In connection with the scandalous events of 21 January 2026, when, on the orders of the prosecution, police officers entered the headquarters of the National Council of the Judiciary and carried out actions in the office of the Disciplinary Ombudsman for Judges of Common Courts, “I express deep concern and firm opposition to the situation that has occurred,” stated Dr. hab. Małgorzata Manowska, a judge of the Supreme Court, in an official statement.
Strong reaction to the attack on the NCJ
Małgorzata Manowska recalled in her statement that “the National Council of the Judiciary is a constitutional body whose full autonomy is guaranteed by Article 187 of the Constitution of the Republic of Poland.” On Wednesday, police officers and two prosecutors – Zbigniew Rzepa and Tomasz Narłowski – entered the offices of the Deputy Disciplinary Ombudsmen at the headquarters of the National Council of the Judiciary. For a long time, the police blocked access to the building for the media and members of the Sejm of the Republic of Poland.
Numerous photos and recordings appeared online showing how people associated with Waldemar Żurek were destroying locks and emptying successive filing cabinets of case files.
The forced entry into its headquarters, as well as the unacceptable restriction of access of the Chair of the National Council of the Judiciary, Judge Dagmara Pawełczyk-Woicka, to official premises, “constitutes an impermissible interference in the functioning of an institution of key importance to the justice system, tasked with safeguarding the independence of courts and the impartiality of judges,” she stressed.
In her view, “the actions of the prosecution, coinciding with the parliamentary debate on the draft so-called rule of law bill authored by the Minister of Justice and Prosecutor General Waldemar Żurek, raise serious doubts as to their motive – they may be perceived as an attempt to intimidate judges on the eve of discussions on solutions prepared by the government.”
The draft law in question has been critically assessed by a number of institutions (including the Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights) and by the majority of the judicial community. It is difficult to believe that the sequence of events was coincidental.
As First President of the Supreme Court, “I firmly emphasize that any procedural actions carried out against bodies of the justice system must take place with full respect for their autonomy, without the use of force, and in a manner that disrupts their functioning as little as possible. The incident of 21 January 2026 recalls last year’s outrageous actions taken against the judiciary – including questioning the legality of judicial appointments and attempts to dismiss disciplinary ombudsmen – and fits into a growing, alarming trend of weakening judicial independence,” she emphasized.
Prof. Manowska is demanding “an immediate clarification of the circumstances of yesterday’s events at the headquarters of the National Council of the Judiciary and guarantees that similar actions threatening the foundations of the rule of law will not be repeated.”
Freedom of access to constitutional bodies of the justice system cannot be restricted under the pretext of carrying out prosecutorial actions.
“I expect the legislative and executive authorities to engage in dialogue with representatives of the judicial community in order to resolve the current, escalating crisis concerning the justice system and to restore citizens’ trust in state institutions. At the same time, I declare that the Supreme Court will continue to stand guard over the independence of the courts and the impartiality of judges. As First President of the Supreme Court, I will continue to monitor the situation and remain ready to take appropriate legal action without delay,” she concluded.