Poland’s government-controlled prosecution service has been ordered by the justice minister Waldemar Żurek to begin a criminal investigation against advisers to the opposition Conservatives (PiS) President Karol Nawrocki.
That is over the role they played in Nawrocki deciding to take the oath of office from only two out of the six constitutional court judges elected by parliament.
Żurek, who serves in Prime Minister Donald Tusk’s centre-left government, yesterday said that the thus-far unnamed individuals are suspected of aiding and abetting Nawrocki in the abuse of power, leading the President’s chancellery to call the accusations “ridiculous”.
“The President acted outside of the law and in violation of the constitution,” said Żurek and added that Nawrocki has no right to “choose who he likes best” out of the judges elected by parliament.
The justice minister noted that Nawrocki as President does not fall under the normal criminal process and that were he to be investigated, it would be under the purview of the Tribunal of State. That is a special judicial body elected directly by parliament and empowered to punish the highest officials of state.
Żurek also said that he hopes the investigation will “ identify those who helped the President in this behaviour”, some of whom have already “publicly revealed themselves”. The Chief of the Chancellery of the President, Zbigniew Bogucki, has been the official most involved in defending the Nawrocki’s actions.
The prosecutor’s office, which Żurek supervises, stated that those who had advised the President not to swear in all the judges had probably acted to the “detriment of the private interest of judges and the public interest in the proper functioning of the judiciary, and thus democracy in Poland”.
It also maintained that the four disputed individuals became constitutional court judges when elected by parliament and the President had no right to question that.
“Upon their election by parliament, these persons acquired the status of judges of the constitutional court, and any actions aimed at delaying or preventing the taking of the oath and, as a result, the taking of judicial actions should be considered legally inadmissible,” the prosecutor’s office added.
The chief justice of the constitutional court Bogdan Święczkowski, though, has said he cannot accept judges who have not taken the oath of office before the President and refuses to assign cases to them or to have them sitting on the bench.
Nawrocki’s chancellery has slammed the government’s investigation. Foreign policy aide Marcin Przydacz said that attempting to criminalise advice to the President was inconsistent with the standards of liberal democracy and that the charges were ludicrous.
“The worst moment for any politician is when he becomes ridiculous. Mr Żurek crossed those boundaries a long time ago,” argued Przydacz.
Former justice minister in the last PiS government Michał Woś MP said that attempting to charge advisers for simply doing their job constituted scandalous abuse of power.
In March, parliament decided to fill six longstanding vacancies in the 15 member constitutional court which, since coming to office, the Tusk government has regarded as illegitimate and has refused to publish its verdicts.
The government had until that time maintained that the constitutional court was not legitimate because back in 2015 three of its members were elected by parliament with a PiS majority after nullifying the election of three judges elected by the previous parliament.
The Tusk majority had been counting on the election of their candidate, Warsaw Mayor Rafał Trzaskowski, in the presidential election last year so that they could change legislation on the constitutional court. That would enable it elect all 15 members of that court afresh. Nawrocki’s election, though, meant that no such law could be passed as a presidential veto would be certain.
The ruling party therefore changed course and decided to begin filling vacancies at the constitutional court. Six judges were elected and awaited the taking of the oath of office in front of the President, which is required by law.
Nawrocki invited only two out of the six judges, arguing that only two of the vacancies had arisen during his term of office and that parliament should not have delayed electing judges.
He said he was considering what he should do about the issue and his chancellery maintained that the law does not specify a deadline for the head of state to take the oaths of office from the parliament’s nominees.
The government and its lawyers said Nawrocki’s actions were unlawful because the President is not entitled legally to choose constitutional court judges nominated by parliament.
As a result, the Speaker of parliament Włodzimierz Czarzasty decided earlier in April to host a ceremony of the four judges Nawrocki has not appointed thus far, took the oath of office and submitted it in writing to the head of state.
Nawrocki’s camp and the parliamentary opposition do not recognise that ceremony and have called it “self-appointment” and “usurpation” of the President’s prerogatives.
According to the opposition by participating in an act that was outside of the law, the four judges have effectively made it impossible for the Nawrocki to accept them.
