Fairy Tales of judge Pawełczyk-Woicka (original text published on February 6, 2019)

Fairy Tales of judge Pawełczyk-Woicka

Let me present to you lengthy interview of 39 minutes: you will meet Dagmara Pawełczyk-Woicka. She is a judge, appointed by Polish regime politicians to the so called National Council of the Judiciary – a public body in Poland that is responsible for nominating judges and for  reviewing ethical complaints against sitting judges.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=opvwvPLI0kw

Ms. Pawełczyk-Woicka has been nominated as the President of Regional Court in Cracow. Her nomination was enacted by way of an arbitrary decision of the current Minister of Justice. Mind you, since 1989 no MoJ ever before appointed Presidents of courts without consent of other bodies, which is considered as an unconstitutional act. Moreover, Ms. Pawełczyk-Woicka is managing the higher court in Cracow against the will of the local assembly of judges.

 By no means will listening to this interview give you pleasure. Ms. Pawełczyk-Woicka clearly is a servile judge. This,  of course she denies by using irrelevant argumentation and  emphasizing an aroused sense of her own mission. But there is a complete lack of reflection on the ruling party’s damage perpetrated to the judiciary.

Every now and then however, Pawełczyk-Woicka talks openly and doesn’t beat around the bush. She doesn’t contradict journalists, stating that the so called National Council of the Judiciary is staffed with judges linked to MoJ Zbigniew Ziobro. Facts, which in general  are shocking everyone in a  civilised society,  seem to please the lady judge. The interview shows judge Pawełczyk-Woicka being almost delighted with the recent actions of the body which pretends to be Poland‘s „NCJ”: these actions have resulted in nominating candidates who should guarantee the ‘diversity of opinions’ at the Supreme Court. Let me be sarcastic: now we enjoy great diversity, we can even say ‚multiple attitudes and values’.

Well, there is plenty to admire. The President of the Criminal Chamber of the Supreme Court, judge Stanisław Zabłocki, who is a former outstanding defence attorney, could perhaps exchange a few words with a certain prosecutor who pretends to be a judge of the Disciplinary Chamber, Adam Roch. Roch –  who is famous for having interrogated a parturient – would certainly make an excellent partner to discuss the guidelines for interrogating suspects and treating them with dignity. It’s difficult to determine how this conversation could look like, but the attitudes of both gentlemen would definitely be very diverse.

To return to lady judge Ms. Pawełczyk-Woicka,  I was most struck by her saying that she found the boycott of elections to the National Council of Judiciary by the judges  ‘very unfortunate’.

 Dear Ms Judge !

Herewith I will state openly and  honestly  (as you said about a  certain lady MP, you appreciate such honesty):

It is very unfortunate for the Polish judiciary and our country that:

• there is a group of dozen or so judges, who – by violating the Constitution – took the places of legally elected judges in the NCJ;
• you and your colleagues – as members of the so called NCJ – organised a competition following rules that offended the basic principles of selection procedures and common sense. Let me illustrate: e.g. the court grants an inheritance to X despite five other claimants, and the appeal can be filed only, if X appeals together with the other five:  such were the rules of the competition to the Supreme Court. A competition based on an invalid act of the President of Poland;
• you did not execute the order of the Supreme Administrative Court to stop the procedure, despite public declarations of your chairman, judge Leszek Mazur;
• you remain silent, when judges who defend the independence of the judiciary and the Constitution, judges who engage in educational activities or make pre-judiciary queries at the ECJ – are harassed and repressed by the disciplinary prosecutor Schab and his deputies Lasota and Radzik.

For Ms judge Pawełczyk-Woicka, the source of the problems in managing the Court Cracow  is solely the ‘attitude of judge Waldemar Żurek’. Well, I am not alone in saying, that perhaps the real problem lies not in the independence and courage of judge Żurek. It rather lies in the doubtful mode of your nomination to the post of President of Regional Court in Cracow and your management style of the Court, which is un-accepted  by the majority of its  judges. Perhaps this should make you giving deeper thoughts to the situation?