We are an independent, apolitical and self-governing association of Polish judges.
Our main mission is to defend freedom and civil rights, which are the democratic foundations of Poland - a member of the the European Union.
We have been operating for more than 25 years, also as part of different international organisations of judges. We associate over 3,500 judges, most of them in Poland.

We shall fix the foundations of the courts, we shall save millions of Euros

“We pay 1 million EUR a day for the Zbigniew Ziobro`s (Minister of Justice)  political monsters. It cannot last longer, we know how to prevent these penalties from occurring "- says the president of Iustitia, prof. Krystian Markiewicz.

“The scale of damage caused by Zbigniew Ziobro's team is huge, the courts are currently a ruined building. We have to start building from solid foundations, because we are building for future generations who are entitled to a just state, where everyone will be equal and politicians will not dictate judgments. We want courts open to citizens, closed to politicians. " - the spokesperson of Iustitia Bartłomiej Przymusiński describes the idea of ​​the project.

Iustitia, the largest association of judges, presents a package of bills in order to restore the rule of law today. They provide for the appointment of a new National Council of the Judiciary, the competitions for judge` offices to be repeated and the possibility of re-evaluation of their judgments.

“The new National Council of the Judiciary will be a place where each authority has its representatives. The judges – members of NCJ will be elected by judges, while the politicians – members of NCJ will be elected by the politicians. It will be different than at the present that politicians indicate what judges they want to have in the Council. It was Zbigniew Ziobro's idea, which did not work at all. People who want to earn some extra money, are mainly occupied with their own promotions and diets. " - judge Przymusiński describes the idea of the project.

“We shall establish a Social Council, where citizens will take part in the work of the National Council of the Judiciary for the first time in history. This is a revolutionary change. Judges and citizens, not politicians and their subordinates, will keep the courts in order ”. - emphasizes prof. Markiewicz. The bill also stipulates that the Council will include judges from all levels and types  of courts, and not, as is currently the case, mainly district judges. Persons associated with the Ministry of Justice will not join the council. Judges – members of the council will be elected by all judges, Iustitia proposes a completely new previously unknown  solution. Thanks to the new regulations, it will not be possible to establish "cooperatives" that supported candidates only from certain circles. Voting will be preceded by a mandatory public hearing of the candidates.

People appointed to the Supreme Court in recent years by the politicized National Council of the Judiciary are to lose their positions. “They cannot pass judgments, this has already been decided by the Strasbourg Court (European Court of Human Rights) and before that by the Supreme Court itself.” I don't see why we should keep them in this situation. The act stipulates that they are to lose their positions and return the received salaries. " - says the President of Iustitia. Iustitia also stipulates that all judicial promotions, with the exception of appointments related to the termination of the assessors (judges under supervision, just starting their careers) assessment, will be cancelled and will have to be renewed. “These weren't the times when you had to get promoted. The judges knew that the National Council of the Judiciary was faulty and it should not come as a surprise that the competitions had to be repeated. " - says Bartłomiej Przymusiński.

"In the case of assessors who have completed their judicial training and found themselves in a difficult situation against their will, we propose to keep these appointments in force with the possibility of dismissal if such a person was appointed as a result of political pressure," says Markiewicz.

The draft provides that judgments issued by the Disciplinary Chamber and the Extraordinary Control and Public Affairs Chamber will be invalid, but this will not apply to decisions on the validity of elections (parliamentary, presidential and local). The draft does not deprive the legal force of judgments issued in courts other than the Supreme Court, with the participation of neo-judges. Decisions on this matter will be left to the courts, which should take into account the scale of irregularities in a specific case. Iustitia also proposes a new system of disciplinary proceedings, in which the Disciplinary Chamber will be replaced by the courts of appeal and the Supreme Court, with panels selected by lot.

“Each political grouping may take our project and bring it to the session of the Sejm (lower chamber of Polish parliament). The enactment of these laws will cease to impose penalties on Poland. Today we submit this bill to all Senate clubs, believing that in the Senate it will not go to the political freezer. " - emphasize the judges.


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