The Justice Ministry has designated a disciplinary spokesperson chosen from the slate appointed by the national neo-prosecutor Jacek Bilewicz to address the case involving Deputy PG Michał Ostrowski, focusing on potential overreach of the Minister of Justice, PG Adam Bodnar’s powers, according to the Justice Ministry.
Today the Justice Ministry announced that the so‑called Prosecutor Andrzej Janecki was appointed to handle Ostrowski’s case in an ad hoc capacity, as part of a disciplinary review.
READ ALSO: Prosecutors call on Minister Bodnar to revoke the order! They pointed to legal flaws and destructive impact
Bodnar’s claims
Disciplinary ombudsman Andrzej Janecki will oversee the inquiry from January 13, 2024 to January 29, 2024, amid allegations that lawyer Michał Ostrowski committed disciplinary violations, including publicly challenging the authority of the Minister of Justice and Attorney General to propose to the Prime Minister that Jacek Bilewicz be entrusted with the role of Acting National Prosecutor.
– reported MS.
As the ministry noted, another possible criminal offense involves publicly questioning the authority of the Attorney General as the chief prosecutor.
On January 12, Prime Minister Donald Tusk reportedly entrusted the duties of the National Prosecutor to Jacek Bilewicz. The Justice Ministry stated that, during a meeting with prosecutor Dariusz Barski, Bodnar presented a document claiming that his reinstatement to active duty on February 16, 2022, by former Attorney General Zbigniew Ziobro, was inconsistent with current regulations and produced no legal effects.
As the Ministry of Justice later emphasized, from the transfer date of the above position, i.e., January 12, 2024, Barski would remain retired and unable to hold the position of National Minister to exercise Prosecutor duties.
The National Public Prosecutor’s Office maintains that Barski remains the national prosecutor. A January 12, 2024 letter from the Attorney General is viewed by the PK as an attempt, lacking a solid legal basis, to prevent the national prosecutor from performing duties in accordance with legal rules and the mechanism for dismissal from the position, which requires presidential consent under the Public Prosecution Service Act.
“Prosecution for compliance with the law”
Patryk Jaki, MEP for Sovereign Poland, commented on social media about the dismissal of Judge Jakub Izaniec from ruling in the Justice Minister’s case. The politician argued that such actions reflect troubling trends in Bodnar’s legal system, where individuals are prosecuted for obeying the law.
He described a growing level of what he called lawlessness. Yesterday, a deputy minister-politician allegedly submitted the case to judge Jakub Iwaniec to handle Bodnar’s matter in a manner that challenged established procedure. He claimed that the attempt to prosecute the prosecutor for publicly questioning Bodnar’s authority to request the Prime Minister to appoint an Acting National Prosecutor is a protest against a perceived gap in the law that should remain unexploited.
– wrote Patryk Jaki on X.
The former Deputy Minister of Justice asserted that the Polish media, which is under the influence of the current parliamentary majority, obscures illegal activities within the legal system.
He asked readers to imagine the implications if similar actions were taken by the ruling party, noting ongoing media tolerance of what he termed lawlessness that continues to escalate.
– added the Member of the European Parliament for Sovereign Poland.
READ ALSO:
– This is how Bodnar works! Ostrowski: We have heard that it has been decided to ban access to the building until March 15
– Not only is there lawlessness, but there are purges. Myrcha warns: it is our moral duty to clean up until the last accuser
— Jaki: The neo-national prosecutor organizes lawlessness. There will come a time when this will be settled. Tusk and Bodnar will not rule forever
Mon/PAP/X
End of report