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Attempt to expel the disciplinary spokesmen


According to the provisions of the Act on the System of Common Courts[1], judges are liable to disciplinary action for professional misconduct, called disciplinary delicts, including: obvious and gross violations of the law; refusal to administer justice; actions or omissions that may prevent or significantly hinder the functioning of a judicial body; actions that call into question the existence of a judge’s service relationship, the effectiveness of a judge’s appointment, or the constitutional authority of a body of the Republic of Poland; public activities that are incompatible with the principles of the independence of courts and judges; and the impairment of the dignity of office.

The authorised prosecutors before disciplinary courts are: the Disciplinary Spokesman of Common Court Judges and the Deputy Disciplinary Spokesmen of Common Court Judges, who act as central authorities. There are also the deputy disciplinary spokesmen acting at the courts of appeals and the circuit courts, who act as local authorities.[2]

The Act on the System of Common Courts specifically regulates the appointment of the Disciplinary Spokesman of Common Court Judges and the Deputies.[3] According to the regulations, the Disciplinary Spokesman of Common Court Judges and the two Deputies are appointed by the Minister of Justice for a four-year term. No provision of the Act grants either the Minister of Justice or any other body the authority to dismiss the Disciplinary Spokesman of Common Court Judges and the Deputies before the end of their term.

The central spokesmen currently in service were appointed for a four-year term on 2 June 2022: Judge Piotr Schab of the Court of Appeals in Warsaw was appointed Disciplinary Spokesman for Judges of Common Courts, and Judges of the Court of Appeals in Warsaw Przemysław Radzik and Michał Lasota were appointed Deputy Disciplinary Spokesmen for Judges of Common Courts.

Following the 2023 parliamentary elections and the subsequent change in government, these individuals were openly attacked by the new administration to prevent them from carrying out their duties. Their salaries were lowered, while their responsibilities were increased.[4] On 3 July 2024, the police and prosecutors forcibly entered the premises of the National Council of the Judiciary to seize case files held by disciplinary spokespeople, including those relating to Waldemar Żurek.[5]

Adam Bodnar, the Minister of Justice, took steps to bring disciplinary charges against them, including the initiation of disciplinary proceedings against Waldemar Żurek, who was a judge at the time.[6]

In addition, the prosecutor's office, also headed by Adam Bodnar, brought criminal charges against these judges.[7]

Furthermore, on 15 February 2025, the then-judge Waldemar Żurek submitted a motion to the then-minister to dismiss these Disciplinary Spokesmen. He justified this by stating that disciplinary proceedings were being conducted against them.[8]

On 4 April 2025, Minister of Justice Adam Bodnar issued a decision dismissing Judge Przemysław Radzik from his position as the Deputy Disciplinary Spokesman of Common Court Judges, and on 25 April 2025, he did the same with Judge Piotr Schab. He cited a contrario the provision concerning the appointment of spokesmen as the legal basis for both

decisions.[9]

More detailed arguments were provided in the press releases. These implied that:

– Currently, both the Disciplinary Spokesman and his Deputies have a statutory, repeatable four-year term of office, and the provisions of the Judiciary Act do not regulate the grounds for ending their term of office before its expiry;

– The lack of a provision empowering the Minister of Justice to dismiss the Disciplinary Spokesmen and his Deputies before their terms expire, constitutes an extra–legal loophole and is contrary to constitutional standards, the principles of legalism, citizens' trust in the state, the integrity of the legal system, and the rationality of the legislative rationality. In a democratic state ruled by law the inability to dismiss the Disciplinary Spokesmen in any situation, even in the event of a crime or resignation, is unacceptable;

– Therefore, if Article 112 of the Judiciary Act, which grants the Minister of Justice the authority to appoint the Disciplinary Spokesman and his two Deputies, is interpreted pro-constitutionally, then it must be interpreted as granting the Minister of Justice the authority to dismiss the Disciplinary Spokesman and his Deputies, particularly in the event of the loss of the fundamental judicial attribute of impeccable character.[10]

In both cases, the decisions on dismissal did not provide factual justifications; however, an explanation of the reasons for their adoption was posted on the government website.

In the case of Judge Przemysław Radzik, his dismissal from his term as Deputy Disciplinary Spokesman of Common Court Judges was justified by the following circumstances:

1. The conduct of disciplinary proceedings against Przemysław Radzik in matters concerning:

- disciplinary proceedings against Judge Waldemar Żurek (the current Minister of Justice and Prosecutor General) between 2019 and 2024;

- refusal to adjudicate assigned cases at the Court of Appeals in Warsaw.

- the critical post on social media regarding the actions of the special disciplinary spokesman appointed by the Minister of Justice, concerning the discontinuation of disciplinary proceedings against Judge Waldemar Żurek.

2. Conducting criminal proceedings against Judge Przemysław Radzik concerning the aforementioned social media post, as well as his conduct, as Deputy Disciplinary Spokesman of Judges of Common Courts, of disciplinary proceedings against judges, despite doubts as to their validity in light of the case law of the European Court of Human Rights and the Court of Justice of the Common Courts.

3. Judge Przemysław Radzik failed to demonstrate the attributes of judicial independence and impartiality, as assessed against the so-called independence test based on the judgements of the Court of Justice of the European Union.

In turn, the dismissal of Judge Piotr Schab from his term as Disciplinary Spokesman of Common Court Judges was justified by the following circumstances:

1. The conduct of disciplinary proceedings against Piotr Schab in matters concerning:

- the dismissal of Judge A.B.-D. from hearing three cases of the Warsaw-Praga District Court in Warsaw,

- his use of the title of President of the Court of Appeals in Warsaw and his refusal to administer justice in assigned cases,

2. The conduct of six proceedings at the National Prosecutor's Office with Piotr Schab's participation,

3. The initiation or approval of the initiation of disciplinary proceedings by deputies against judges applying EU law.

The common factor in the reasons cited by the Ministry of Justice for the dismissal of Piotr Schab and Przemysław Radzik from their positions was their support of judges who were candidates for the National Council of the Judiciary, established by the Act of 8 December, 2017.

It should be considered that the reasons for the dismissal of these judges from their positions during their statutorily defined terms were politically repressive decisions in response to their conduct of disciplinary proceedings against judges collaborating with the current ruling party, including the current Minister of Justice, Waldemar Żurek, as well as their participation in the legal procedure for selecting judges – candidates for the National Council of the Judiciary.

It should be emphasised that no disciplinary or criminal rulings were issued against any of the aforementioned judges. All of these proceedings concern the professional activities of the spokesmen, which are based on the provisions of applicable legal provisions.

The mere public justification for the dismissals from the positions of spokesmen indicates that the Minister recognises that he has the exclusive right to appoint them and that this means he has no right to dismiss them. Had the legislature intended to grant him this right, it would have stated so explicitly.

This means that the Minister of Justice did not have the authority – either expressly defined in the Act or arising from a contrario or analogous reasoning – to dismiss Piotr Schab from his position as Disciplinary Spokesman or Przemysław Radzik from his position as Deputy Disciplinary Spokesman. Therefore, any decision made in this regard is devoid of legal basis and are therefore ineffective.

This is the position taken by the National Council of the Judiciary, a constitutional body that safeguards the independence of courts and judges. It unequivocally stated that the Minister of Justice's decisions to dismiss Judges Przemysław Radzik and Piotr Schab from their positions as disciplinary spokesmen were unlawful and ineffective. These decisions also violated the independence of judges, which is protected by Article 178, Section 1 of the Constitution, and prejudiced the official duties of judges.[11]

The First President of the Supreme Court also considered the actions of the Minister of Justice to be a gross violation of the constitutional principles of a democratic state ruled by law, the rule of law and the principle of separation of powers, constituting a brazen abuse of power by a public official that may constitute a crime.[12]

In view of such unambiguous assessments, Waldemar Żurek's appointment as Minister of Justice on 24 July 2025 can be seen as an attempt to undermine the effective system of disciplinary liability for judges. As a judge, Waldemar Żurek was subject to disciplinary proceedings conducted by the ‘dismissed’ disciplinary spokesmen, and one of his first actions was the ‘dismissal’ of the second Deputy Disciplinary Spokesman – judge Michał Lasota.


[1] the Act of 27 July 2001 - Law on the System of Common Courts, Journal of Laws 2024.334, i.e. of 2024.03.08

[2] Art. 112 of the Act on the System of Common Courts

[3] Art. 112 Para. 3 of the Act on the System of Common Courts

[9] Art. 112 Para. 3 of the Act on the System of Common Courts.

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