Representatives of the National Association of Judges ‘Judges of the Republic of Poland’, together with representatives of the Association ‘Lawyers for Poland’ and the Independent Association of Prosecutors ‘Ad vocem’, today submitted a letter to the Office of the President of the Republic of Poland with a request for the President to dismiss the Minister of Justice and Prosecutor General Adam Bodnar.
The reasons for this action include the Minister’s obvious and flagrant violations of the Constitution and laws, including, in particular, the unlawful prevention of National Prosecutor Dariusz Barski from performing his duties, the dismissal of court presidents in violation of the law, and finally, the inept attempt to dismiss Piotr Schab and Przemysław Radzik from the positions of Disciplinary Spokesman for Common Court Judges and Deputy Disciplinary Spokesman for Common Court Judges.
They summarised their request as follows:
Referring to the methods of interpreting the law used by the Minister of Justice, we point out that in the light of Article 159(2) and Article 161 of the Constitution, there is a loophole in the law, as the legislator did not provide for the possibility for the President of the Republic of Poland to dismiss, on his own initiative, a minister who grossly and persistently violates the legal order. We therefore request that the President consider, by interpreting the law in such a way as to eliminate this loophole, dismissing Adam Bodnar from the office of Minister of Justice – Prosecutor General.
In essence, this whole action is a kind of happening aimed at highlighting the absurdity and illegality of Minister Bodnar’s actions. The initiators of the happening want to point out that if one were to follow the reasoning presented by the Ministry, according to which – since the Minister, in accordance with Article 112 § 3 of the Law on the Organisation of Common Courts, appoints the Disciplinary Ombudsman for Common Court Judges and two Deputy Disciplinary Ombudsmen for Common Court Judges […] for a four-year term, he may also dismiss them from this function before the end of their term of office – then the President, who, pursuant to Article 154 of the Constitution, appoints the Prime Minister together with the other members of the Council of Ministers, should also be able to dismiss the ministers he has appointed. In other words, the action aims to show the absurd and dangerous consequences that could result from accepting the Ministry’s position, which boils down to presuming powers not provided for in any legal provisions, which constitutes a significant violation of Article 7 of the Constitution, according to which: Public authorities shall act on the basis of and within the limits of the law.
Undoubtedly, the form of protest against the Minister’s actions should be considered controversial and open to misinterpretation of the intentions of its initiators. Nevertheless, the aim of the action, which is to make the public aware of the nature of Minister Bodnar’s actions and the extent to which they constitute a violation of the rule of law, cannot be denied.
However, the initiators of the happening drew attention to an interesting constitutional issue, namely the competence of the head of state to dismiss ministers. The Polish Constitution does not provide for such a presidential prerogative. This seems consistent with the accepted concept of entrusting the government to the Prime Minister and his appointed colleagues. In France, however, where there is no classic presidential system, the powers of the President are much broader than in Poland, and as a result, a practice has developed whereby the government is also politically accountable to the President. Perhaps in Poland, too, the President, who has the strongest social mandate, should be able, under strictly defined conditions, to review the work of the government and dismiss individual ministers?
