The National Prosecutor’s Office has summoned Zbigniew Bogucki as a witness in an ongoing investigation into allegations that the presidential administration obstructed the swearing-in of four Constitutional Tribunal judges.
Investigation into Presidential Obstruction
In late April, the National Prosecutor’s Office launched an investigation into the alleged facilitation of the president’s refusal to accept the oaths of four Constitutional Tribunal judges and their subsequent exclusion from judicial duties. Bogucki confirmed he received a summons to appear as a witness, noting that other officials from the Presidential Chancellery were similarly notified.
Zbigniew Bogucki criticized the investigation during an April appearance on Polsat News, describing it as an attempt to weaponize the prosecutor’s office for political combat. He characterized the actions of prosecutors and officials involved as a descent into absurdity and political vengeance.
Judicial Appointment Dispute
On March 13, the Sejm elected six new judges to the Constitutional Tribunal. Subsequently, two judges took their oaths at the Presidential Palace at the invitation of Karol Nawrocki. The Presidential Chancellery argued that the situation regarding the remaining four candidates was being analyzed due to procedural errors allegedly committed in the Sejm.
On April 9, the four remaining judges took an oath in the Sejm’s Column Hall, stating they were doing so “before the president.” Two judges, Dariusz Szostek and Magdalena Bentkowska, assumed their roles that day. However, Tribunal President Bogdan Święczkowski ruled that the other four individuals—Krystian Markiewicz, Maciej Taborowski, Marcin Dziurda, and Anna Korwin-Piotrowska—did not assume office because their oath-taking ceremony was deemed invalid.
European Court of Human Rights Intervention
In early May, the European Court of Human Rights issued an interim measure ordering Poland to cease hindering the four judges from assuming and performing their judicial duties. This decision followed an application filed by Markiewicz, Taborowski, Dziurda, and Korwin-Piotrowska.
Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maciej Wewiór commented that the government’s position remains that the six judges elected by the Sejm on March 13 are legitimate, and that the four applicants are rightfully recognized as Constitutional Tribunal judges.