The High Administrative Court has not received any letter from the judge of the Provincial Administrative Court in Warsaw asking for “care and protection” in Belarus, Sylwester Marciniak, spokesperson for the High Administrative Court, told PAP. The spokesperson of the Provincial Administrative Court, Małgorzata Jarecka, in turn said that Tomasz Szmydt from April 22 to May 10 this year. “is on holiday leave.” “To date, the president of the Provincial Administrative Court has not received any information from the judge regarding his dismissal,” she pointed out.
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Belarusian state news agency BiełTA reported on Monday that Tomasz Szmydt, judge of the 2nd provincial branch of the Administrative Court in Warsaw, had asked Belarusian authorities for “care and protection.”
Media information shows that this person has submitted a declaration of resignation, and the Belarusian embassy will forward it to him. Nothing has yet been submitted to the provincial administrative court
– said Judge Marciniak.
Marciniak: There is no way this person can finish these cases
He added that the issue of dismissal from the office of judge is governed by art. 68 of the Law on the Organization of Common Courts – also applicable to administrative judges – which states that “the employment relationship of a judge shall be terminated by operation of law if the judge resigns.” However, such renunciation “shall be effective three months after the date of filing.” In the case of an administrative judge, such waiver must be sent to the President of the Supreme Administrative Court.
As Judge Marciniak explained, the rules theoretically specify these three months so that the person leaving office can handle his or her pending business.
In this case, of course, this person cannot end these matters
– notes the spokesperson of the Supreme Administrative Court and therefore the planned dates of hearings with the participation of this judge will not take place.
However, as long as such a person is a judge, disciplinary proceedings may be initiated against him and he may be removed from service.
– noted Judge Marciniak.
What about dismissal from your position?
Apart from media reports, the court management has no information about his asylum application and his resignation as a judge.
– wrote Judge Jarecka in a Monday announcement on the court’s website.
According to the WSA spokeswoman, “Judge Tomasz Szmydt is on vacation leave from April 22, 2024 to May 10, 2024.”
To date, the President of the Provincial Administrative Court in Warsaw has not received any information from the judge about his dismissal
– she added.
Judge Szmydt appears on the website of the Warsaw Provincial Administrative Court in the list of judging judges. According to the role of this court, hearings are scheduled in the coming weeks in administrative cases in which this judge is a member of the jury.
Designated for closed session?
For example on May 16 this year. this judge would be the rapporteur in five cases brought against the head of the Homeland Security Service – as an authority. This includes: for refusing to pay an award to an ABW official. In turn, this judge would rule on the May 24 docket, among other things: in cases of passivity or refusal to provide public information by the Chairman of the Security Service in Warsaw and the Minister of Culture and National Heritage, or the Commander of the Police from Warsaw. For example, he was also charged with the rules for the purchase of vacant places in the municipal cemetery at the Podkowa Leśna Municipal Council.
In turn on June 4 this year. this judge was appointed to hold closed hearings in a special courtroom in cases brought before the Prime Minister as an authority. As stated in the docket, these cases concern refusals to issue security clearances for access to classified information classified as “secret”, “NATO SECRET”, “ESA SECRET”, “SECRET UE/EU SECRET”.
Kosiniak-Kamysz: The matter requires immediate clarification
Judge Szmydt’s case was also commented on by the Ministers of Defense and Foreign Affairs.
If someone chooses Belarus, does that mean that he has been working in Poland for years for some interest, on whose behalf?
– notes the Head of the Ministry of National Defense, Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz, when asked about this issue by journalists.
He said Szmydt’s past actions should be investigated. The Deputy Prime Minister is waiting for the report from the services on this.
Kosiniak-Kamysz added that visiting Belarus means that such a person’s past activities “give a lot of food for thought.”
The matter requires immediate clarification
– he emphasized.
Sikorski: It seems to be a somewhat similar case
The head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Radosław Sikorski, was also questioned about the issue.
Shocking news. I cannot comment on it, but it was probably someone who was involved in these political campaigns during the previous term.
An absolutely shocking case
– he said.
When asked whether there is a diplomatic procedure in such a situation, he noted that for the time being he knows as much about the case as the journalists who asked him about it, because when this information appeared he was participating in a panel during the Defense 24 Day Conference.
I’m shocked, honestly. We’ve had a traitor before, it seems like a similar case
– said the head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
In mid-December 2021, the Belarusian Border Guard reported that Polish soldier Emil Checzko had applied for asylum in Belarus after being detained near Tusemli in the Grodno region. He was a soldier of the 11th Masurian Artillery Regiment in Węgorzewo. In mid-March 2022, Chechko was found dead in Minsk.
On Monday, Szmydt published a statement on the X and Telegram platforms (in Polish and Russian), announcing that he had been forced to go to Belarus due to “disagreement with the policies and actions of the authorities” in Warsaw.
I express my protest against the Polish authorities who, under the influence of the US and Great Britain, are leading the country to war. The Polish nation supports peace and good neighborly relations with Belarus and Russia. That’s why I’m in Minsk and I’m ready to tell the truth
– he declared.
Belsat television portal noted that Szmydt’s statement in Polish contains syntactic structures characteristic of the Russian language, indicating that the text was originally written in Russian.
According to media reports, Szmydt admitted to taking part in the alleged hate scandal. The scandal was described many times on the website wPolityce.pl by editor Wojciech Biedroń. Szmydt is privately the ex-husband of the famous “little Emi”. In the left-liberal media he was regarded as a “repentant PiS judge”.
Journalists who fueled the ‘scandal’ often lost lawsuits later. For example, the courts showed a lack of fairness. The media later had to apologize to the judges, whom they accused of participating in a ‘hater’ group that included Prof. Małgorzata Gersdorf.
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yes/DAD
Source: wPolityce
Emma Matthew is a political analyst for “Social Bites”. With a keen understanding of the inner workings of government and a passion for politics, she provides insightful and informative coverage of the latest political developments.