In October 2015, three verdicts of the District Court in Kraków were supposed to be issued, but the judge issuing them, Żurek, was at that time – as a member of the National Council of the Judiciary (KRS) – not only in Warsaw but also… in Kyiv. Furthermore, at the beginning of October 2017, he was, among other places, in Naumburg, Germany, while on October 3rd, a verdict involving him was issued in Kraków. The portal Niezalezna.pl obtained a devastating justification of a court ruling ordering the initiation of proceedings regarding the circumstances of issuing dozens of rulings involving Waldemar Żurek, now Minister of Justice and Prosecutor General. The justification stated that “in light of the evidence gathered, it is impossible” for Żurek to have issued verdicts in Kraków while staying in Warsaw, Krynica-Zdrój, or Kyiv.
Yesterday, Niezalezna.pl revealed that the Internal Affairs Department of the National Prosecutor’s Office has been conducting an investigation for several months to clarify the circumstances of issuing dozens of rulings involving Waldemar Żurek, then a judge at the District Court in Kraków, and now Minister of Justice and Prosecutor General.
“It concerns the certification of falsehood in documents in the form of rulings of the District Court in Kraków by a designated judge of this court – particularly regarding the dates of the rulings,” – said Prosecutor Przemysław Nowak, spokesperson for the National Prosecutor’s Office.
“During the investigation, several witnesses were questioned, including Judge Waldemar Żurek,” he added.
Court overturned the prosecutor’s decision
As we reported, initially in March 2024 the prosecutor’s office issued a decision refusing to initiate an investigation, which was challenged by the Deputy Disciplinary Spokesperson for Judges of Common Courts. Then, in January 2025, the Katowice-East District Court upheld the complaint and overturned the prosecutor’s decision, ordering the proceedings to be conducted. Let us remind that at that time the Minister of Justice was Adam Bodnar, and the Prime Minister was Donald Tusk, in whose government Waldemar Żurek currently serves.
We obtained the court’s reasoning text from six months ago. It contained many interesting details and quite unequivocal assessments of the situation involving Żurek.
In Warsaw and Kyiv, or in Kraków?
What is the issue? It concerns the dates of verdicts and decisions of the District Court in Kraków involving Judge Żurek.
When Żurek was supposed to issue verdicts, according to the disciplinary spokesperson, at the same time (as indicated by the documentation of the National Council of the Judiciary), he performed duties as a council member, participating in meetings and trainings—mostly in Warsaw, but also in other Polish cities, and even on foreign trips. The most surprising situation occurred at the end of October 2015 (25–29.10). During that period, three verdicts of the District Court in Kraków were issued, but the judge issuing them, Żurek, was at that time – as a member of the KRS – not only in Warsaw but also… in Kyiv. Similarly, at the beginning of October 2017, he was, among other places, in Naumburg, Germany, while on October 3rd a verdict involving him was issued by the Kraków court.
“It is improbable…”
As the court in Katowice handling the complaint against the prosecutor’s office decision stated, “in light of the gathered evidence, it is therefore impossible” for Żurek to have issued verdicts in Kraków while, for example, staying in Krynica-Zdrój, Warsaw, or even more so in Ukraine.
And the fact that he was on work trips related to the KRS is confirmed – according to the court – not only by attendance lists but also by… travel expense reimbursement receipts.
The justification contains even stronger language. For example: “It is also improbable, considering the principles of life experience and logic, for a judge” to issue rulings in Kraków while simultaneously participating in a KRS meeting. The dates and even the times of departure to Warsaw and return to Kraków are given. Some meetings would have to take place… at night.
Court criticized the prosecutor’s office
Moreover, the court strongly criticized the prosecutor’s actions, pointing out that a decision was made to refuse the initiation of the investigation despite many important investigative steps not being conducted.
For example:
- it was not established whether Judge Żurek performed any duties in other cases on the same day, which could have been an additional verification of whether he was present at the Kraków court building at the given time
- the court almost reprimanded the prosecutor’s office for concluding that the described situations “did not have a real impact on shaping the legal relationship of the parties in the proceedings and did not infringe on their rights,” even though no analysis of case files was conducted
- it was not verified whether any minutes were prepared in the indicated proceedings
- the court emphasized the necessity of questioning the head of the department and the secretariat manager, at least regarding when and who provided information about issued rulings
- most importantly, it ordered the questioning of Waldemar Żurek “regarding each of the identified irregularities, to clarify how it was possible for him to make procedural decisions at the District Court in Kraków on dates when he was outside the city, even outside the country”
As we already know, this last procedure was carried out after the investigation was initiated. Of course, the content of the current Minister of Justice’s testimony remains unknown.