Maciej Berek took the oath as a judge of the Constitutional Tribunal. The ceremony took place at 9:00 a.m. in the Sejm. Berek took the oath "in front of the president." Karol Nawrocki was absent. The signing of the note was accompanied by, among others, Speaker of the Sejm Włodzimierz Czarzasty, Speaker of the Senate Małgorzata Kidawa-Błońska, Deputy Speaker of the Sejm Dorota Niedziela, Deputy Speaker of the Sejm Monika Wielichowska, Deputy Speaker of the Sejm Piotr Zgorzelski and some other judges of the Constitutional Tribunal.
A wave of extreme comments
Michał Wawrykiewicz, KO MEP, co-founder of the Free Courts initiative and foundation established in 2017, commented on Platform
Zbigniew Bogucki, head of the Chancellery of the President of the Republic of Poland, PiS politician: "I am commenting on serious things. Not comedy or tragicomedy (...). They lock themselves in their offices, pretend to take an oath in front of the president, and the basis for their actions is not the constitution, statutes and Polish law, but various types of resolutions, opinions and positions. It is a sad day for the Constitutional Tribunal and a sad day for Polish democracy."
Dariusz Joński, KO MEP: "No one will be Nawrocki's slave. Judge Maciej Berek took an oath to the Constitutional Tribunal."
Michał Woś, PiS MP: "Tusk's right-hand man, the minister delegated to the Constitutional Tribunal, 'takes an oath' in front of a column. This time, even without a column. And now seriously: quoting the content of the statutory oath is NOT a legally prescribed oath TOWARDS the president. In front of = in the presence (Polish language dictionary)."
Adam Szłapka, government spokesman, KO politician: "Judge Maciej Berek took the oath. Representatives of legal self-governments, former and current judges of the Constitutional Tribunal took part in the ceremony."
Mateusz Morawiecki, former prime minister in the PiS government, leader of Rozwoju Plus: "Enough of mockery of the state. The oath of a judge of the Constitutional Tribunal is taken before the President of the Republic of Poland - not before the Sejm furniture. It is not a matter of decoration or a political gesture, but a basic political rule. Maciej Berek, by agreeing to this farce, does not restore the dignity of the Tribunal. On the contrary: it adds another layer of chaos to an institution that is already deeply rooted in embroiled in a political dispute.
New Left Party: "Yesterday, the Venice Commission confirmed what we have long known from Article 194 of the Constitution of the Republic of Poland: President Karol Nawrocki should immediately take the oath from judges of the Constitutional Tribunal elected by the Sejm. In a situation where the president refuses or delays accepting the oath, it is possible to take the oath without his presence. Due to the president's absence at the ceremony, he will be informed in writing about the oath taken by Constitutional Tribunal judge Maciej Berek. We cannot allow the president's decisions to be Nawrocki, who puts party interests above those of the state, led to further degradation of the Polish judiciary.
Where does the controversy come from?
The oath took place in the atmosphere of a dispute with the president, whose representatives repeatedly emphasized that his presence was necessary. Marshal of the Sejm Włodzimierz Czarzasty and Prosecutor General Waldemar Żurek cited Art. 4 section 1 of the Act of November 30, 2016 on the status of judges of the Constitutional Tribunal, which includes the term "against":
