National Council of the Judiciary – planned changes. Adam Bodnar, Minister of Justice and Attorney General, comments

Adam Bodnar he spoke in “Kropka nad i” on TVN24 about actions that are already being taken or will be taken in the future to rectify the situation in the National Council of the Judiciary.

To the host’s remark that December 20 The Sejm adopted a resolution regarding this body he replied that this resolution does not change the legal status, but “confirms a certain factual status.”

When asked what would be the consequence of adopting this resolution, he replied: – First of all, what is within the limits of my competences. I may suspend announcements of new competitions for judicial positions. So by suspending (these announcements – editor) I am, in a sense, preventing the state of unconstitutionality from deepening. This means that no further competitions are held and no more people are appointed by the malfunctioning National Council of the Judiciary.

He added that “it is absolutely within the limits of the law.”

Bodnar was also asked whether it is possible to dismiss judges-members of the National Council of the Judiciary who were elected by the parliament. – Regarding the appeal, a draft bill will be presented, which – I hope – will be the subject of parliamentary work, where a procedure will be proposed. choice members of the National Council of the Judiciary in agreement, so to speak, with the three projects that we now have on the table – he said. He pointed out that it was a Senate project, a project of the Association of Polish Judges “Iustitia” and the Association of Judges “Themis”.

He emphasized that this type of solution requires the president’s signature. – But I take at face value what the president said at the swearing-in (of the government – ed.) on December 13 – that if you talk, negotiate and discuss with him, the president will agree to some solutions regarding the rule of law – the TVN24 guest continued.

The head of the Ministry of Justice also talked about planned changes to the functioning of the Constitutional Tribunal.

– We are preparing for comprehensive solutions related to the Constitutional Tribunal – he announced. However, he did not specify what solutions he was talking about. – I would not like to anticipate now, because I think that what will be presented will be important from the point of view of building an appropriate and responsible approach to the functioning of the Constitutional Tribunal – he added.

Adam Bodnar also referred to the disclosed earnings of former heads of the Television Information Agency operating in TVP. On December 28, KO MP Dariusz Joński published the results of his parliamentary inspection, which concerned earnings on this television. It showed that some leading government media employees could count on earnings of approximately PLN 1.5 million per year.

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– When I saw these amounts, I couldn’t believe it. Of course, we expected that these salaries would be high, that they would amount to several tens of thousands per month of work, but I think that no citizen or participant in public life would expect such huge amounts, said the Minister of Justice.

When asked if there were any possibilities to collect the money, he replied: – I think there are ways to do it. We have provisions in the Civil Code that allow us to indicate that remuneration for certain issues was inconsistent with the principles of social coexistence.

He added that “it is quite a difficult procedure, but it is not impossible.” When asked who exactly the money would be taken away from, he said that “the court must decide in its judgment.” – An appropriate lawsuit must be presented. However, I think that this type of opportunities should be considered in the context of those who earned rates absolutely above the market rate. I suspect that for some people it can be compared to the rates applicable in private media – he explained.

– However, I think that even in the best Polish stations, these amounts arouse at least surprise, if not even embarrassment, that they can be so shocking – he added.

Adam Bodnar also commented on the situation Mariusz Kamiński and Maciej Wąsik, who by a final court judgment they were sentenced to two years’ imprisonment in connection with the so-called land scandal.

To the host’s comment that – according to the head of the President’s Cabinet, Marcin Mastalerek – the president is not planning to use the law of pardon for now, Bodnar replied: – he says “no” now, but maybe in a moment he will decide to change his mind. He says “no” because it would mean admitting his mistake, which was the pardon after the first-instance court’s judgment.

The Minister of Justice also stated that talking about “political prisoners” if Wąsik and Kamiński were actually in prison is “at least excessive and even groundless.”

The “Kropka nad i” guest also commented on the initiation of proceedings by the prosecutor’s office regarding Jan Pietrzak’s statement on Telewizja Republika, who said, among other things, that “we have barracks for immigrants: in Auschwitz, Majdanek, Treblinka, Stutthof.” – The case is under investigation, which means that no charges have been brought against anyone – said Szymon Banna, spokesman for the District Prosecutor’s Office in Warsaw.

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Bodnar said that a cabaret artist “is not allowed to do more”. – These are absolutely unacceptable words. You cannot incite hatred in this way. You cannot use this type of comparison. Therefore, for me the reaction was obvious. I first called the national prosecutor, Dariusz Barski. I said that I would appeal to him to initiate an investigation into this matter. I am glad that the District Prosecutor’s Office in Warsaw has initiated this investigation today, he said.

– I think the matter is quite obvious. In a sense, you cannot simply qualify words that constitute incitement to hatred and say that it is just a joke and not worry about it at all. We need to be aware of when and under what conditions we joke, he emphasized.