The essence of a judge’s service is handling cases. We are facing an attack on the basic principle of judicial service, with the result that citizens are prevented from having their cases heard within a reasonable time – says Judge Piotr Skrzyszowski, President of the National Association of Judges “Judges of the Republic of Poland ” in Krakow, in an interview with the wPolityce.pl portal.
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wPolityce.pl: Your association supports the rule of law and condemns the methods of extremely politicized judges’ associations. Are not you scared?
Judge Piotr Skrzyszowski, President of the National Association of Judges “Judges of Poland” in Krakow: No, we are not afraid, because we believe that civil courage is one of the most important qualities of a judge. It is also the ability to courageously formulate statements and respond appropriately to certain situations. These are the elements that make up our profession. This is our judicial ethos. So we are not afraid, in accordance with our conscience and our knowledge we speak out about our profession and the rule of law.
In your recent resolution I read that “there is an ongoing campaign of hatred and fear-mongering that bears the hallmarks of mobbing. Are you referring to the resolutions and projects of the association “Iustitia”?
Yes, we are thinking of the entire group of jury members nominated after 2017. There are attempts to intimidate them. It’s about a chilling effect, an attempt to paralyze a significant part of the environment. Some of the illegal ideas were intended to pacify the judiciary. Reviewers must be re-verified. It is proposed to the new National Council of the Judiciary, if it verifies, that former assessors, now district court judges, should initiate disciplinary proceedings that will result in the abolition of their office.
But these ideas of ‘Iustitia’ and politicians who support this association can lead to a complete paralysis of the judiciary. Will 3,000 judges and evaluators be fired? It is no longer paralysis, but complete inertia.
This project (“Iustitii” – ed.) clearly foresees regulations that will lead to such inertia. The goal is to create a group of over 3,000 people. deprive judges of their positions. This will severely limit citizens’ access to justice. After all, all the judges who want to be removed handle thousands of cases. Sometimes the files are several hundred volumes long. What happens if a case is taken away from such a judge? Will it remove? Iustitia’s proposals assume that someone is ‘delegated’ to a certain matter. After all, this new judge will have to delve into the files. This will cause a huge delay in many procedures and expose the Polish state to complaints from citizens at the European Court of Human Rights. All this will result in a number of adverse consequences for the functioning of the judiciary and for the Polish state.
Or maybe it is a smart idea of politicians and the association ‘Iustitia’ to ‘throw new judges out of the Supreme Court, shorten the term of the National Council for the Judiciary, but leave ‘the rest’. So that the sword of verification hangs over them. According to the principle: “Don’t lean out, and nothing will happen to you”?
Such views also exist there. But now they are more radical. This is the result of the “Iustitia” project. It is assumed that the appointments of judges, not only of the Supreme Court, but also of general and administrative judges, will be considered invalid. The project therefore applies to all judges appointed in recent years.
Is calling for an end to the judiciary or publicly revealing the status of judges a crime? It’s about art. 231 § 1 of the Criminal Code, i.e. exceeding powers.
Such calls are particularly objectionable to us. This is one of the elements that can put pressure on independent and impartial judges. The essence of a judge’s service is handling cases. We are facing an attack on the fundamental principle of judicial service, which is preventing citizens from having their cases heard within a reasonable time.
So you want to judge and work normally, and not play politics and take revenge? Carry out the mission assigned by society.
Yes, exactly. We want to do our job, we want to govern, but we also want other judges to be able to do their work normally.
Your initiative was founded in Krakow, but I know that judges from other cities are contacting you. They also need support and assistance because they are victims of intimidation and pressure from politicized judges’ associations.
This is very important to us. Any judge can contact us. This is a very important element. How can one work calmly when he still has some ‘verification’ and pressure hanging over his head? For a citizen, the most important thing is that the judge can focus solely on the case and decide based on his or her judgment, the provisions of the law and his or her own conscience. The essence of the assessment should not be undermined.
Top priorities?
For us, the most important thing is that we may face unimaginable paralysis of the judiciary and the deprivation of society’s right to a fair trial. We want to defend the rights of judges who will be affected by the changes proposed by some judges’ associations, and we want to advocate legal solutions that will ensure that citizens can exercise their right to a court efficiently and effectively.
Interviewed by Wojciech Biedroń
Source: wPolityce