This conference had been anticipated since the change in the Ministry of Justice. Waldemar Żurek faced the press, and it came as no surprise-there was talk of a personnel purge and the “rule of law.”
Following the government reshuffle, Adam Bodnar was dismissed from his position as Minister of Justice. The nomination for the head of the Ministry of Justice was granted to Waldemar Żurek, until recently a judge at the District Court in Kraków.
“For me, the priority will be restoring the rule of law. That means we’re not talking about how things should be, but how we should act,” Żurek stated.
“We have not yet restored the rule of law in Poland,” Żurek remarked, indirectly criticizing his predecessor, Adam Bodnar. “We are restoring the rule of law, and we are doing it effectively. There are no sacred cows, no political umbrellas, no friends of the rabbit,” he added, indicating that the actions are meant to serve “the citizens.”
Żurek Thanks the Media-But Only Selected Outlets
Żurek, naturally, spoke about “violations of the constitution” and expressed gratitude for “supporting judges.” He also made references to… “authoritarian power.”
“I would also like to thank the free media. There would be no Judge Żurek and no Minister Żurek if it weren’t for the fact that many of you refused to be bought by authoritarian power. Instead, risking hate, job loss, and the safety of your families, you chose to continue the mission of journalism as you see it, according to your own conscience,” he stated.
Minister Żurek went on to explain what he had done at the start of his work in Donald Tusk’s government. “One of my first decisions was to withdraw the request from the Venice Commission concerning the so-called rule-of-law bill. I wanted to change the way we work on legislation related to restoring the rule of law,” he announced.
“We will determine what comes next, what the final draft will be,” he added.
Personnel Purge
Żurek also announced that he would submit a request to the head of the Ministry of Interior and Administration to dismiss electoral commissioner judges. He also referred to personnel decisions affecting specific judges solely because they participated in procedures before the National Council of the Judiciary and “are referred to by the media as neo-judges.”
“Since taking office, I have recalled 9 people from secondment to the ministry. As for the positions of court presidents and vice presidents, I have dismissed 46 people across the country,” he said.