Zbigniew Ziobro, the Minister of Justice, criticized the first president of the Supreme Court, Małgorzata Manowska, for the decision in the case of the unrecognized Disciplinary Chamber. According to Ziobra, Manowska “did not meet the challenge” faced by the first president of the Supreme Court.
Two were published on the website of the Supreme Court on Thursday orders of Małgorzata Manowskain which the first president of the Supreme Court partially froze the work of the Disciplinary Chamber in question. In mid-July Court of Justice of the European Union ruled that the system of disciplinary liability of judges in Poland is inconsistent with EU law. The day before, the CJEU obliged Poland to “immediately suspend” the provisions on the powers of the unrecognized Disciplinary Chamber of the Supreme Court.
The last decision changes the position of the first president of the Supreme Court. Initially, on July 16, Małgorzata Manowska suspended the interim measures ordered by the CJEU, which meant that the judges of the Disciplinary Chamber – contrary to the position of the European tribunal – adjudicated in disciplinary cases.
Zbigniew Ziobro criticizes Małgorzata Manowska
Zbigniew Ziobro, the Minister of Justice and the Public Prosecutor General, commented on the latest orders of the first Supreme Court in a statement released on Friday. In his opinion, Manowska’s actions “are contrary to Polish law, of both statutory and constitutional rank”.
Ziobro wrote that since July 16, when Manowska made the decision enabling the Disciplinary Chamber to adjudicate, “there has been no change to the Polish Constitution, the provisions of European treaties have not changed, and the Constitutional Tribunal has not issued a different ruling as to the possibility of suspending the Disciplinary Chamber by the CJEU.” The first president of the Supreme Court – in Ziobro’s opinion – “contrary to the position quoted above (his – editor) has decided to actually suspend the normal work of the Disciplinary Chamber”.
The Minister assessed that “the duty of the first president of the Supreme Court is to stand in law, and to leave the resolution of political disputes with the institutions of the European Union to the decisions of the competent authorities of the Republic of Poland, which are entrusted with the competences in this regard by the Constitution.”
Ziobro on Manowska: she was unable to cope with the task
He added that “a person who has decided to perform the responsible function of the First President of the Supreme Court should be resistant to threats and pressure, both from foreign institutions and from the politicized part of the judiciary and the media supporting it”.
Decisions made by Ms Małgorzata Manowska – assessed Ziobro – “mean that, unfortunately, she was not able to meet this challenge.”
Main photo source: Albert Zawada / PAP / EPA