In April this year, Minister of Justice Adam Bodnar dismissed the Disciplinary Ombudsman for Judges of Courts of General Jurisdiction and his deputy during their term of office, even though no legal provision grants the Minister of Justice such competence. Now, the Minister has decided to go one step further and appoint new people to these positions, regardless of the fact that the alleged dismissals were legally flawed.
Yesterday (16 July 2025), the Ministry of Justice announced that Minister Bodnar had appointed Mariusz Ulman, a judge of the District Court in Nysa, as Disciplinary Ombudsman for Judges of Courts of General Jurisdiction, and Tomasz Ładny , Judge of the District Court for Warsaw Praga-Północ in Warsaw, as his deputy. The problem is that both of these positions are currently held by judges Piotr Schab and Przemysław Radzik, whose terms of office do not expire until June 2026.
As we have already reported several times on our website, the Ministry of Justice itself admitted that the provisions of the Law on the System of Common Courts do not include any provision that would authorise the Minister of Justice to dismiss the Ombudsman or his Deputy before the end of their term of office. In view of the above, it should be emphasised once again that both attempts at dismissal, as grossly contrary to the principle of legality (Article 7 of the Constitution – Public authorities shall act on the basis of and within the limits of the law), could not have any legal effect.
Thus, the appointment of a new Ombudsman and his Deputy should also be considered ineffective, and any actions taken by them should be considered invalid.
What is more, the current situation may have far-reaching legal consequences for those responsible. Firstly, Minister Bodnar should be awarethat his actions (usurping powers not granted to him by any provision of law) may result in criminal liability under Article 231 § 1 of the Criminal Code:
A public official who, by exceeding his powers or failing to fulfil his duties, acts to the detriment of the public or private interest, shall be subject to imprisonment for up to 3 years.
In turn, as pointed out by Dr Michał Sopiński, judges who claim to be the Disciplinary Ombudsman and his deputy may be held liable under Article 227 of the Criminal Code:
Anyone who, pretending to be a public official or exploiting another person’s mistaken belief that they are a public official, performs an act related to their function shall be subject to a fine, restriction of liberty or imprisonment for up to one year.
The decision of Judge Mariusz Ulman to agree to Minister Bodnar’s ‘appointment’ of Judge Piotr Schab to the position held by Judge Mariusz Ulman is particularly surprising. Just three months ago, in an interview with him, he stated, among other things, that:
In the current situation, I am increasingly seriously considering whether to resign [from my position as a judge] and do something else so as not to be involved in this political struggle at the moment. Now all this has very little to do with justice, with passing sentences, and whether we like it or not, all judges in Poland have become embroiled in this destructive struggle. Nothing good will come of it. We have gone too far on all sides and it seems to me that, quite simply, if we do not reach an agreement among ourselves, it will be impossible to fix. I don’t know if I want to continue participating in such activities. That is why I am thinking […] about changing my profession.
It is difficult to say what prompted the judge to radically change his position over the past three months and, instead of distancing himself from what he himself described as a ‘political struggle’, decide to become an active participant in one of Minister Bodnar’s most controversial and clearly unlawful actions.
It is regrettable that the Minister did not heed any of the appeals made to him, including ours, to reconsider, but decided to press ahead with his narrative, completely disregarding the basic rules of the rule of law, such as the principle of legality. It is all the more regrettable that he has the support of some judges, who should stand guard over judicial independence, rather than helping to destroy it and subordinate the courts to the executive, which is exceeding its powers.
As a side note, it should be recalled that this is not the first time that Minister Bodnar has appointed someone to a position from which the previous holder has not been effectively dismissed. The first such situation was primarily the appointment of Dariusz Korneluk to the position of National Prosecutor, held by Dariusz Barski. In that case, both the Constitutional Tribunal and the Supreme Court unequivocally stated that Minister Bodnar’s action was unlawful. It is to be expected that in this case, as soon as the matter comes before them, they will rule similarly.
Image source: Adobe Stock.
