New president of the Institute of National Remembrance. How and when Karol Nawrocki will be chosen

Karol Nawrocki will have to give up his position of the President of the Institute of National Remembrance after winning in the second round of presidential elections. Nawrocki has been the president since 2021. The person is appointed and dismissed by the Sejm.

Institute of National Remembrance – The Commission for the Prosecution of Crimes against the Polish Nation was established on January 19, 1999 pursuant to the Act of December 18, 1998 on the Institute of National Remembrance. On January 27, 2022, the Sejm adopted an amendment to this act, which is currently in force. Chapter 2, in Articles 9-14, there is a way to choose the President of the Institute of National Remembrance and the conditions that the candidate for this position must meet.

Who will choose the new president?

The Act on the Institute of National Remembrance says that the Institute is managed by its president, who is appointed and dismissed by the Sejm with the consent of the Senate. Candidates for this position are submitted by the College of the Institute of National Remembrance, outside his group. Not earlier than for six months and not later than three months before the end of the term of office of the President of the Institute of National Remembrance, the chairman of the IPN College announces a public competition for the position of president of this institution.

In this situation – the election of the President of the Institute of National Remembrance Karol Nawrocki for the office of the president – another provision of the Act applies: “In the case of another reason for emptying the position of the President of the Institute of Remembrance, the deadline for submitting candidates for the competition for this position is 30 days from the date of the competition's announcement. Hearing the candidates for the position of the President of the Institute of Remembrance is public.”

The competition for the position of the President of the Institute of National Remembrance is announced by the chairman of the College of the Institute of National Remembrance – currently Professor Wojciech Polak. He must publish an advertisement about the competition in the “Public Information Bulletin of the Institute of Remembrance”. The announcement includes, among others: the requirements necessary to hold the position, list of documents and statements of the candidate, and information on the manner, date and place of their submission.

The competition consists of two stages. The first to check the documents and statements submitted by the candidates. The second stage is to publicly listen to the candidates, during which they present their skills and present the concepts of managing the Institute of National Remembrance.

In the next step of the College of the Institute of National Remembrance, he adopts a resolution on the selection of a candidate for the position of the President of the Institute of National Remembrance in a secret ballot, an absolute majority of votes. If in the first vote none of the candidates receive an absolute majority of votes, then another vote is carried out by an ordinary majority of votes, with the participation of candidates who obtained the two more largest numbers of votes.

If in votes none of the candidates receive the required majority of votes, the College of the Institute of National Remembrance, by way of a resolution, he considers the competition unresolved, and its chairman again announces the competition.

What conditions must the candidate meet?

The condition for submitting to the competition is: having only Polish citizenship, no criminal record, distinguishing with high moral values ​​and knowledge useful in the work of the Institute, having scientific melting: doctor, habilitated doctor or professor.

The act indicates that the President of the Institute of National Remembrance cannot be appointed a person who served, worked or was a collaborator of state security authorities and a judge who, by deciding, failed to do the office of the office. The President of the Institute of National Remembrance may not belong to a political party, a trade union or conduct public activities not reconciled with the dignity of his office. This position cannot be combined with the mandate of a deputy or senator.

Before performing his duties, the President of the Institute of National Remembrance takes the following vow before the Sejm: “I am solemnly at the position of the president of the Institute of National Remembrance entrusted to me to serve the Polish nation faithfully, guard the law, the obligations of my office to fulfill diligently, and in the proceedings be guided by the principles of dignity and honesty.” The oath can be made with the addition of the sentence: “Help me God.”

The President of the Institute of National Remembrance, whose term of office lasts five years, in the exercise of its office is independent of the state authorities. The same person cannot be the president more than for two subsequent terms. The act also included a provision that the President of the Institute of National Remembrance could not be held without the consent of the Sejm by criminal responsibility or deprived of liberty. In this respect, however, there are exceptions, e.g. taking him in the act of crime and if his detention is necessary to ensure the correct course of proceedings.

On Wednesday, IPN spokesman Dr. Rafał Leśkiewicz announced that Nawrocki still fulfills the duties of the President of the Institute of National Remembrance. Leśkiewicz, when asked when the procedure of choosing a new president could start, he replied that: “This is not a moment for these questions.” – Nawrocki is the president of the Institute of National Remembrance elected as president. The President's selection mode is determined by Article 10 and 10a of the Act – he added.