Today, the District Court in Tarnów delivered a verdict in a civil payment case in which the defendant was the current Minister of Justice, Waldemar Żurek. A reporter from Niezalezna.pl was the only journalist present in the courtroom. Not only did the court dismiss the lawsuit filed by Żurek’s former wife, but the oral justification of the ruling also included political arguments. Referring to the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU), the judge questioned the mandate of the Extraordinary Control and Public Affairs Chamber of the Polish Supreme Court.
“Our judicial conscience requires us not to take the rulings of the Extraordinary Control Chamber into account,” said Judge Piotr Wicherek in the oral reasoning of the judgment.
The proceedings before the District Court in Tarnów involved the current Minister of Justice Waldemar Żurek and his former wife. The case concerned a claim for payment and private financial settlements related to a loan taken out when they were still married. The defendant was a current member of Donald Tusk’s government. During the proceedings, however, surprising developments occurred.
As established by Niezalezna.pl, Żurek’s legal representative requested that the prosecutor’s office join the civil case. Such a decision was indeed made in August 2024, when Adam Bodnar was serving as Minister of Justice and Prosecutor General, while Żurek was still a judge. At hearings, the deputy head of the District Prosecutor’s Office in Tarnów appeared in court.
Later, however, Żurek himself became Minister of Justice, while the prosecutor’s office—formally subordinate to him—continued to participate in his private lawsuit. It did not withdraw, even though the situation sparked significant controversy.
Today at 12:00 p.m., the verdict in the case was announced. A reporter from Niezalezna.pl was the only journalist who heard it in person.
The court dismissed the lawsuit filed by Żurek’s former wife. What is striking, however, is that in the oral justification Judge Piotr Wicherek barely addressed the substance of the dispute. Instead, he delivered what appeared to be an unusual political speech—referring, among others, to George Orwell and Gen. Kazimierz Sosnkowski—and stated that he could just as well have issued a ruling favorable to the plaintiff.
However, he added that because we live in “two legal realities,” he must follow his “conscience,” which requires him to take into account the judgments of the CJEU.
An important note: earlier in this case, the Extraordinary Control and Public Affairs Chamber of the Supreme Courthad already spoken on the matter. It examined an extraordinary complaint filed by the Prosecutor General at the time, Zbigniew Ziobro. A ruling was issued overturning a previous judgment favorable to Żurek, and as a consequence the case was sent to the District Court in Tarnów.
This is worth recalling because Judge Wicherek—while explaining today’s verdict favorable to the current Minister of Justice—questioned the mandate of that Supreme Court chamber and explicitly referred to the position of the Court of Justice of the European Union.
“Our judicial conscience requires us not to take the rulings of the Extraordinary Control Chamber into account,” Judge Wicherek said. He also added: “We consider the Supreme Court’s ruling to be non-binding.”
While announcing the verdict, the judge also complained about attacks from “certain media outlets” that have called him a traitor to Poland.