Justice Minister and Prosecutor-General Waldemar Żurek said on Wednesday that authorities would examine whether the agency surveilled the Strasbourg-based court while Bogdan Święczkowski, now head of Poland’s Constitutional Tribunal, led the agency in 2006 and 2007.
The inquiry follows remarks Święczkowski made to conservative broadcaster TV Republika last week.
He said the ABW at the time had "various kinds of means and information coming from inside the European Court of Human Rights."
Święczkowski cited the information while arguing that the court could not be regarded as an independent judicial body.
The European Court of Human Rights hears cases concerning alleged violations of the European Convention on Human Rights by members of the Council of Europe, including Poland. It is separate and independent from the institutions of the European Union.
Żurek wrote on X that authorities would “thoroughly check every aspect of the alleged surveillance” described by Święczkowski.
"If Mr. Święczkowski committed a crime as head of the ABW, he will have to face the consequences," Żurek said.
Prime Minister Donald Tusk also addressed the allegations at a news conference on Wednesday, accusing Święczkowski of having a history of surveillance.
"I know he liked to wiretap,” Tusk said. “According to a great deal of information, my family and I were also victims.”
Tusk did not seek to determine Święczkowski’s legal responsibility, saying that was for the appropriate authorities.
He said his government would use lawful measures to "repair Poland’s justice system."
Tusk also criticized Święczkowski’s appointment as head of the Constitutional Tribunal, calling it an illustration of the deterioration of legal institutions under previous Law and Justice (PiS) governments and former President Andrzej Duda.
Święczkowski was appointed head of the Constitutional Tribunal by Duda in December 2024.
The tribunal, which determines whether laws comply with Poland’s constitution, has been at the center of the country's long-running dispute over judicial independence.
The Constitutional Tribunal rejected suggestions that Święczkowski’s remarks proved surveillance had taken place.
Its spokeswoman Weronika Ścibor told the Wirtualna Polska news website that more detailed information was classified and that Święczkowski’s statement did not indicate that any surveillance had occurred.
The ABW also responded to the report. Its press office said that after almost two decades, Święczkowski "may no longer remember precisely what the agency dealt with and where the limits of its powers lay."
(rt/gs)
Source: IAR/PAP