The appointment—or refusal to appoint—a judge is a constitutional prerogative of the president. I think it’s good that such a decision has now been made. I also like the approach President Karol Nawrocki intends to take in assessing candidates for judicial promotions, said Dagmara Pawełczyk-Woicka, Chairwoman of the National Council of the Judiciary (KRS), in an interview with Niezalezna.pl.
President Karol Nawrocki announced on Wednesday that he had refused to nominate 46 judges.
“This is not just a verbal signal, but a concrete decision—to withhold nominations. I will also not promote judges who question the constitutional and legal order of the Republic of Poland—those who listen to the bad counsel of Justice Minister Waldemar Żurek, who encourages judges to undermine that order,” the president said.
Niezalezna.pl asked the head of the KRS for her comment on the president’s decision.
“Appointing or refusing to appoint a judge is the president’s prerogative. This stems from rulings of the Constitutional Tribunal. The candidates in question have been in a state of limbo for many years, as President Andrzej Duda had neither appointed them nor refused to appoint them. I believe it’s good that a decision has now been made—at least these individuals will finally have clarity about their situation.
I also appreciate President Nawrocki’s statement about how he intends to assess judicial promotion candidates. He indicated that he might not look favorably on judges who are excluded from cases merely because they were appointed after 2017,” Dagmara Pawełczyk-Woicka told Niezalezna.pl.
The presidential decree refusing the nominations of 46 judges should be published without delay in the Monitor Polski (the official gazette), said Presidential Chief of Staff Zbigniew Bogucki on Wednesday. He emphasized that the publication of the president’s decree is a legal obligation of the government.