“Judges who have consciously politicized the justice system in recent years by aligning themselves with Donald Tusk’s project and supporting so-called ‘militant democracy’ cannot expect to keep their privileges,” argues Law and Justice (PiS) MP Michał Woś. In his view, “removing them from the profession with no right to retirement status is a necessary step.”
Reform of the justice system. PiS proposals
On October 24–25, the Law and Justice convention “Thinking Poland” (“Myśląc Polska”) is taking place in Katowice. For the purposes of the event, an extensive publication was prepared, containing the main program proposals of the largest opposition party. It includes articles by politicians and experts. A significant portion is devoted to the justice system.
In an article titled “A New State — The Constitutional Moment,” Przemysław Czarnek stressed that “the farce of certain judicial and political circles refusing to recognize bodies such as the National Council of the Judiciary (Krajowa Rada Sądownictwa), the Supreme Court (in part), and the Constitutional Tribunal must be ended immediately by stopping the division of judges into so-called ‘neo-’ and ‘paleo-judges’ and stopping the discrimination against the former.” In his opinion, a so-called constitutional reset is necessary.
In his own article, “Reform of the Justice System — Program Proposals,” MP Michał Woś stated that “an efficient, transparent, and non-political justice system is one of the foundations of a law-abiding state.”
“Poland needs today a bold and comprehensive reform that won’t be cosmetic, but a real systemic change — in fact, rebuilding the judiciary at all levels from scratch. Our answer is to flatten the court structure and introduce a unified status for judges, full digitalization of the judiciary, appreciation of non-adjudicating staff, and decisive accountability for those who betrayed the principle of independence by engaging in Donald Tusk’s so-called ‘militant democracy’ project,” he emphasized.
One of the proposals is to introduce a “unified status of judge,” which is meant to “end caste-like divisions in the judiciary.”
“Every judge, regardless of where they adjudicate, should have the same status and equal responsibility before the citizens. Standardizing working conditions and promotion paths will guarantee that career progression is determined by competence and ethics — not connections or political sympathies,” the PiS MP said.
Woś: Politicized judges must be removed from the profession
Woś drew attention to what he called the crucial role of “cleaning the profession of political abuses.”
“There can be no real reform without cleaning the profession of political abuses. Judges who have consciously politicized the justice system in recent years by aligning themselves with Donald Tusk’s project and supporting so-called ‘militant democracy’ cannot expect to keep their privileges. Removing them from the profession with no right to retirement status is a necessary step in order to rebuild citizens’ trust in the courts and restore their authority,” he declared.
He added that “the reform of the justice system proposed by Law and Justice is a comprehensive vision of a modern judiciary — just, digital, non-political, and open to the citizen.”
“Only in this way will we rebuild the foundations of the rule of law and restore Poles’ faith that everyone is equal before the court,” he concluded.
The rule-of-law dispute
In an article titled “The Destructive Effects of the Artificial Rule-of-Law Dispute and Ways Out of the Crisis,” Dr. Łukasz Bernaciński argued that “the so-called rule-of-law dispute stopped being a legal issue a long time ago and has become a question of Poland’s geopolitical and economic security.”
“What began as resistance from part of the judiciary to reforms aimed at improving the functioning of the justice system was, over time, used to destabilize Poland, undermine its standing on the international stage, change the government, and weaken the immune system of the state (including the justice system) in the face of economic aggression from our neighbors, as well as to saddle us with cuckoo’s eggs brought over the western border,” he recalled.
In his view, “a key task for the new government should be to end this artificial dispute in a way that is unambiguous, legally unquestionable, and socially acceptable.”
“Polish legal NGOs have identified more than a dozen areas where the government of Donald Tusk has violated the rule of law in the sphere of the justice system, and they have begun preparing proposals both at the constitutional level and, above all, at the statutory level. These actions should be supplemented by regulations and decisions of the competent authorities, taken immediately upon taking power, on the basis of the current legal framework. The aim of these actions should be to restore citizens’ trust in the state and in the law it enacts and applies — which is a fundamental condition for the state’s continued existence on the basis of the constitutional principle of the rule of law,” he explained.