“A kind of segregation of judges into different categories, including denying many of them the judicial status altogether, brings to mind the worst associations and, in this context, such actions can be described as the terror of lawlessness introduced under the slogan of restoring the rule of law. Terror which in reality leads to destruction and, in essence, an abyss of injustice. Today it affects judges of the Supreme Court and the Polish Constitutional Tribunal, but tomorrow it will concern judges of the Supreme Administrative Court,” wrote President Karol Nawrocki in a letter addressed to the organizers and participants of the conference “75 Years of the European Convention on Human Rights – Experiences of Administrative Court Judges” at the Royal Castle in Warsaw. The letter was read out by the Head of the Chancellery of the President of Poland, Zbigniew Bogucki.
“It is particularly telling that on the very day we celebrate the anniversary of the signing of the European Convention, in Poland we are unfortunately experiencing a situation which – instead of strengthening the rule of law – is leading our country toward dangerous chaos. I mean the persistent unlawful attempts to undermine the legality of judicial appointments made on the basis of the current Act on the National Council of the Judiciary (KRS) – an act adopted through a full legislative process, signed by the President of the Republic, and consistent with the Constitution. There is and will be no consent from the President of Poland for such actions,” stressed the President in his letter.
He pointed out that he had expressed such a position already before becoming head of state.
“Questioning the status of judges appointed by the President of Poland under this procedure is a brutal attack on the fundamental constitutional principle of irremovability and, consequently, a deliberate blow to judicial independence and the independence of courts, which are the guarantee of respecting human rights and safeguarding fundamental freedoms. It is also an attempt to challenge the sovereign role of the Nation, which entrusts each successive President with the exclusive prerogative of appointing judges. By virtue of the Constitution and the will of the citizens, expressed in free, universal, equal, and direct elections, the President of the Republic has the final word in this matter. Therefore, a kind of segregation of judges into different categories, including denying many of them the judicial status altogether, brings to mind the worst associations and, in this context, such actions can be described as the terror of lawlessness introduced under the slogan of restoring the rule of law,” wrote Karol Nawrocki.
“Terror which in reality leads to destruction and, in essence, an abyss of injustice. Today it affects judges of the Supreme Court and the Polish Constitutional Tribunal, but tomorrow it will concern judges of the Supreme Administrative Court – something we have already seen attempted – later, judges of subsequent instances of common and administrative courts, and finally, probably all those who were appointed under the previous procedure and have the right to adjudicate, but who adjudicated together with judges selected under the current legal framework. This is unfortunately a direct path to the paralysis of the entire justice system and, consequently, to the real absence of the rule of law – and we know very well that there can be no human rights without the rule of law,” he added.
President Nawrocki emphasized that “the Constitution clearly states that the appointment of judges is the exclusive prerogative of the President of Poland.”
“As the President of the Republic of Poland, I will remain the guardian of this principle – the guardian of the independence of courts, the independence of judges, and their irremovability,” he added.
He stressed that it is the President’s task to put an end to such a state of affairs and therefore announced the establishment, in the coming weeks, of the Council for the Restoration of the State System.