“The National Council of the Judiciary has held another plenary session – and once again, nothing. It did not nominate a single candidate for a judicial or judicial assessor position. Instead, they are spending taxpayers’ money talking. Oh, wait – they did approve the dismissal of the President of the Regional Court in Płock simply because he had been appointed by Zbigniew Ziobro. They’ve completely lost the plot. What a bunch of comedians,” said Judge Dagmara Pawełczyk-Woicka, who chaired the Council during its previous term.
The National Council of the Judiciary (NCJ) – as previously reported by TV Republika – intends to block the promotions of 23 judges from various levels of the judiciary whose nomination resolutions had been prepared by the Council during its previous term. The Council has sent a letter to the Chancellery of the President of the Republic of Poland requesting that the relevant case files be “loaned” to it.
During the session that concluded on Tuesday, the NCJ, among other decisions, “issued a positive opinion on the Minister of Justice’s request to dismiss the President of the Regional Court in Płock, who had been appointed by Zbigniew Ziobro”. It also adopted resolutions “withdrawing the appeals lodged by the so-called neo-NCJ against disciplinary rulings concerning three judges”, as well as withdrawing motions submitted by the previous NCJ to the Constitutional Tribunal.
“It Is Difficult to Speak of Defending the Rule of Law”
The new National Council of the Judiciary – elected under the current legal framework – was intended to serve as the judicial “reset” promised by Poland’s governing coalition.
How is the current NCJ viewed within the legal community?
“Until recently, they argued that the National Council of the Judiciary should be apolitical, independent, and guided solely by the law. Today, the very same NCJ gives opinions on the dismissal of court presidents, withdraws motions and appeals filed by its predecessors simply because they were submitted by the ‘neo-NCJ,’ appoints representatives to national and international bodies from individuals long associated with a particular judicial circle, while simultaneously initiating actions against judges whose promotions had been prepared by the previous NCJ.”
This was stated in a social media post published by the Lawyers for Poland association.
“In a state governed by the rule of law, there should be no ‘our’ judges and ‘their’ judges. Nor should there be ‘our’ NCJ and ‘their’ NCJ. If, however, the criteria used to assess the institution change depending on who sits on the Council, then it is difficult to speak of defending the rule of law.”
Judge Dagmara Pawełczyk-Woicka, the Council’s previous chairwoman, also commented on the work of the new NCJ.
“The National Council of the Judiciary has held another plenary session – and nothing. It did not present a single candidate for a judicial or judicial assessor position. They are spending public money talking. Oh, wait – they approved the dismissal of the President of the Regional Court in Płock because he had been appointed by Zbigniew Ziobro. They’ve completely lost the plot. What a bunch of comedians.”