“I am filing a notification of a suspected crime committed by the Prosecutor General and Minister of Justice Waldemar Żurek”, Dariusz Matecki, an MP from Law and Justice (PiS), announced on social media. The politician admitted that in his view “we are dealing with an attempt to use the prosecution service for a political attack on people associated with the President of the Republic of Poland”.
Waldemar Żurek, the Minister of Justice, announced that he had instructed the prosecution to initiate criminal proceedings, among others, against employees of the Chancellery of the President of the Republic of Poland who advised President Karol Nawrocki not to receive the oaths of office from judges of the Constitutional Tribunal elected by the Sejm.
Żurek was asked at a press conference about the situation of four Constitutional Tribunal judges who took what he described as a “pseudo-oath” last Thursday in the Sejm in the presence of a notary. Responding to the question, the head of the Ministry of Justice emphasized that he expects these individuals to do “everything that is legally possible” in order to begin performing their duties as judges of the Tribunal.
He also stated that the president, as well as officials, employees, and other advisers working in his chancellery, may have failed to fulfill their duties. The president’s circle has already commented on Waldemar Żurek’s announcements.
Matecki notifies prosecutors
Dariusz Matecki, an MP from Law and Justice (PiS), announced today that he is filing a “notification of a suspected crime committed by the Prosecutor General and Minister of Justice Waldemar Żurek”.
“In my assessment, we are dealing with an attempt to use the prosecution service for a political attack on people associated with the President of the Republic of Poland. Żurek publicly announced that he had ordered the initiation of proceedings against employees of the President’s Chancellery and individuals advising the president on the matter of Constitutional Tribunal judges’ oaths. Meanwhile, merely advising the head of state on constitutional and legal matters is not a crime. It is a normal element of the functioning of the President’s Chancellery”, he explained.
As he emphasized: “the prosecution service cannot be turned into a tool of pressure against officials and the president’s associates. One cannot threaten criminal proceedings for legal opinions and participation in the decision-making process of the head of state. Under the pretext of ‘rule of law’, one cannot prosecute the opposition and the president’s circle”.
“Therefore, I am submitting a notification of a suspected crime under Article 238 of the Penal Code – false reporting of a crime. If someone sets the machinery of prosecution in motion despite the fact that no prohibited act has occurred, such a case must be settled”, Matecki wrote on platform X.
Article 238 [False reporting of a crime]
Whoever reports a crime, or a fiscal offense, to a law enforcement authority knowing that no such crime has been committed, shall be subject to a fine, restriction of liberty, or imprisonment of up to 2 years.
As the MP added – “a state governed by the rule of law cannot operate according to the political revenge of Tusk and his people. The prosecution should pursue real crimes (e.g., the Polnord case?), not carry out political orders”.