In Poland, 35 judges removed from case on judges’ status — Interia
In Poland, 35 Supreme Court judges have been removed from hearing a case in which the full bench is to determine whether the status of judges appointed by the president can be challenged. A full-bench hearing is scheduled for November 5. The court must also consider possible criminal and disciplinary consequences of challenging such status.
Removal of 35 judges
According to Interia, judges appointed to the Supreme Court before changes to the justice system under the United Right government were removed from participation in the case. The relevant motion was filed by Judge Kamil Zaradkiewicz.
The decision was made by a panel of three judges. Judge Marek Dobrowolski issued a dissenting opinion. The reasoning for this decision had not been made public at the time of publication.
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Judges’ reaction
One of the removed judges, Michał Laskowski, said that those whose positions did not correspond to the expected content of the future ruling were excluded from the case. In his view, the removal mechanism was used to achieve the desired outcome, and the decision itself is unlawful.
Laskowski also said that judges appointed after changes to the justice system may fear a lack of quorum on November 5. According to him, adopting a decision requires the presence of at least half of the judges in each of the Supreme Court’s five chambers. In the Criminal Chamber, the majority consists of judges appointed before the changes, and their absence could block the adoption of a decision.
Judge Piotr Prusinowski of the Labour and Social Security Chamber suggested that the excluded judges’ previous case law may have been the basis for their removal. He also said that the ruling would be adopted by people directly interested in its direction, and linked the initiative to an attempt to legalize the status of judges appointed after 2018 with the participation of the so-called new National Council of the Judiciary.
