New president elected
During the vote, members of the National Judicial Council elected justice Dariusz Zawistowski as fresh chairman. His candidacy was supported by 18 people, 3 members of the council opposed and 2 abstained. In the assessment of part of the environment related to the Zawitowski government coalition, he may be considered a alleged neo-judge, as he headed the civilian Chamber of the ultimate Court from 2016 to 2021 on the basis of the decision of president Andrzej Duda, and the judges of the contested position besides regulation in this Chamber.
After the election, the fresh president announced the preparation of the Council's action programme and stressed the importance of the constitutional function of the KRS in protecting the independency of the judiciary. He besides pointed out that the council was faced with organisational tasks related to the election of the bureau and vice-presidents.
Even before the beginning of the session, Waldemar Żurek expressed his hope that the fresh National Judicial Council would rapidly take up vacant judges. He pointed out that many vacancyes in courts have an effect on the extension of proceedings, while stressing that staff decisions should be made responsibly and without haste. During the meeting, he besides recalled that the draft NRS bill prepared by a majority ruling was vetoed by the President.
Exchange between Kapinski and Żurek
During the KRS meeting, the president of the ultimate Court Zbigniew Kapinski responded to the words of the Minister of Justice Żurka. He pointed out that the protractedness of proceedings and vacancyes in courts generates multi-million-dollar costs for the State Treasury, and settlements concerning alleged neo jurisprudence judgments are concluded by the government.
Żurek reposted, pointing to the consequences of disputes surrounding the position of part of the judges and the rulings of the European Courts. He stressed that the state had decided to settle due to the fact that they were more financially advantageous than losing further cases related to the incorrect cast of the ultimate Court. He besides recalled more than a 1000 pending cases following the judgement of the European Court of Human Rights in the Lech Wałęsa case against Poland, which could exposure the state to further costs.
At the end of the exchange, Kapiński expressed hope that the minister would present reliable data.
New stage
The election of Dariusz Zawitowski as president of the National Court registry opens a fresh phase in the functioning of the council after the end of the word of office of Dagmara Pawełczyk-Woick. The KRS are presently facing both organisational challenges and the request to fill many vacancies in courts. At the same time, the dispute over the improvement of justice and the position of any judges remains 1 of the main subjects of the public debate.
