The appeal of the National Prosecutor's Office against the refusal to arrest MP Marcin Romanowski is to be considered by three judges: Przemysław Dziwański, Wanda Jankowska-Bebeszko and Leszek Parzyszek – the District Court in Warsaw informed on Wednesday morning. This means that the adjudicating panel includes a judge who was supposed to be excluded from this case. The court set a date for September 27.
The District Court in Warsaw is to consider the prosecutor's office's appeal against the decision of the lower court, which on July 16 did not agree to the arrest of the club's MP PIS Marcin Romanowski due to his immunity from the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe. The politician of Sovereign Poland is suspected of participating in an organized criminal group and rigging competitions for money from the Justice Fund.
Last week, the Regional Court announced that due to the extensiveness and complexity of the evidence, as well as the nature of the charges brought against the MP, it was decided to expand the adjudicating panel to three judges. The panel included judges Przemysław Dziwański, Aleksandra Rusin-Batko and Wanda Jankowska-Bebeszko,However, on Monday the court decided to exclude Dziwański and Rusin-Batko due to the fact that they were appointed judges by the politicized National Council of the Judiciary.The court also announced that the date of the hearing at which the judges will decide Romanowski's arrest case will be set after September 23.
Marcin RomanowskiRadek Pietruszka/PAP
On Wednesday, the court updated this information, stating that “the case of the Prosecutor's Office's appeal was referred to a substantive date of September 27, 2024.”
The court also added that “by decision of the presiding judge of the 10th Criminal Appeal Division of the District Court in Warsaw, the case is to be heard by judges composed of: Przemysław Dziwański, Wanda Jankowska-Bebeszko and Leszek Parzyszek”. This means that despite Monday's decision to exclude, judge Dziwański is still on the adjudicating panel.
“At the same time, the chairwoman of the 10th Criminal Appeals Chamber decided to submit the files to this panel for further decisions on the content of the decisions of the District Court in Warsaw of August 7 and 12, 2024 regarding the exclusion of judges,” the statement reads.
The prosecutor's office wants Romanowski arrested
The prosecutor's office wants to apply a three-month arrest to Romanowski, who was the deputy minister of justice in the United Right government. However, on 16 July, the District Court for Warsaw-Mokotów refused to arrest the politician due to his immunity from the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe. The prosecutor's office, filing an appeal against this decision, claimed that a new legal analysis indicates that the scope of immunity protection concerning Romanowski in the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe does not cover the acts he is accused of. The case was referred to the Regional Court in Warsaw and is awaiting a decision.
The prosecutor's office announced that if the District Court in Warsaw upholds the decision of the first instance court to refuse to arrest Romanowski due to the immunity of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, it will apply for its lifting.
Main image source: Radek Pietruszka/PAP