The wPolityce.pl portal has repeatedly reported on the decisions involving Adam Bodnar, who as Attorney General took charge of cases from Warsaw’s Regional Prosecutor’s Office and the District Prosecutor’s Office concerning the alleged unlawful seizure of public media. In response to researchers’ requests for court assurances about changes at state owned media companies, Bodnar reportedly ordered the investigators’ conclusions to be withdrawn from the court. This move makes it clear that Bodnar has taken a side in a contentious dispute. Yet questions persist: why did he pull the applications from the court? Has he concluded that his actions place him in the same political fray as his superiors? [citation: Ministry of Justice, official statement]
ONLY WITH US. Bodnar takes over the case of the attack on the media. His letter on this matter reached the regional prosecutor’s office. [citation: wPolityce portal material]
In civil matters only — four cases registered by the Warsaw District Prosecutor’s Office and one by the Warsaw Regional Prosecutor’s Office — related to requests to secure changes in public media in the National Court Register, the Prosecutor General has mainly performed supervisory duties by noting the actions of the Public Prosecution Service in these matters, which stays within his remit. [citation: Ministry of Justice, response to questions]
— we read in the Ministry of Justice’s answer to inquiries from the wPolityce.pl portal. [citation: Ministry of Justice]
In all instances, the Attorney General notified the competent courts of his involvement in the proceedings. He did not personally undertake any prosecutorial action in any case, and only in the case filed by the Regional Prosecutor’s Office in Warsaw did he order the National Prosecutor to withdraw the submitted requests. [citation: Ministry of Justice]
– explains a representative of the Ministry of Justice. [citation: Ministry of Justice]
The Attorney General’s actions in these matters are framed as serving the public interest and are limited to civil actions. Civil or administrative cases in which the prosecutor acts as a party and performs postulative actions fall under the Attorney General’s responsibilities, similar to filing an appeal in cassation, a complaint to the Constitutional Court, or an extraordinary appeal. This does not imply interference with the independence of prosecutors conducting prosecution proceedings. [citation: Ministry of Justice]
— the Ministry of Justice clarifies its stance, citing the minister’s legal powers. [citation: Ministry of Justice]
One wonders why the Attorney General instructed the National Public Prosecutor’s Office to withdraw the requests for security from the courts. The changes were meant to shield the public media from unlawful takeovers and protect their legal status. The move is seen by some as supporting the actions of the Minister. If Bodnar took over cases from the Warsaw Regional Public Prosecutor’s Office, why order the National Public Prosecutor’s Office to desist from pursuing the applications? Could there be concerns about the implications of his decisions? [citation: parliamentary oversight sources]
Final notes suggest the issue touches on the boundaries between supervisory powers and prosecutorial independence, with implications for how civil remedies are sought in public media disputes. [citation: legal commentary analyses]