“If it turns out that Waldemar Żurek, as a judge at the time, was in two places at once, it would either be a supernatural phenomenon or a case of making a false statement,” says Paweł Jabłoński, PiS MP and attorney, commenting on today’s findings by the portal Niezależna.pl concerning the former judge and current Minister of Justice in Donald Tusk’s government.
The Internal Affairs Department of the National Prosecutor’s Office is conducting an investigation into the circumstances surrounding rulings issued by (now former) judge Waldemar Żurek, Niezależna.pl has found. An earlier decision had been made to refuse to open an investigation, but that decision was overturned by the court, which ordered procedural steps to be taken. The current Minister of Justice has already been questioned in the case.
Background of the case
The events date back several years and concern several dozen rulings issued at the Kraków Regional Court, in a panel including Waldemar Żurek.
Niezależna.pl reports that in March 2024, prosecutor Anna Mazurek issued a decision to refuse to initiate an investigation, citing a lack of evidence of a crime. That decision was appealed by the Deputy Disciplinary Spokesperson for Judges of Common Courts, and the Katowice-East District Court upheld the complaint, overturning the prosecutor’s decision and ordering an investigation within the specified scope.
More than half a year has passed. We looked into the current status of the case. It turns out that the proceedings are being handled by the Internal Affairs Department of the National Prosecutor’s Office.
“This is a very serious matter”
We asked Paweł Jabłoński, former Deputy Foreign Minister, PiS MP, and lawyer, for comment on today’s findings by Niezależna.pl. “This is a very serious matter. The way the case has unfolded so far indicates that someone wanted to sweep it under the rug. Prosecutors under Bodnar tried to avoid launching the investigation, and then wanted to dismiss it, but the court ordered it to proceed,” our interlocutor states.
He adds that he personally raised the issue in a parliamentary interpellation. “In response, back in February this year, I was informed that the investigation was ongoing. On Friday, I submitted another inquiry about its current status. The reports by Niezależna.pl confirm that the case is still active and that actions have been taken,” he says.
The assumption, which requires procedural verification, is that Waldemar Żurek, as a judge at the time, was attending sessions of the National Council of the Judiciary (KRS), receiving compensation for his participation, while allegedly issuing rulings in court in Kraków on the very same days.
“He had to be physically present there, because apart from exceptional cases, all sessions are held exclusively on court premises,” Jabłoński explains.
“If it turns out that Waldemar Żurek, as a judge at the time, was in two places at the same time, it would either be a supernatural event or a case of making a false statement. The situation is simple: either he wasn’t present at the KRS meetings and unlawfully collected compensation, or he wasn’t in court, and a false statement might have been entered into the judicial record – which constitutes a criminal offense under Article 271 of the Penal Code,”
he adds.
“This case must be clarified. Regardless of how the investigation proceeds, the current Minister of Justice should simply disclose what really happened. Meanwhile, Waldemar Żurek is acting very strangely. He claims it’s part of political persecution and repression, yet the case is currently ongoing and the investigation began last year,”
he concludes.