Poland’s Supreme Court has ruled that the justice minister, Waldemar Żurek, and his predecessor, Adam Bodnar, acted unlawfully when they removed three judicial disciplinary officials—Piotr Schab, Przemysław Radzik, and Michał Lasota—before their fixed terms expired. The court’s professional liability chamber said the ministers lacked a clear statutory basis to dismiss them early, emphasizing that public authorities can act only when expressly authorized by law.
The trio were appointed under Law and Justice (PiS) and were widely seen as central to disciplinary actions against judges critical of PiS-era judicial changes. Although PiS lost power in December 2023, their terms were set to run until June 2026; Bodnar dismissed two in April 2025, and Żurek removed the third in July 2025, arguing the appointing body could also dismiss them for compelling reasons. The chamber rejected that logic, stating “competence cannot be presumed,” and also questioned the legality of appointing replacements while the posts were still formally occupied.
Żurek responded by disputing the legitimacy of the chamber itself, calling it improperly constituted—despite reports that the decision was issued by pre-reform (“old”) Supreme Court judges, according to Gazeta Wyborcza and wPolityce. Meanwhile, the dismissed officials continued to treat themselves as still in office, refusing to hand over disciplinary case files—leading to police and prosecutors forcibly opening offices to obtain documents. Karol Nawrocki described the raid as concerning, while Żurek called it routine.