The deadline for submitting applications for participation in the conference expired in the second half of August. Judge Monika Smusz-Kulesza, a board member of the National Association of Judges Aequitas, also applied. She had previously repeatedly said outright that judges participating in the procedure before the National Council of the Judiciary (KRS) after 2017 were subjected to harassment.
On September 1, Judge Monika Smusz-Kulesza was entrusted with preparing a paper on “The selection of Supreme Court judges in Poland.” The paper was prepared, and Judge Smusz-Kulesza informed the Polish organizers of the training. It was probably then that someone realized it was to be delivered by a judge belonging to a group whose opinions might not please the leaders of the “defenders of the rule of law” and might not fit the narrative imposed at the seminar.
At that point, it was decided… to take the paper away from her. The pretext – “program changes.”
The topic was reassigned to Supreme Court Judge Bohdan Bieniek. He is unlikely to surprise the organizers.