In a press interview given today (22 April 2025), Ombudsman Marcin Wiącek mentioned various violations of the rule of law committed by the current government and its supporters. First and foremost, he pointed out that, contrary to various suggestions raised in the media, the rulings of the Extraordinary Review and Public Affairs Chamber of the Polish Supreme Court should be considered valid and legally binding. He dispelled doubts about the validity of the presidential elections scheduled for 18 May, pointing to the hypocrisy of the current government, which did not question the favourable outcome of the 2023 parliamentary elections in a similar manner:
The elections will take place, the Supreme Court will rule on their validity, and that is all I can say at this point. I would like to point out that in December last year, two resolutions of the Extraordinary Control and Public Affairs Chamber were published in the Journal of Laws: a resolution confirming the validity of the European Parliament elections and a resolution confirming the validity of the Senate by-elections. They were published and had legal effect. And since then, as far as the legal situation is concerned, nothing has changed. It is therefore reasonable to assume that this practice will continue.
He emphasised the beneficial nature of the extraordinary appeal institution, which he himself had used on numerous occasions to protect the rights and freedoms of citizens who had approached him with requests to lodge such appeals.
He also expressed a similar opinion on the Constitutional Tribunal, criticising the current government for the unfounded and unlawful cessation of the publication of its judgments in the Journal of Laws. He emphasised that the negative effects of this action directly affect specific citizens, depriving them of the possibility of exercising their constitutional rights:
The Constitutional Tribunal has issued rulings that are important for citizens and which, because they are not published, citizens cannot benefit from. In particular, many people have approached me in connection with the ruling issued by the Tribunal in June 2024. This was a ruling declaring unconstitutional the provisions determining the amount of pensions for people who took early retirement before mid-2012. Following this ruling, a large number of pensioners began to apply to the Social Insurance Institution (ZUS) for a recalculation of their pensions. However, the Social Insurance Institution refuses to do so on the grounds that the Constitutional Tribunal’s ruling has not been published in the Journal of Laws. And this is an example of a situation where the consequences of the dispute we are talking about are borne by the citizens.
The Ombudsman also mentioned other violations in which he intervened against the current government, such as the illegal takeover of public media and the refusal to allow journalists from certain media outlets to attend press conferences. He also called on the Minister of Finance not to usurp the role of the court in the dispute over the Law and Justice party’s election subsidy.
Image source: Wikipedia.
