Senate Approves New Ombudsman as PiS Questions Political Neutrality

On Wednesday, the Senate voted to appoint advocate Sylwia Gregorczyk-Abram as the new Ombudsman, succeeding Marcin Wiącek after a session marked by intense questioning from PiS senators regarding her political impartiality.

Senate Vote and Previous Inquiries

The Senate voted on Wednesday to approve advocate Sylwia Gregorczyk-Abram as the Ombudsman. After five years, she will succeed Prof. Marcin Wiącek in this position. Her appointment was supported by 59 senators, while 25 voted against, and no one abstained.

The Senate vote was preceded by numerous questions. Former Ombudsman and former Minister of Justice Adam Bodnar asked, among other things, about the findings of the committee she led regarding police abuses against citizens between 2015 and 2023. Gregorczyk-Abram replied that she presented the recommendations to the Minister of the Interior and Administration, Marcin Kierwiński, as described by “Wyborcza”.

Questions Regarding Political Neutrality

PiS senators questioned the Ombudsman candidate about her understanding of “apoliticality” in the context of her activity in Free Courts and her participation in demonstrations. She explained that deep polarization causes the appropriation of certain concepts and their classification into a single current, stating that the office she will manage is apolitical, and that she participated in the June 4 march and would do the same today because protesting citizens deserved a voice on that stage alongside politicians.

Background and Career of Sylwia Gregorczyk-Abram

Born in 1982, advocate, human rights and rule of law defender Sylwia Gregorczyk-Abram is a graduate of law from the University of Warsaw. She is a co-founder of the Free Courts initiative, the Committee for the Defense of Justice, and a board member of the Prof. Zbigniew Hołda Association.

In May 2025, she became the chairwoman of the committee to clarify the mechanisms of repression against civil society organizations and social activists in the years 2015-2023, operating under the Ministry of Justice. The lawyer engages in matters concerning persons with disabilities, repeatedly referring to her personal experience as the mother of a child with a disability.

Nomination Process and Countercandidate

The Ombudsman is appointed by the Sejm with the consent of the Senate. The candidacy of advocate Gregorczyk-Abram was submitted by MPs of the Civic Coalition and the Left. The countercandidate was Adam Borowski, nominated by Law and Justice, an anti-communist oppositionist from the PRL era associated with the PiS environment in the Third Republic and head of the Warsaw “Gazeta Polska” club. On Friday, the Sejm majority supported the election of Gregorczyk-Abram to the position of Ombudsman, while the term of current Ombudsman Prof. Marcin Wiącek, who assumed office in 2021, concludes on Thursday, July 23.

Reactions from the Government and PiS Opposition

Prime Minister Donald Tusk stated on Friday that the advocate acted publicly not for political or party reasons, but due to deeply held convictions about human rights and the independence of the justice system, describing her as an exceptionally competent candidate regarding both legal knowledge and moral-ethical standards.

The PiS environment opposed the candidacy. Marcin Warchoł, a PiS MP and former deputy minister and minister of justice, stated in “Do Rzeczy” that she is a compromised and extremely politicized person who should face justice rather than receive accolades in the form of the Ombudsman position.

Following the Sejm’s decision on Friday, the lawyer addressed the allegations regarding the politicization of her activity in media interviews, emphasizing that as an advocate she has repeatedly represented individuals with differing political views and outlooks on life, and that this never influenced her manner of operation or obscured the defense of their rights and values, which applies equally to the Ombudsman office.