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.
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Source of cover photo: Adobe Stock
