The abolition of the immunity of MPs Marcin Romanowski and Michał Wosik by the Sejm remains in force – the Chancellery of the Sejm said in a statement. It was added that a possible repeated detention or request for the arrest of a deputy does not require new consent of the Sejm.
Position of the Speaker of the Sejm Szymon Hołownia – “in response to voices emerging in the public space” – is available on the Sejm website.
Chancellery of the Sejm: resolutions on immunities remain in force
“Marshal of the Sejm Szymon Hołownia informs that the following resolutions of the Sejm regarding MPs Marcin Romanowski and Michał Woś remain in force: of June 28, 2024 regarding the consent of the Sejm of the Republic of Poland to bring criminally liable MP Michał Piotr Woś (…), of July 12, 2024 on the consent of the Sejm of the Republic of Poland to bring criminally liable the MP Marcin Romanowski (…), of July 12, 2024 on the consent of the Sejm of the Republic of Poland to the detention and provisional arrest of MP Marcin Romanowski” – we read in the parliamentary communiqué published on Monday.
The Chancellery of the Sejm also announced that, in accordance with the legal opinions of experts, Prof. Dr. hab. Andrzej Sakowicz (from the Office of Expertise and Regulatory Impact Assessment of the Chancellery of the Sejm) of September 5, 2024 and dr. hab. Krzysztof Grajewski (from the University of Gdańsk) of September 2, 2024, “the consent of the Sejm to the detention and provisional arrest of a Member of Parliament concerns a specific factual event related to the ongoing criminal proceedings.”
“This consent is independent of the procedural decisions regarding detention or pre-trial detention,” it was noted.
The announcement also states that in a situation where the Sejm has adopted a resolution consenting to the detention or provisional arrest of a Member of Parliament, and then the court finds the detention unjustified or illegal, or does not apply provisional arrest, “repeated detention of the same Member or repeated submission of an application by the prosecutor's office” to apply pre-trial detention to him in the same case does not require a new resolution of the Sejm.
Hołownia replied to Wosio
It was also added that MP Woś, in a letter dated September 28 (received date: October 1), asked the Speaker of the Sejm to “fulfil his duties and take immediate and necessary actions aimed at restoring the lawful state, in particular as regards his parliamentary immunity, by “elimination of the legal circulation of the resolution of the Sejm of the Republic of Poland of June 28, 2024” due to its alleged “significant legal defect”. “Marshal of the Sejm Szymon Hołownia informed MP Michał Woś that the Marshal of the Sejm is not entitled to any legal instruments that could aim to eliminate the act in question from legal circulation,” the release added.
Resolution of the neo-judges
On September 27, the Criminal Chamber of the Supreme Court, composed of judges appointed to the Supreme Court after 2017 (so-called neo-judges), stated that the appointment of Dariusz Barski as national prosecutor in 2022 was legally effective. In the justification for the Supreme Court's resolution, the President of the Chamber, Zbigniew Kapiński, assessed that when Barski was removed from the position of head of the PK, there was an “instrumental use of the law”.
The current national prosecutor, Dariusz Korneluk, took up the function after the Ministry of Justice announced that Barski's nomination for this position was defective.
Main photo source: PAP/Marcin Obara