On Monday evening, Barski gave an interview to Polsat News, while Minister Adam Bodnar gave an interview to TVN24.
– I am the national prosecutor, the first deputy of the general prosecutor, – emphasized Barski and assured that “under no circumstances” does he consider himself removed from his position. – I believe that the actions of the Prosecutor General are aimed at bypassing the mechanism specified in Art. 14 of the Law on the Prosecutor's Office, where it is stated that the written consent of the President is necessary for the effective dismissal of the National Prosecutor and other Deputy Prosecutor Generals, there was no such consent, said Prosecutor Barski.
As he explained, he doesn't share the opinions given by Adam Bodnar. – Legal opinions are not the source of law, the sources of law are established in the Constitution and do not contain legal opinions. You can agree with them or not, but they do not create legal relationships, he continued.
Barski: I filed a constitutional complaint
Interviewer Bogdan Rimanovski asked the prosecutor about today's news Decision of the Constitutional Tribunal Regarding the National Prosecutor's Office.
– I think it is very good that the Constitutional Tribunal made such a decision. I requested such a decision in my constitutional complaint and the Constitutional Tribunal agreed to this request. The bottom line is that I should continue in my role and the actions of the Attorney General should be discontinued. The Prime Minister's decision to appoint an Acting National Prosecutor should also have no legal effect – at least until this defense is in place – said Dariusz Barski.
When asked whether he intended to hand over his duties to prosecutor Jacek Bilewicz, he replied that the matter did not concern his intentions. – I must follow the letter of the law. I think that the action of Minister Bodnar is ineffective, he emphasized.
Confusion in the National Prosecutor's Office
Prosecutor Barski is one of the closest employees of the former Minister of Justice Zbigniew Ziobro. On Friday, he received a letter from Attorney General Adam Bodnar saying he was no longer the 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.
On Friday, the Ministry of Justice announced that Jacek Bilevich was appointed as acting national prosecutor. Meanwhile This was announced by the National Prosecutor's Officethat Dariush Barski is still at the helm.
Against this background, a dispute arose between Deputy Attorney General Robert Hernand and the Attorney General himself. Hernand has been an MP for 14 years. He held this position after Andrzej Seremet was appointed Prosecutor General under the PO-PSL government.
Also read:
“I'm right”. Bodnar answers the president
(translated tags) Dariush Barski