The problem of the status of judges from 2018-2025 will be solved? MS has a plan

The Ministry of Justice published on Thursday a draft act on restoring constitutional order in the judiciary, regarding primarily the regulation of the status of judges from 2018-2025. The project went to the opinion of the Venice Commission.

According to Deputy Minister of Justice Dariusz Mazur, the presented project is “precedent on an international scale”, and the planned act is to remove the effects of “system devastation guarantees of the independence of the Polish judiciary”. “Each citizen has the right to an independent and impartial court, which is why our task is to regulate the status of judges appointed in 2018-2025 in the course of competition proceedings before incorrectly appointed National Council of the Judiciary,” wrote Deputy Minister of Mazury on Platform X.

At the beginning of April, Mazur in an interview with PAP announced that the final project about the status of judges appointed after 2017 is to be ready in April. However, the main assumption is that the verification takes place under the Act, and competitions for positions currently held by judges who were promoted to them after 2017 would be repeated.

Earlier – at the beginning of February this year. – The Ministry of Justice presented two alternative projects regarding these issues. According to the first, the verification would take place by virtue of the Act, and according to the second – to be made by the renovated KRS. “It is impossible to proceed, two projects must be directed to the legislative path. One project must be created that will become a final project” – the deputy minister explained at that time.

On Thursday, MS published this final project. The ministry announced that the starting point and the legislative foundation of this project were adopted a variant assuming verification by virtue of law. “This variant will be used in relation to a group of judges who have been promoted before incorrectly shaped the National Court Register and those who came from outside the judgment of the judicial,” was reported.

Therefore, according to the project, the judges who in 2018-2025 advanced after the assessment made “by unconstitutional National Court Register” are to be retrieved by law to previous positions and participate in repeated competitions that “will have an open formula, and their result will be reviewed by the Supreme Court.” MS estimates that this group has about 1.2 thousand. people.

At the same time, these persons – in order not to paralyze the courts in which they work today – will receive statutory delegations for two years at the current positions. “During the delegation they will obtain a similar salary similar to the current one,” assures the ministry.

However, as MS passed – people who in these years came to the judicial profession of other legal professions “following participation in competitions before unconstitutional National Court Register” are to return to their previous competitions – as long as professional corporations accept them. These people will also be able to become referendaries. “These persons will also be entered by law in repeated competitions, unless they give up this possibility” – assumes MS. This category is to include about 400 people.

In turn, towards the group of beginner judges, who in 2018-2025 began a professional road, the effects of the planned law are to take place by way of resolutions of the future, correct KRS. This group – according to MS estimates – has about 1 thousand. people.

“The correctness of assignment to individual groups of persons subject to statutory evaluation will be reviewed by the Supreme Court,” it was emphasized.

In addition, the project refers to the regulation of the “system of repealing judgments issued with the participation of unauthorized persons”. “As a rule, the judgments issued with the participation of incorrectly appointed judges are to be upheld, but the parties that during the proceedings, and then in the appeal against the judgment consistently questioned the status of incorrectly appointed judges, will be able to submit a request to resume the proceedings within a month of entry into force of the Act” – provided.

Other of the planned provisions concern, among others the liquidation of two chambers of the Supreme Court created after 2018, i.e. the Chamber of Professional Responsibility and the Chamber of Extraordinary Control and Public Affairs.

According to the draft, the planned act would come into force on October 15, 2025.

The entire published project has 54 pages, and its justification containing the basic themes of planned regulations is another 56 pages. The documents are available on the MS website.

As reported, published solutions were provided for an opinion to the advisory authority of the Council of Europe, i.e. the Venice Commission. “The speech of the Ministry of Justice to the Venice Commission is a consequence of the earlier request of the monitoring committee of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe” – noted MS. It indicated that “the Venetian Commission, as a specialized advisory body of the Council of Europe, is a competent institution to give the opinion of the project.” According to the ministry's predictions, the opinion of the Venice Commission “can be expected as early as June.”

Marcin Jabłoński (PAP)

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