You should not expect fireworks, but step-by-step actions, i.e. try different types of actions a little at a time – said Professor Ewa Łętowska, a retired judge of the Constitutional Tribunal and the first ombudsman for civil rights, in “Fakty po Faktach”, speaking regarding the process of restoring the rule of law in Poland. As she added, “there’s a lot going on in these two months.”
The guest of “Fakty po Faktowy”, Professor Ewa Łętowska, retired judge of the Constitutional Tribunal and the first ombudsman, talked regarding the process of restoring the rule of law in Poland. – You should not expect fireworks, but step-by-step action, i.e. trying different types of actions a little at a time – she said.
She added, “all the more so because the appropriation of the rule of law was also carried out in installments, through legislation, through the nomenclature of appointing positions.” – This requires various measures, and at the moment we have a limited range of options, primarily because the legislative path is largely limited due to the president’s announcement regarding legislative initiatives – she continued.
On January 31, the president signed three laws, including the budget one, and referred them to the Constitutional Tribunal. He said that he did so due to “the inability of MPs Mariusz Kamiński and Maciej Wąsik to participate in the work of the Sejm on these bills.” PiS politicians were legally convicted and deprived of their mandates by operation of law. Meanwhile, the statement from the Chancellery of the President added that “similar actions will be taken by the President of the Republic of Poland whenever Members of Parliament are prevented from performing their mandate.”
Read more: The president explains what he will do with the laws. The reason was Kamiński and Wąsik
Łętowska: there’s a lot going on in these two months
As Professor Ewa Łętowska, Minister of Justice, said Adam Bodnar “opted for action within the law, but also said that he would try to use the active possibilities of the law, its interpretations, which will lead him to the type of solutions that can be considered satisfactory.”
– But the legislative path is disabled, so in these two months (since PiS lost power – ed.), a lot is happening – she said. – However, this principle of working bit by bit has its own specificity, because in this whole process the conflict of interests is revealed, first of all – she said.
Ewa Łętowska in “Fakty po Faktach” TVN24
– People are impatient. Especially those who were strongly involved at the time in resistance to these various changes violating the rule of law. They testified to very active and beautiful resistance. Well, they are impatient. “What, not yet?” – said Professor Ewa Łętowska.
Łętowska: the action in the case of prosecutor Barski was correct
The guest of “Fakty po Faktach” also referred to the changes made by those in power in the prosecutor’s office. As Łętowska stated, “I am deeply convinced, as a lawyer, of the correctness of the decision that the national prosecutor was incorrectly dismissed from retirement.” – What the Minister of Justice did, i.e. implemented invalidation proceedings, is, in my opinion, OK – she said.
– Prosecutor Barski has the option of appealing to the labor court, but as far as I know, Prosecutor Barski did not use it – she added.
On January 12, Prime Minister Donald Tusk entrusted the duties of the national prosecutor to Jacek Bilewicz. The Ministry of Justice informed then that Minister Adam Bodnar, during a meeting with Dariusz Barski, who was appointed as the national prosecutor under Zbigniew Ziobro, handed him a document stating that he no longer held this position. The reason was that the reinstatement of Barski to active service from February 16, 2022 by Ziobro “was made in violation of applicable regulations and did not produce legal effects.”
As the Ministry of Justice then emphasized, “as a result, from the date of transfer of the above position of the Prosecutor General, i.e. from January 12, 2024, Dariusz Barski remains retired, which makes him unable to perform the function of the National Prosecutor.”
The decision was criticized by PiS and President Andrzej Duda.
Łętowska: there is one legal system in Poland
A retired judge of the Constitutional Tribunal and the first ombudsman stated that in Poland “there are no two legal systems”. – This is nonsense in that some of the staff, broadly understood, stick to the old order, while others want the rule of law to be restored – she said.
Professor Ewa Łętowska in “Fakty po Faktach”TVN24
As she emphasized, “there is one system”. – The problem is that this is a consequence of the nomenclature of appointing decision-making positions and it cannot be fixed so quickly – said Professor Ewa Łętowska.
Source of main photo: TVN24