Resolution No. 24/2024 of the National Polish Association of Judges “Sędziowie RP” with its seat in Cracow regarding unlawful threats directed against the First President of the Polish Supreme Court, Professor Małgorzata Manowska
The National Polish Association of Judges “Sędziowie RP,” with its seat in Cracow, expresses its most profound anger over the public statement of Prime Minister Donald Tusk at a press conference on September 3, 2024, constituting a threat of unlawful criminal proceedings against First President of the Supreme Court Małgorzata Manowska PhD, in connection with her temporary leadership of the Labor and Social Insurance Chamber of the Supreme Court.
At the same time, the association states with the utmost disapproval that the Prime Minister has neither the knowledge nor any legitimacy to pronounce on issues of internal governance at the Supreme Court, which is a separate power from the executive and legislative branches.
We, the judges of the Republic of Poland, express our firm objection to public statements by politicians of a defamatory nature against the First President of the Supreme Court. At the same time, there is no doubt that the right, and at the same time the duty, of the First President of the Supreme Court to temporarily lead a chamber of the Supreme Court after the expiration of the term of office of the president of that chamber is a direct result of the regulation of Article 14 § 1 of the Law of December 8, 2017, on the Supreme Court (uniform text, Journal of Laws of 2024, item 622).
The Supreme Court Information Center provided reasons why this provision was applicable in the situation in a communiqué posted on the Supreme Court’s website under the “News” tab on September 3, 2024. The argument presented is unambiguous and clear, so it is sufficient to refer to it without duplicating the indicated contents.
In this situation, public threats that a criminal complaint will be filed against the First President of the Supreme Court constitute an unacceptable and unprecedented attempt to interfere with the judiciary’s independence, and a person who files a notice of the announced content may be exposed to criminal liability under Article 234 of the Criminal Code.
