Constitutional Tribunal President Bogdan Święczkowski called the requests to lift his immunity „embarrassing” and the charges contained in them „nonsense and slander”. He said this on Wednesday, 4 November, on Radio ZET.
Święczkowski was responding to requests from Prosecutor General Waldemar Żurek. Asked whether he was disregarding the prosecution’s findings, he replied that the proceedings against him were „embarrassing”. He added that he was waiting for further requests, because Żurek „will come up with another twenty”.
Response to the charges
Commenting on the request concerning, among other things, the unauthorised use of material from operational control and the disclosure of classified information in the investigation into Pegasus, the TK president said it was „nonsense and slander”. He argued that the use of operational control had been decided by the courts.
According to Święczkowski, Żurek „dreams of having him locked up”. He added that Prime Minister Donald Tusk has not yet managed to ensure that the presumption of innocence has ceased to apply.
In Tuesday’s edition of „Rzeczpospolita”, the TK president also said that the accusation of manipulating adjudicating panels was slander, and that actions against the Tribunal bore the hallmarks of a crime under Article 128 of the Penal Code (coup d’état). He declared that he does not feel responsible for the current situation.
What the Prosecutor General alleges
Żurek announced on Friday, 30 October, that he had submitted five requests to the TK to lift Święczkowski’s immunity, and one for Deputy President Bartłomiej Sochański. The request against Sochański concerns preventing TK judges from performing their duties and violating their employment rights.
On Tuesday, 3 November, Żurek announced on X a sixth request against Święczkowski. It concerns the purchase of the Hermes spyware system while Święczkowski was the National Prosecutor. All the requests concerning both judges total 307 pages.
Żurek wrote that judicial immunity protects the independence of adjudication, not „criminal arbitrariness”, and that the decision to consent to criminal liability of the judges will be taken by the General Assembly of TK Judges in a legally constituted composition. Lifting immunity requires a resolution passed by an absolute majority of votes, and the judge whose case is concerned does not take part in the deliberation.
The requests do not imply a finding of guilt, and Święczkowski rejects the charges.
Office outside the Tribunal
The TK president also announced that, if the current situation in the Tribunal continues, he will consider renting an office outside the TK headquarters.
Earlier, we wrote about the Prosecutor General’s request to lift Obajtek’s immunity.
