Following the swearing-in of six judges, Justice Minister Waldemar Żurek stated the Constitutional Tribunal is being “restored for the citizen” in Warsaw on Thursday.
Judges Sworn In Amidst Security Concerns
The swearing-in ceremony for Constitutional Tribunal judges was held under tight security. Reports indicated concerns about the event’s proceedings.
Dariusz Szostek and Magdalena Bentkowska, who had previously sworn their oaths before the President, were among the six judges sworn in at the Sejm. The others were Krystian Markiewicz, Maciej Taborowski, Marcin Dziurda, and Anna Korwin-Piotrowska.
“Restoring the Tribunal for the Citizen”
Justice Minister Waldemar Żurek described the event as creating a “legal and new solution regarding the functioning of state bodies.” He explained that a legal solution had been found to address the Tribunal’s inactivity.
Żurek expressed hope that the Tribunal would finally be “restored for the citizen,” calling it a “really good day for democracy.”
Call for a Single, Legal Tribunal
Żurek stated his desire for the newly appointed judges to effectively take office at the Constitutional Tribunal building, emphasizing the need for “one legal Tribunal” and avoiding the creation of parallel bodies.
He also highlighted the role of the President of the Constitutional Tribunal, Bogdan Święczkowski, in the current situation.
Accusations of Justifying Illegal Decisions
Żurek criticized attempts to justify what he termed “illegal decisions,” stating that obstructing the new judges from taking office would be a further violation of the law.
Criticism of the President’s Office Narrative
Żurek dismissed as “embarrassing” the explanation from the President’s Chief of Staff, Zbigniew Bogucki, that the President only accepted oaths from two of the six judges to fill existing vacancies and meet the statutory requirements for a full composition.
He labeled Bogucki’s justification as the level of a “trickster trying to justify illegal decisions.”
