The Prosecutor General and Minister of Justice, Waldemar Żurek, announced at a Monday press conference 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 Karol Nawrocki not to accept the oaths of office from judges of the Constitutional Tribunal elected by the Sejm.
Żurek on the President’s Alleged Violation of the Constitution
Żurek was asked about the situation of four Constitutional Tribunal judges from whom the president did not receive the oath, and who instead took an “oath” last Thursday in the Sejm in the presence of a notary. The head of the Ministry of Justice emphasized that he expects these individuals to do “everything legally possible” in order to be able to begin performing their duties as judges of the Tribunal.
“We have witnessed a grotesque spectacle. First, there was an attempt to challenge six properly elected judges. When that collapsed, because Marshal Czarzasty and the entire country saw that the procedure had been followed to the letter, it turned out that the president suddenly began selecting from among the six, outside the law and in violation of the Constitution,”
Żurek told journalists.
Everyone to Court!
According to him, the president, as well as his officials and advisors, may have committed a failure to fulfill their duties.
“Today, I made a decision. I instructed the prosecution to initiate proceedings against individuals who have publicly revealed themselves. I mean representatives of the Chancellery of the President, but possibly also others who advised the president not to accept this oath,”
the minister stated.
He emphasized that President Nawrocki’s decision to swear in only two out of the six individuals elected as Constitutional Tribunal judges was unlawful and contrary to the Constitution.
“The fact that the president was picking with his finger which of the six he liked more or preferred is a violation of the law. But someone advised him to do this. (…) I am initiating criminal proceedings, and prosecutors will examine this situation. I hope we will identify those who helped the president act in this way,”
Żurek warned at the press conference.