Poland’s Supreme Court lifted judge Jakub Iwaniec’s suspension, allowing him to resume work after accusations of driving under influence emerged in October.
Judge Returns to Work
Poland’s Supreme Court, in its Professional Responsibility Chamber, annulled the district court president for Mokotów’s order to suspend Judge Jakub Iwaniec immediately. Judge Przemysław Radzik, of the Warsaw Court of Appeal, announced that Iwaniec will resume his duties. The chamber heard the case on Tuesday, 4 November. The earlier suspension was set for a month and was issued in mid‑October after Iwaniec was alleged to have been involved in a road collision in Rejowiec Fabryczny. The Supreme Court ultimately decided the suspension’s fate.
Reason for Reversal
According to Chief of the Chamber, Judge Wiesław Kozielewicz, the reversal followed the fact that at the time the district order was issued, Iwaniec was already under a suspension imposed by Justice Minister Waldemar Żurak. That ministerial order had itself been annulled in the second half of October, but the district president’s order was issued before that annulment. “It was unacceptable for a judge already suspended by one authority to be suspended again by another body at the same time,” Kozielewicz said, citing the Interior Ministry’s view.
Accusation of Drunk Driving
The district president’s order from mid‑October was linked to a suspicion that Iwaniec, on 11 October, drove while intoxicated and caused a collision. Investigators determined that the judge allegedly struck a tree with his car and then fled the scene. Iwaniec’s lawyer maintains the judge was not behind the wheel. On 27 October, the National Prosecutor’s Office requested the removal of the judge’s immunity to allow charges of driving while intoxicated to be filed.
