High-profile Polish Judicial Decisions under Scrutiny

A Polish online portal has highlighted ongoing controversy surrounding the closure of a bribery case involving a prosecutor accused of accepting a substantial payoff from a figure linked to a popular TV series. The case has drawn attention to judge Marta Pilśnik, who has become a focal point due to a string of contentious rulings. In 2020, for months she faced questions over whether an arrest should take place for a businessman tied to the GetBack financial scandal. Ultimately, in December 2020, she ruled that the businessman was not evading justice, a decision that local observers described as surprising given the allegations. The judge also acquitted Emil Wąsacz, who faced charges related to duties during the privatization of a major state-owned insurer in 1999. The ruling on Pilśnik’s decisions was later reviewed by a Warsaw-based appellate panel that included judge Piotr Kluz, a figure with a history of involvement in controversial judicial matters. This panel’s involvement prompted discussions about the balance between judicial discretion and accountability in high-stakes investigations.