In addition, she is suspended and her salary is reduced by fifty percent. Its lawyers call it an “inquisition.”
The disciplinary chamber was created in 2017 by the Polish government headed by the right-wing populist party PiS. In April this year, the European Court of Justice ruled that the disciplinary chamber is not independent: its members have been selected by a body dominated by politicians and judges loyal to PiS. The Court requires the Polish government to stop the activities of the chamber. This has not been followed up. Organizations such as the Dutch foundation Judges for judges point out that the actions of the disciplinary chamber against Morawiec are in direct conflict with the earlier ruling of the Court and call on the European Commission to take steps.
In addition to being a judge in Krakow, Morawiec is also chairman of Themis, an organization that works for independent justice in Poland. She is critical of the incumbent government. In 2016, she filed a case against Justice Minister Zbigniew Ziobro and won. The Polish OM, which is under control of Ziobro, wants to prosecute Morawiec on two cases. She allegedly acquitted a suspect in exchange for a cell phone and claimed money from the court for work she didn’t do. Morawiec denies the first allegation and her lawyers were able to refute the second case. Still, Adam Tomczyński, who chaired the case on Monday, thought there was enough reason to waive her immunity so that the Public Prosecution Service could conduct an investigation. According to the OM, Morawiec is facing ten years in prison.
Polish radio station RMF 24 pointed out that Tomczyński on Twitter repeatedly expressed his support for PiS and commented strongly on current events and elections. After a reporter from the radio station confronted him about this on Monday, he deleted his Twitter account. Before becoming a judge in the disciplinary chamber, Tomczyński praised PiS’s reforms of the judicial system as a political commentator in the Polish media.
Adam Bodnar, the Polish ombudsman, wrote on Facebook that Morawiec should file a complaint with the European Court of Human Rights. Morawiec can appeal to the same disciplinary chamber in Poland. Also on October 22 is the case of Igor Tuleya, another critical judge whose immunity is at risk. The disciplinary chamber would make a decision on this on Monday, October 5, but decided to postpone the case for two weeks.
Also read:
Polish judge Igor Tuleya is also in danger of losing his immunity. ‘And then they will sue me’, he said at a protest in Warsaw last week.
Tuleya has resisted what he has for years ‘total devastation’ of the Polish case law.
In April this year, the European Court of Justice set a thick stripe through the controversial disciplinary chamber. But the Polish government does not respond to this.
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