Poland’s Supreme Court has ruled that Igor Tuleya – a judge who has become a symbol of opposition to the government’s judicial policies – is not guilty of the crime prosecutors accused him of and that he can return to work after being suspended for over two years.
Tuleya was accused by prosecutors of allowing public disclosure of information to “unauthorised” people when he allowed journalists to attend and record proceedings during a case in which he effectively ruled against the government.
In November 2020, he was stripped of immunity from prosecution and suspended from work by the controversial disciplinary chamber for judges created by the government as part of its overhaul of the judiciary.
That chamber, which was part of the Supreme Court, was abolished earlier this year as a requirement for Poland to unlock funds frozen by the European Union over rule-of-law concerns. Today, the body which replaced it – the chamber of professional responsibility – exonerated Tuleya.
“We recognise and state that Judge Igor Tuleya did not commit any crime when, on 18 December 2017, he decided to conduct a hearing in public and allow the media to attend,” said Judge Małgorzata Wąsek-Wiaderek, quoted by Polsat News.
“The judge acted within the limits and on the basis of the law,” she continued, adding that prosecutors’ complaint against Tuleya was “clearly groundless”. The chamber, therefore, overturned the 2020 decision to suspend Tuleya and reduce his pay.
🇵🇱⚖️The new Professional Liability Chamber of the Supreme Court sides with judge Igor Tuleya, restoring his immunity (and salary) and refusing to sign off the prosecutor's order to have Tuleya forcibly delivered to prosecutor's office in an ongoing investigation. 1/ https://t.co/eWgseBGnVs
— Jakub Jaraczewski (@[email protected]) (@J_Jaraczewski) November 29, 2022
Tuleya himself had never accepted the validity of the disciplinary chamber’s decision to suspend him, noting that various rulings by Polish and European courts had found it not to be a legitimate court. However, his attempts to return to work were blocked, despite orders by lower courts for him to be allowed to return.
Tuleya also refused prosecutors’ requests to come in for questioning, leading them to seek for him to be forcibly detained. However, their request to do so was rejected by the disciplinary chamber last year.
It remains to be seen if, following today’s ruling, Tuleya will be permitted to return to work. The outcome will be watched closely by the European Commission, which demanded that Poland reinstate suspended judges as one of the conditions for unlocking frozen funds.
Main image credit: Dawid Zuchowicz / Agencja Gazeta
Daniel Tilles is editor-in-chief of Notes from Poland. He has written on Polish affairs for a wide range of publications, including Foreign Policy, POLITICO Europe, EUobserver and Dziennik Gazeta Prawna.
