Prosecutor Dariusz Barski, one of the closest associates of former Justice Minister Zbigniew Ziobro, received the verdict on Friday. Letter from Attorney General Adam Bodnarstating that he was no longer a national prosecutor.
Bodnar justified his decision in 2022 by wrongly reinstating Barski in the active prosecutor's office. The minister's decision caused a protest by Barski's deputies, who accused Bodnar of violating the law.
We remind you that according to the law, the national prosecutor cannot be dismissed directly by the general prosecutor. To effectively implement such a procedure, a request from the Prosecutor General to the Prime Minister and the written consent of the President of the Republic of Poland are required, which Bodnar did not receive.
Jack: That's the difference
Today, Patrick Jack was a guest of Tomasz Sekielski in the Onet program, where he explained the illegal nature of Minister Bodnar's actions.
– The difference between the actions of PiS and PO is that we acted in accordance with the laws. The difference is, can the editor give an example of when we replaced an act with a resolution?
– Acceptance of the bill? I don't remember, Sekielski admitted.
Jacque points out that prosecutors have so far been following orders from the attorney general. – Prosecutors and deputies only took action when they saw such an obvious violation of the law, but until now they followed the instructions of Prosecutor Bodnar. Donald Tusk can rule, please, no one asks questions, he said.
He adds that the United Right has been accused of authoritarianism in the past and its politicians have already given up power several times. – But we say one thing – do you want to change the law? You are welcome, but by law. And Donald Tusk decided that since he did not win the presidential election, his political will would be above the law. And that's it. No one has done this before, no one has changed the laws by decree. He can become a national prosecutor, but he must do it according to the law – he emphasized in the Oneti program.
Bodnar is breaking the law
Adam Bodnar refers to the lawyers' opinions, which refer to Article 47 of the Act on the Prosecutor's Office and note that the issue of a prosecutor's “return” from retirement must have a time limit, and therefore Dariusz Barski cannot be a national prosecutor.
– The legal opinions cited by Mr. Bodnar claim that this law on the prosecution is poorly constructed, because it should have a time limit, but it doesn't. This is the argument. But if the legislator wanted to circle this time, he would. Secondly, there is something of a presumption of constitutionality in Poland, because if someone believes that a statute is bad, the only way to challenge it is to report it to the Constitutional Tribunal, because that's what the constitution says. Finally, this act was reviewed in this regard by the Supreme Administrative Court in a decision of March 22, 2023, stating that this act is in the Polish legal order, adding that it does not contain any time decisions, Jacqui said.
What: What is higher – opinion or law?
Moreover, the decision of the Supreme Administrative Court was issued by a three-judge panel, where all the judges were from the previous appointment before the changes in the National Council of the Judiciary. – So, on the one hand, we have Adam Bodnar's legal opinion, which is not a source of law, and on the other hand, we have an act certified by the Supreme Administrative Court and a doctrinal principle of the Western legal world. the presumption of constitutionality. Now we have to consider what is higher – the act or the legal conclusion? Because if there is an opinion, we have the destruction of the rule of law, he continued.
Jacqui emphasized once again that Prosecutor Barsky complied with all of Adam Bodnar's orders, except for the resignation request. Jaki noted that Barski has legal guarantees that ensure his independence. – Institutions have a term of office. The argument that Bodnar can't rule is wrong, because Mr. Barsky still follows all orders. He only objected to legal considerations being above the act, he said.
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