Dr. Konrad Wytrykowski, a retired judge of the Supreme Court, commented in an interview with the news portal Niezalezna.pl on the decision concerning disciplinary courts operating at courts of appeal. Referring to the dispute over the manner of their appointment, he assessed that “this is probably the final collapse of the Bodnar-Żurek concept,” and compared the actions of the current authorities to the “principle of inversion known in psychiatry.” “They attribute to others their own flaws and sins, even those they only intend to commit,” he said.
The Professional Liability Chamber of the Supreme Court held that the disciplinary courts at courts of appeal, acting as courts of first instance for judges, had been improperly constituted and did not meet the criteria of a court within the meaning of Article 45 of the Constitution. It further found that the appointment of disciplinary judges by the Ministry of Justice without an opinion from the National Council of the Judiciary constituted a flagrant violation of the law. The case was overturned and remitted for reconsideration.
The Chair of the National Council of the Judiciary, Judge Dagmara Pawełczyk-Woicka, stated that the Chamber had set aside the ruling “due to an absolute ground for appeal.”
“An unauthorized judge adjudicated. This is how violating statutes ends,”
she wrote.
She also pointed out that the disciplinary judges at the courts of appeal had been designated by the Minister of Justice without awaiting the opinion of the National Council of the Judiciary, even though, as she emphasized, the statute required it.
Przyjęli funkcję sędziów dyscyplinarnych przy sądach apelacyjnych od @MS_GOV_PL , dodatkowe wynagrodzenie, mniej pracy. Nie czekali na opinię @KRS_RP chociaż ustawa tego wymagała. W większości to są działacze @JudgesSsp i @ThemisSedziow . Dziś @SN_RP_ w Izbie Odpowiedzialności… pic.twitter.com/j7wWDgMwXn
— Dagmara Pawełczyk-Woicka (@DPawelczykW) February 18, 2026
Dr. Konrad Wytrykowski, a retired judge of the Supreme Court, also addressed the matter in his interview with Niezalezna.pl. In his commentary, he stated:
“This is probably the final collapse of the Bodnar-Żurek concept. They spoke extensively about special courts, and ultimately, they established such courts themselves,”
he said, adding:
“The principle of inversion known in psychiatry is clearly at work here: they attribute to others their own flaws and sins, even those they only intend to commit.”