Judges who joined anti-government march violated constitution, say ministers

Two deputy government ministers from one of the parties in Poland’s ruling coalition have accused judges who attended yesterday’s anti-government march in Warsaw of violating their constitutional obligation to remain politically neutral. They have called for the judges to face “consequences”.

One judge, a Supreme Court justice, has confirmed that he joined the demonstration. However, another judge who was accused of attending has announced that in fact he did not. He says he is considering legal action against politicians who said he supported the march.

Hundreds of thousands of people around Poland joined protests yesterday, which was the anniversary of the first partially free elections in 1989 that paved the way for the fall of the communist regime.

The main march in Warsaw was organised and headed by Donald Tusk, the leader of Civic Platform (PO), Poland’s largest opposition party. It was also supported and attended by all other major opposition groups apart from the far right.

Speaking to the Rzeczpospolita newspaper before the event, Michał Laskowski, who until recently headed the Supreme Court’s criminal chamber and remains a judge on the court, confirmed that he would be attending the rally in Warsaw.

“I believe that, as a citizen, a judge has the right to participate in protest demonstrations,” said Laskowski. “I will not be there to support any opposition leader or particular political group. I just want to commemorate the anniversary of free elections because I think it’s a very important anniversary.”

“It always seemed to me that since then [1989], we have together been more or less building a democratic state ruled by law,” he added. “But that is now under threat. And very seriously.”

During the same interview, Laskowski described the government’s overhaul of the judiciary as “pseudo-reforms” and criticised President Andrzej Duda’s decision last week to sign a government-backed bill creating a commission to investigate Russian influence.

Speaking today, Jacek Ozdoba, a deputy environment minister and member of Sovereign Poland (Suwerenna Polska), a hard-right junior partner in Poland’s national-conservative ruling coalition, condemned judges who attended the march.

He accused them of violating article 178 of Poland’s constitution, which stipulates that judges “shall not belong to a political party, a trade union or perform public activities incompatible with the principles of independence of the courts”.

Speaking alongside Ozdoba, Piotr Cieplucha, a deputy justice minister, said that there is a “small segment of the judiciary that is politicised and takes part in these types of events”. He warned that it undermines public faith in the judicial system if people believe that judges are political.

“We believe that consequences should be drawn against these people [the judges who attended the march], so that this odium does not fall on the entire justice system,” said Cieplucha. The leader of Sovereign Poland, Zbigniew Ziobro, is justice minister and national prosecutor general.

The government is itself seen as having politicised the judiciary by installing allies in key positions, including two of its MPs as Constitutional Tribunal (TK) judges.

The TK’s chief justice, Julia Przyłębska, has regularly hosted the ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party’s chairman, Jarosław Kaczyński, at private dinners in her home.

As well as criticising Laskowski, Ozdoba and Cieplucha both also cited the example of another judge, Igor Tuleya, who was pictured in advertising for yesterday’s march. Tuleya has been a prominent critic – and target – of the government’s judicial reforms.

However, in an interview with Wirtualna Polska today, Tuleya said that he had in fact not attended the march and that his image had been used on posters without his permission.

“I am in contact with lawyers and Mr Ozdoba will have to clarify what he had in mind [when he criticised me],” said Tuleya. “The securing of other statements by politicians on social media is also underway and I think the case is suitable for a civil trial.”

Among the other politicians from the ruling camp to highlight Tuleya’s appearance on a poster for the march was PiS spokesman Rafał Bochenek.

Meanwhile, in a further interview with the Polish Press Agency (PAP) after the march, Laskowski defended himself from accusations that he had violated his constitutionally required independence.

“I believe that every judge has the right to take part in a demonstration that opposes certain measures that we have been dealing with for years and which directly go against the rule of law and certain constitutional principles,” he said.

“I did not go there to demonstrate support for any of the politicians, I did not stand on the rostrum, I just marched there as an ordinary citizen,” he added. “I believe that as a citizen I have the right to protest in this way.”

Main image credit: Kuba Atys / Agencja Wyborcza.pl

Daniel Tilles

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.