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Notes from Poland is run by a small editorial team and is published by an independent, non-profit foundation that is funded through donations from our readers. We cannot do what we do without your support.
Prosecutors have requested that Supreme Court chief justice Małgorzata Manowska be stripped of legal immunity so that she can face charges for committing three alleged crimes.
The development marks a further deepening of Poland’s rule-of-law crisis, which has seen the current government repeatedly clash with officials, such as Manowska, appointed under the former Law and Justice (PiS) administration.
Do Sądu Najwyższego oraz równolegle do Trybunału Stanu trafiły dziś wnioski @PK_GOV_PL o uchylenie immunitetu Małgorzaty Manowskiej – Pierwszej Prezes Sądu Najwyższego oraz Przewodniczącej Trybunału Stanu.
Prokuratura zebrała dowody, które wskazują na dostateczne podejrzenie…
— Adam Bodnar (@Adbodnar) July 16, 2025
On Wednesday afternoon, Adam Bodnar, the justice minister and prosecutor general, announced that requests have been submitted to the Supreme Court and State Tribunal – a body tasked with holding state officials to account – for Manowska’s immunity to be revoked.
He said that prosecutors have “gathered evidence indicating a reasonable suspicion that Małgorzata Manowska committed three offences”, all of which relate to abuse of power. That crime carries a potential prison sentence of up to three years.
The first charge relates to Manowska allegedly allowing votes to take place at the Supreme Court’s board without the required quorum of at least two thirds of judges being present.
Seven votes took place in 2021 and 2022 without such a quorum because some judges were boycotting the meetings until the Supreme Court respected a European Court of Justice order to cease the activity of its disciplinary chamber for judges, a controversial body created by PiS.
The second charge pertains to Manowska allegedly failing to convene a meeting of the State Tribunal – a body which, as head of the Supreme Court, she also chairs – when required.
The third accuses her of failing to comply with a court ruling to reinstate a Supreme Court judge, Paweł Juszczyszyn, who had been suspended by the disciplinary chamber.
In a statement outlining the allegations, the national prosecutor’s office said that it has found there is a “high probability that Małgorzata Manowska committed the three prohibited acts”.
However, it can only bring charges against her if she is stripped of immunity by both the Supreme Court (through its professional responsibility chamber, another body created under PiS) and the State Tribunal.
Fifteen months since the change of government, Poland's rule-of-law crisis continues – indeed, many Poles think the situation has got worse.@J_Jaraczewski explains the roots of the crisis, what its impact has been, and how it might be resolved https://t.co/7KOCURV3dU
— Notes from Poland 🇵🇱 (@notesfrompoland) March 17, 2025
Manowska herself has not yet commented on the development. However, the prosecutors’ actions were strongly condemned by Lawyers for Poland (Prawnicy dla Polski), a group representing judges associated with the former PiS government’s judicial reforms.
This is “another act of political terror by Bodnar” and “an unprecedented attack on the independence of the highest judicial authority”, wrote the group on social media.
They accused Bodnar of “attacking the Supreme Court chief justice…for not submitting to his dictates…[and] having the courage to defend the constitutional order”.
“These are not actions in accordance with the law – this is an operation of political retaliation using the prosecutor’s office as a tool of repression,” they added, before “expressing full solidarity with the chief justice”.
‼️ Kolejny akt politycznego terroru Bodnara.
Po sędzim @MichaLasota6 – teraz sędzia Manowska.
Minister sprawiedliwości, który w imię „praworządności” używa prokuratury jak pałki, właśnie zaatakował Pierwszą Prezes @SN_RP_Za co? Za to, że nie podporządkowała się jego dyktatowi.… https://t.co/Zb07UwQLdn
— Prawnicy dla Polski (@PRAWNICYdlaPOL) July 16, 2025
Manowska was appointed as chief justice in 2020 by PiS-aligned president Andrzej Duda. The decision aroused controversy, as she was picked ahead of another candidate who received twice as many nominations from among other judges.
Manowska is one of the so-called “neo-judges” who were appointed to the Supreme Court after the PiS government had overhauled the National Council of the Judiciary (KRS) – the body responsible for nominating judges – in a manner that Polish and European courts found rendered it illegitimate due to political influence.
Since PiS lost power in December 2023, Manowska has spoken out against the actions of the new ruling coalition, accusing it of “violating the foundations of the constitutional order of Poland” and taking “illegal actions” against PiS MPs.
Separately, another of Poland’s top courts, the Constitutional Tribunal (TK), has also been embroiled in a conflict with the government, which refuses to recognise its legitimacy due to the presence of judges illegitimately appointed under PiS.
The head of the constitutional court – an opposition ally – has announced an investigation into Prime Minister @donaldtusk and other government officials for allegedly carrying out a “coup d’état” as part of an “organised criminal group” https://t.co/2038w3trwj
— Notes from Poland 🇵🇱 (@notesfrompoland) February 5, 2025
Notes from Poland is run by a small editorial team and published by an independent, non-profit foundation that is funded through donations from our readers. We cannot do what we do without your support.
Main image credit: Slawomir Kaminski / Agencja Wyborcza.pl
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.
