On Thursday, the Ministry of Justice announced that Minister Żurek, after reconsidering the case, upheld the decision to dismiss Dr. Michał Sopiński from the position of rector-commandant of the Academy of Justice. As reported, these duties were taken over by prof. AWS, Ph.D. Sławomir Cudak. The Ministry announced on Thursday that he is authorized to manage the Academy and represent it externally.
Sławomir Cudak appeared in front of the university, but was not allowed to enter
On Friday morning, Cudak showed up at the university's headquarters in Warsaw, but was not allowed to enter. Protesters against his presence on site include, among others: PiS club MP Maria Kurowska, and former democratic opposition activist in the Polish People's Republic, former candidate for the Ombudsman Adam Borowski, was also present.
The police are present on site. The Warsaw Police Headquarters stated in its entry on
Żurek: No more attempts to anarchize a state university
Żurek, referring to the situation at AWS, stated on Friday morning that he expects the AWS Senate to present a schedule for the election of a new rector-commandant by 2028 within 14 days.
"No more attempts to anarchize the state university and use political immunity. I have sent official letters to the acting Rector-Commandant, Prof. Sławomir Cudak, and the Senate of the Academy of Justice. The procedures have been completed and the documents have been delivered. I expect the AWS Senate to present within 14 days a schedule for electing a new Rector-Commandant by 2028," Żurek wrote on the X platform.
He added that "the rule of law works and does not give in to shouters."
An entry in a similar tone was published on X by the head of the Ministry of Interior and Administration, Marcin Kierwiński. "The police in AWS perform their duties in accordance with the law. The Polish state will not succumb to the pressure of an aggressive group of people who think they are above the law. The law works," he wrote.
Statement of the Ministry of Justice
The Ministry of Justice, also on Friday, published a communiqué in which it stated that it expected the Academy Senate to "efficiently and without undue delay carry out the statutory procedure for appointing a new Rector-Commandant." The ministry added that the Minister of Justice "asked the acting Rector-Commandant, Dr. Sławomir Cudak, to cooperate with the Senate in preparing and carrying out the procedure for appointing a new Rector-Commandant." "The competence to appoint him rests with the Senate, in accordance with Article 66a(1) of the Prison Service Act," it was emphasized.
The Ministry of Justice assured that the change of the person managing the Academy does not affect the continuity of its teaching, scientific and organizational activities or the situation of students, listeners, doctoral students and employees.
Żurek's letters to the AWS and Cudak Senate
The ministry also published Waldemar Żurek's letters to the AWS Senate and to Cudak. In the letters, the head of the Ministry of Justice informs that after reconsidering the case, he has upheld the decision of May 28, 2026 to dismiss Dr. Michał Sopiński from the position of Rector-Commandant of the Academy of Justice. The minister also extensively describes the legal basis and procedure.
Ministry of Justice since March this year. conducted administrative proceedings in Sopiński's case. It was initiated ex officio by the head of the Ministry of Justice. Żurek made the decision to dismiss the rector of this university - after conducting administrative proceedings and after receiving positive opinions from the Central Council of Science and Higher Education and the Conference of Rectors of Academic Schools in Poland - at the end of May.
As the Ministry of Justice already calculated at that time, the reasons for the dismissal were related to three issues. The first concerned - as it was called - "serious irregularities in doctorate degrees". "These were not technical or marginal deficiencies - they concerned procedures that determine the credibility of the university as an entity authorized to award academic degrees," it was noted.
Another reason for the cancellation - as indicated by the ministry - was "demonstrative political activity". "It was established that during the period of holding a managerial position, Dr. Michał Sopiński conducted activities in social media that were clearly political, systematic and demonstrative in nature. This method of action was in contradiction with the special status of the Prison Service university and the requirement of apolitical nature of this formation," emphasized the Ministry of Justice.
The third reason was the "threat to the probation application". "The Rector-Commandant was not entitled to question the status of the president of the District Court in Warsaw or to make the performance of public tasks dependent on his own assessment of this issue," the Ministry of Justice wrote then, pointing out that "this action led to a real threat to the proper organization of the application."
The dismissed rector was entitled to "appeal measures provided for by law, including a request for reconsideration of the case."
