The Polish Senate unanimously passed an amendment to the Code of Criminal Procedure, granting courts—rather than prosecutors—the authority to rule on the participation of legal counsel for non-party witnesses.
Judicial Oversight of Prosecutor Decisions
The amendment, prepared by the Ministry of Justice and passed by the Sejm in May, modifies Article 87 of the Code of Criminal Procedure. Currently, prosecutors can deny a non-party witness the right to counsel if they deem it unnecessary for protecting the individual’s interests, with appeals handled only by a prosecutor’s superior.
The new legislation mandates that such appeals be heard by the local district court within seven days. A prosecutor’s refusal to permit counsel would only take effect once the court has ruled on the appeal, ensuring greater judicial scrutiny over investigative processes.
Legislative Adjustments and Parliamentary Process
The Senate adopted the amendment unanimously, though it introduced two changes that will send the bill back to the Sejm. A key substantive change removes “the important interest of the investigation” as a justification for proceeding with witness questioning without counsel present before an appeal is finalized.
This revision addresses concerns previously raised by the Office of the Commissioner for Human Rights during committee sessions. The Ministry of Justice argued that allowing prosecutors sole discretion to deny counsel effectively deprives non-party individuals of the ability to protect their legal interests.
Context: The Case of Barbara Skrzypek
The push for these legislative changes gained significant traction following the death of Barbara Skrzypek, a long-time associate of Jarosław Kaczyński. In March of last year, prosecutor Ewa Wrzosek denied Skrzypek’s attorney, Krzysztof Gotkowicz, the right to participate in her questioning as a witness regarding the “Srebrna” company investment case.
Following Skrzypek’s death shortly after her testimony, PiS politicians proposed their own legislative measures to guarantee counsel presence. However, the current government-led amendment has moved forward, while a separate investigation by the Warsaw-Praga District Prosecutor’s Office concluded that Skrzypek died of natural causes and that the questioning process played no role in her death.
