President Karol Nawrocki handed the nominations to 229 asessors of the courts, that is, lawyers who are just starting to justice themselves. Referring to the youngest generation of judges, he recalled that in the troubled justice system, “one anchor” remained. This anchor, as the head of state consistently repeats, is the constitution.
Appointments for the youngest judges
At the end of July, president Karol Nawrocki handed over the acts of appointment to 229 judicial asessors. The nominations went to 211 asessors of regional courts and 18 asessors of provincial administrative courts. Asesura is the first independent level in the judicial career, which is why lawyers at the threshold of the professional road dominated the appointed. It was to them, as the youngest generation of jurisprudences, that the President's words were addressed.
The ceremony entered a wider series of nominations from the last days of the month. On Tuesday, July 28, the head of state took a vow from prof. Sławomir Patyra, previously elected justice of the Constitutional Court, and handed the appointments to 4 fresh judges of the ultimate Court. A wave of promotions means that after months of impasse, the president decided to unlock the cast of vacant positions in the judiciary.
‘One anchor’
The essence of the speech to young lawyers was the anchor metaphor. The president reminded the asessors that there is simply a "one anchor" in the judiciary to which they should appeal regardless of the changing political arrangements. At the same time, he pointed out the law as the only permanent mention point for the judge.
Such a message is consistent with the line Nawrocki has led since the beginning of the presidency. During the May nomination ceremony, he called on more than a 100 judges to make the 1997 Constitution the highest point of reference, and emphasized that the rulings are bound solely by the primary law, not ministers, prime minister or president. The same subject now returned in conversation with the asessors: the foundation is to be the law, not the current policy.
Judiciary in a Deep Dispute
However, young lawyers enter a conflict-stricken strategy that has divided the political scene for respective years. The ruling camp contests the position of judges recommended by the National Judicial Council established after 2018 and uses the word "neossiers" for them. The president and his background stand in the position that vocations are important, and the competence to present them belongs exclusively to the head of the state.
The dispute has a very applicable dimension. Judgments issued with the participation of the contested compositions are called into question, and the European Court of Human Rights examines in subsequent cases whether specified courts meet the request of a ‘court established by law’. In the background, there is simply a question of the destiny of erstwhile vocations, involving thousands of judges promoted in the disputed procedure.
Rate for citizens
To a average participant, all this conflict is not theoretical. Polish courts have been behind for years, and the conviction is frequently pending for years. The appointment of more than 200 asessors is intended to relieve this situation, albeit partially, and velocity up the investigation. At the same time, the ongoing dispute over the legality of the nomination gives emergence to the hazard that the judgments taken will be contested and the bill for possible damages will yet be charged to the Treasury, the taxpayer. The President's call for the allegiance of 1 anchor goes to lawyers who will gotta decision in an highly uncertain legal environment.
