A man accused of electronically defaming a judge has had his case transferred from a court where the victim serves amid concerns about judicial impartiality.
Defamation Case Under Criminal Code
The case concerns an offense under Article 212, Paragraph 1 of the Criminal Code, which imposes criminal liability for accusing another person, group, institution, legal entity or organizational unit without legal personality of conduct or characteristics that could humiliate them in public opinion or expose them to loss of trust necessary for a given position, profession or type of activity. This is punishable by a fine or restriction of liberty.
Initial Court Assignment
The man accused of committing the offense under Article 212 of the Criminal Code sent electronic messages to a judge containing accusations that could humiliate her in public opinion and expose her to loss of trust necessary for her profession. According to local jurisdiction, the indictment against the man was filed with the Regional Court in Bydgoszcz, which is the home court of the victim.
Supreme Court Intervention
In this situation, the Bydgoszcz Regional Court filed a request with the Supreme Court under Article 37 of the Code of Criminal Procedure. This provision allows the Supreme Court, on its own initiative or at the request of the prosecutor, to transfer the case to another court of equal rank if required by the interests of justice. The court requesting the transfer saw a violation of these interests in the need to hear a case where one of its own judges serves as the victim.
Supreme Court Ruling
The Supreme Court found the request from the Bydgoszcz court justified. As it reminded, Article 37 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, allowing for the possibility of deviating from the territorial jurisdiction, was precisely designed for situations where the actual circumstances of the case related to the nature of the accusation and the circumstances of the alleged act may, in the public perception, create reasonable doubts about the possibility of objectively hearing the case in the competent court. Such a situation existed in the Bydgoszcz Regional Court.
Case Transfer Decision
“Considering the content of the charges against the accused (Article 212 § 1 of the Criminal Code) involving actions against a judge in connection with his professional activities undertaken in the accused’s case, and thus actions related to the functioning of the justice system, disrupting its proper functioning, it is reasonable to argue that the hearing of this case by judges of the competent court, who maintain at least collegial relations with the injured judge, could raise in the mind of an outside observer doubts about the possibility of an impartial hearing of this case in the competent court,” reads the justification of the Supreme Court’s decision.
Final Court Assignment
For these reasons, the Supreme Court decided to transfer the case to the Regional Court in Torun, which is well-connected to Bydgoszcz.
