On October 27, the Prosecutor’s Office filed a request with the Supreme Court to allow criminal prosecution of Warsaw judge Jakub Iwańce for alleged drunken driving.
New information from the National Prosecutor’s Office
The Prosecutor’s Office informed on Monday, October 27, that a request was sent to the Supreme Court the same day to permit criminal prosecution of Warsaw judge Jakub Iwańce for suspected crime. He is alleged to have driven while intoxicated, facing a potential three‑year sentence. As a judge of the Warsaw district court, he enjoys judicial immunity. “A judge cannot be held criminally liable without the approval of the proper disciplinary court,” the prosecutor said, “Thus today the prosecutor submitted a request to the Supreme Court to issue a decision allowing the criminal case against Judge Iwańce.” The judge’s phone was also secured.
Circumstances of the collision
Prosecutors say on October 11, the man was at a party drinking alcohol. About 9 p.m., he was taken by his wife’s colleague to the residence in Rejówczyk Fabryczny. He later appeared at a pizzeria, supposedly driving his car home. Witnesses said he seemed intoxicated. Witnesses noted seeing the judge’s car go onto the sidewalk, hit a tree, and enter Iwańce’s property. Authorities were notified. The resident witness testified the driver was Iwańce. She said, “I have no doubt that the driver was the man I know, Jakub I.; he was alone in the car.” Iwańce denied driving, saying a colleague had taken him. An investigation found he had two promille of alcohol in his blood that night. “No evidence indicates that another person operated the vehicle,” prosecutors said.
Żurek: Another time
Justice Minister Waldemar Żurek on TVN24 on Monday evening reminded that Iwańce had previously avoided an immunity lift. “The Regional Prosecutor in Kielce filed a request to the Professional Responsibility Chamber in the so‑called hate‑slander affair,” the minister recounted. The case had been assigned to a special judge who declined to remove him from the case. The same special judge also refused to lift Iwańce’s immunity—”a further action,” he said. “We still do not know what will happen in the Supreme Court. We must clear the case from special judges, as they guarantee impunity for those who should stand before an independent court,” Żurek emphasized. He also indirectly referenced an earlier incident involving Iwańce who used vulgar language in the presence of police and stadium security, and was disciplined by the Katowice Court of Appeals.
