The Court of Appeal sided with Sikorski. The opinion about the Smolensk disaster was “justified”

The appeals court changed the judgment of the first instance and dismissed the claim for infringement of the personal rights of PiS president Jarosław Kaczyński by the head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Radosław Sikorski. My opinion that Lech Kaczyński “greatly contributed to the Smolensk disaster” was part of a legitimate assessment, Sikorski said.

The lawsuit concerned Radosław Sikorski, then a PO MEP, violating the cult of memory of the deceased brother of the PiS leader – President Lech Kaczyński. This was about a Twitter entry published by Sikorski in January 2021, in which he stated that President Lech Kaczyński “greatly contributed to the Smolensk disaster.”

A positive judgment for the PiS president before the court of first instance, which in this case was the Warsaw district court, was passed on March 17, 2023. The Supreme Court then obliged Sikorski to publish an apology.

The then PO MEP filed an appeal. Sikorski announced on Monday that it had been brought to the docket of the Court of Appeal in Warsaw and was being considered.

“The Court of Appeal dismissed J. Kaczyński's claim for the protection of personal rights and legally concluded that my opinion that “Lech Kaczyński contributed significantly to the Smolensk disaster” was an element of a legitimate assessment of the presidency of the late President of the Republic of Poland, Lech Kaczyński. Moreover, it had “sufficient factual grounds” and “both in the subjective sense (the defendant's own experiences in cooperation with the late Lech Kaczyński) and objective,” wrote Minister Sikorski.

In an interview with PAP, attorney Elżbieta Kosińska-Kozak, representing Sikorski in this case, said that in the opinion of the court of second instance, the statement of the head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs was not unlawful. – (The court) found that he had the right to express his opinion and criticism. And that this criticism was additionally justified by facts – said the legal counsel.

In this context – as attorney Kosińska-Kozak said – the court referred both to the subjective experiences of Minister Sikorski, “implicitly it was about a joint flight to Georgia (in 2008 – PAP)”, and to objective issues. The representative drew attention to the report of the State Aviation Accidents Investigation Commission, the so-called Miller's commission, which – as she said – although it was not directly mentioned by the court in the oral reasons for its justification, was in the case files.

– (The court) found that in these conditions, Mr. Radosław Sikorski has the right to express his opinion, including a critical opinion about the presidency of Lech Kaczyński – said attorney Kosińska-Kozak. She added that, in the court's opinion, Minister Sikorski, when using the statement “contributed”, had in mind the political responsibility of President Lech Kaczyński, and not the perpetrator of the Smolensk disaster.

The judgment of the appellate court is final and the person may file a cassation appeal to the Supreme Court.

The entry by Minister Sikorski, whom the case concerned, was related to the topic of naming one of Warsaw's streets after Lech Kaczyński. Sikorski then wrote: “Lech Kaczyński was a mediocre president and contributed greatly to the Smolensk disaster. He already has Wawel and unauthorized construction on Piłsudski Square. Enough of building a cult for which there is no basis.” (PAP)

(we plan to continue the topic)

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