Żurek decided: Cudak to replace Sopiński at the Academy of Justice

Żurek decided: Cudak to replace Sopiński

On Thursday, the Ministry of Justice announced that the Minister of Justice, Waldemar 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.

New boss not allowed into the Academy

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: 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.

Please allow me to perform my duties, please allow me to perform the duties of rector-commandant - Cudak appealed. He referred to the decision of the Ministry of Justice and emphasized that he was the legally acting rector-commandant.

Kurowska, turning to Cudak, claimed that he was not an employee of the university, and "there is only one rector" and - in her opinion - it is Sopiński.

Sopiński, in turn, said on Telewizja Republika that the decision to dismiss him from the position of rector-commandant of the Academy was not delivered to him.

Police called for help

PAP asked the spokeswoman of the Minister of Justice Dominika Ziętara about the situation at the Academy's headquarters. There is no MS intervention in AWS. Acting Rector-Commandant, Professor Sławomir Cudak, went to perform his duties in accordance with the law and is actually trying to get to the university office, because here the team of Mr. Michał Sopiński, former Rector Commandant, has barricaded the entrance to the building with the help of MPs and friendly media, so that an intervention with the participation of the police is underway - she said.

According to her, Sławomir Cudak called the police to the scene. According to Ziętara, the situation at the university's headquarters is a "panic attempt to defend the positions and the previous system." She emphasized that Sopiński was "effectively dismissed, the decision is final and enforceable." We are simply trying to enforce the law here - she added in an interview with PAP.

There are various arguments that Prof. Cudak was reportedly fired yesterday, Mr. Sopiński announced. I wanted to emphasize that Prof. Cudak could not be fired by the vice-rector, because the rector can only be fired by the university senate. Action by the university senate is required. Mr. Cudak also fulfills the duties of the rector-commandant, she noted.

Podinsp. Marta Sulowska from the Warsaw Police Headquarters, asked, among others, about the presence of police officers at the Academy's headquarters, she emphasized that police activities in the capital are routine. Sulowska added that the police secure various gatherings in the capital as part of their daily activities.

Proceedings against Sopiński

From March this year The Ministry of Justice 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 described - "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."

"I kindly inform you that no decision has been delivered to me"

The dismissed rector was entitled to "appeal measures provided for by law, including a request for reconsideration of the case." "I would like to kindly inform you that no decision was delivered to me in accordance with the Code of Administrative Procedure. At the same time, the Minister of Justice could not dismiss me due to the security granted by the Constitutional Tribunal, of which the Minister of Justice was notified both by the Tribunal and by me as a party. Therefore, he normally continues to perform the duties of the rector," Sopiński stated in May. He also assessed that the head of the Ministry of Justice "acts without a legal basis and outside the limits of the law."

The ministry then replied that "the allegations presented by Sopiński are unfounded, misleading and inconsistent with the actual course of the proceedings and applicable law."

On Thursday, the Ministry of Justice announced that on September 9, 2026, Żurek, after reconsidering the case, issued a decision upholding Sopiński's appeal. "Before issuing the decision, the Minister of Justice re-analyzed all the evidence, including documents collected after the decision of May 28, 2026, and all allegations, explanations and conclusions presented by the party. (...) The re-examination of the case confirmed that there were statutory grounds for dismissing the Rector-Commandant," it was indicated.