Maciej Nawacki with disciplinary charges. For actions against Paweł Juszczyszyn

Disciplinary cases of a judge Nawacki examiner appointed by the head of the Ministry of Justice Adam Bodnar disciplinary spokesman for the minister – the so-called “ad hoc” spokesman, judge Andrzej Krasnodębski.

As the Ministry of Justice said in a statement on Thursday, the disciplinary charges formulated by the “ad hoc” spokesman against Nawacki concern that in 2019, as the president of the District Court in Olsztyn, he exceeded his powers by ordering a break in the performance of official duties by the judge Paweł Juszczyszynand also implementing the resolution of the then Disciplinary Chamber of the Supreme Court of February 2020, removed this judge from adjudicating.

Then, Nawacki did not allow Judge Juszczyszyn to adjudicate, ignoring court rulings – including, among others, of the District Court in Bydgoszcz from April 2021, which ordered Juszczyszyn to be reinstated to perform his official duties, and from December 2021, which ordered Juszczyszyn to be reinstated to adjudicate.

Moreover – as it was added – in May 2022, President Nawacki forcibly transferred Judge Juszczyszyn from the original 1st Civil Department to the 3rd Family and Juvenile Department of the District Court in Olsztyn and placed Juszczyszyn on forced leave from May to July 2022. The disciplinary charges also concern the judge being prevented from adjudicating in his home Civil Division.

Other disciplinary charges relate to Nawacki's lack of consent to Judge Juszczyszyn's participation in the conference “Judges under pressure – a turning point in judicial institutions” and a false accusation of committing a disciplinary offense.

Another accusation against Nawacki concerns the meeting of judges of the Olsztyn court on February 7, 2020, during which appeals were made, among others, to refrain from taking actions that make it difficult for Judge Juszczyszyn to perform his duties. During the meeting, a request was made to extend the agenda to include voting on three draft resolutions. However, there was no vote on the adoption of the resolutions because President Nawacki tore the documents and closed the meeting.

Juszczyszyn's case began when the judge, considering an appeal in a civil case, found it necessary to decide whether a judge nominated by the National Council of the Judiciary after 2017 was authorized to rule in the first instance. In the issued decision, Juszczyszyn ordered the Chancellery of the Sejm to present, among others: letters of support for candidates to the National Council of the Judiciary, which initiated a legal battle and proceedings before the then – legally challenged – Disciplinary Chamber of the Supreme Court.

The next disciplinary charge against Nawacki, announced on Thursday, states that from September to November 2024, this judge “refused to administer justice in the cases assigned to him in the system, thereby violating the dignity of the office of a judge and significantly impeding the functioning of the judicial body.” “.

The last of the charges states that from October to November 2024, Nawacki “despite the objection of the president of the District Court in Olsztyn (…) conducted teaching classes at the University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn, thereby violating the dignity of the office of a judge.”

In the first half of December, it was reported that a request to waive judge Nawacki's immunity had been submitted to the Chamber of Professional Responsibility of the Supreme Court.

“The basis for submitting the application are the findings of an investigation initiated into the abuse of powers (…) by damaging documents during the Meeting of Judges of the District Court in Olsztyn, which he had no right to exclusively dispose of, thereby acting to the detriment of the public interest expressed in the proper functioning of the justice system and management of the judicial self-government body,” the prosecutor's office said.

READ ALSO: There is a request to waive the immunity of Maciej Nawacki. It's about tearing up documents