“It appears that my work in the National Council of the Judiciary (KRS) is a thorn in Minister Waldemar Żurek’s side, but he cannot admit it because doing so would mean questioning his own colleagues and common sense,” Dr. Łukasz Piebiak told Niezalezna.pl. The judge was suspended from his judicial duties today by Justice Minister Waldemar Żurek. As the president of the Lawyers for Poland Association emphasized, the decision will have no impact on his work within the KRS.
“I have decided to immediately remove Judge Łukasz Piebiak from his judicial duties due to the extraordinary gravity of the allegations he is suspected of. His continued work would undermine the authority of the District Court for the Capital City of Warsaw and harm essential interests of the service. Therefore, it was necessary to immediately prevent Judge Piebiak from handling court proceedings and dealing with citizens,” Żurek explained in a post on X.
One of the cases mentioned in the statement concerns the so-called “hate scandal,” which was publicized by certain media outlets back in 2019. Since then, no one has been charged. Why, then, did the Minister of Justice make this decision now, immediately after Judge Piebiak’s election to the KRS?
“The only thing that has changed is that on Thursday I began performing my duties in the National Council of the Judiciary. I participated in a meeting attended by Mr. Żurek. Today I continued my work together with other KRS members, and Minister Żurek was also present. That is the only new development,” Judge Piebiak pointed out while appearing on a program hosted by Tomasz Sakiewicz on Telewizja Republika.
Another case allegedly concerns a forged will. Here as well, nothing new has emerged. In fact, Niezalezna.pl reported extensively on the matter many months ago.
Speaking to Niezalezna.pl, Judge Piebiak commented on Żurek’s decision.
“Nothing has happened in my private or professional life recently that could justify such a reaction. Two cases from the past were cited, one of them from the distant past, which means that nothing new has been found. However, it seems that something did happen, but it could not be cited as grounds for suspension. How could Minister Żurek write in the suspension order that I had participated in the work of the KRS? If he suspended me simply for taking part in KRS activities, he would effectively be saying that the new KRS is illegal. But his own colleagues sit there, so he could not say that,” he explained.
“It appears that my work in the KRS is a thorn in Minister Waldemar Żurek’s side, but he cannot admit it because he would then be questioning his own colleagues and common sense,” the judge stressed.
Importantly, Piebiak’s suspension as a judge of the District Court for the Capital City of Warsaw has no effect on his role within the National Council of the Judiciary.
“I am unable to perform adjudicative duties. I deal with consumer bankruptcy cases, so people seeking debt relief who already have hearings scheduled will ‘thank’ Mr. Żurek, because no one will take over those cases, read the files, and issue decisions in such a short period of time. Most likely, the hearings will be postponed and the cases will be decided when I return after the suspension,” Judge Piebiak told Niezalezna.pl.
The Lawyers for Poland Association also issued a statement emphasizing that “the Minister of Justice has no authority to interfere with the personal composition of the National Council of the Judiciary through the instrumental application of Article 130 of the Law on the Organization of Common Courts.”
“If a decision concerns a member of the KRS, its effects must be interpreted strictly. Otherwise, the executive branch would gain an indirect mechanism for influencing the composition of a constitutional body tasked with safeguarding the independence of courts and judges,” the statement added.