A Warsaw judge, Piotr Gąciarek, faced intense scrutiny after delaying the execution of sentences for dangerous criminals and suggesting to the Ombudsman that a cassation appeal be filed with the Supreme Court to aid the offender. When he moved to a different department, he pressed the National Court Register to review his reassignment. The appeals failed to change the outcome, and the judge’s bid for a different division remained unresolved at the highest levels.
READ ALSO: OUR NEWS. Judge Gąciarek suspended a prison sentence for the mother who harmed her baby and asked unusual questions to the CJEU.
The Council published a statement prompted by stories from the wPolityce.pl portal. It highlights a controversial action by a judge who paused the punishment for a violent offender and urged the Ombudsman to push for a cassation with the Supreme Court in favor of the offender. The reason cited concerns perceived problems within the court that could lead to harsher penalties for the accused. The materials describe reactions that label the judge as releasing a dangerous criminal and urging the Ombudsman to file for cassation in favor of the defendant.
Gąciarek did not participate in adjudications with colleagues who had been recommended by the National Court Register and did not acknowledge the validity of their nomination. Earlier in the year, media coverage noted that the judge postponed enforcing a sentence for a suspect who robbed and assaulted a victim. Gąciarek justified the delay by pointing to the ruling having been issued by a judge recommended by the current National Judicial Council.
This information comes from the council’s official statement, which explains that the National Court Register does not back the position of the team handling the court’s appeal. The statement adds that Gąciarek’s division of duties concerns matters under the jurisdiction of a court reference or an official, a move the council says is not in the interests of the judiciary or justified. Consequently, the council proposed that the President of the District Court in Warsaw review all aspects and consider returning Gąciarek to the Criminal Division of First Instance, not to change the facts of the case, but to pursue justice more directly.
The council notes arrears at the Warsaw court and explains that the suspension of proceedings has impeded the ability to serve prison sentences to convicted individuals.
Piotr Gąciarek is presented as an example of risky judicial activism whose actions could destabilize the Polish judiciary. The ongoing pattern of actions described as undermining the status of fellow judges threatens the integrity of the justice system and has led to alarming outcomes in the courtroom.
UK
Source: wPolityce