Prosecutors from the Internal Affairs Department of the National Prosecutor’s Office, accompanied by officers from the Warsaw Metropolitan Police Headquarters, went on Wednesday to offices at 30 Rakowiecka St. in Warsaw to “collect and secure documents,” according to Anna Adamiak, spokeswoman for the prosecutor general.
The rooms are used by the Disciplinary Spokesperson for Judges of Ordinary Courts and his deputies, officials who can initiate disciplinary proceedings against judges in Poland’s common court system.
The search followed repeated requests by newly appointed disciplinary officials, as well as disciplinary spokespersons appointed “ad hoc” for specific cases, to hand over case files that, prosecutors say, were not released.
The dispute centers on judges Piotr Schab, Przemysław Radzik, and Michał Lasota, who were appointed in 2018 by then justice minister Zbigniew Ziobro under the national-conservative PiS government.
Prosecutors carried out similar actions at the same offices in July 2024, also related to the refusal to hand over disciplinary case files.
Adam Bodnar, the justice minister in the current government coalition, dismissed Schab and Radzik in April 2025. His successor, Waldemar Żurek, removed Lasota after taking office in July 2025.
Schab and the other dismissed officials argue the ministry’s decisions were unlawful and ineffective.
In the months that followed, they continued to use office space rented by the National Council of the Judiciary, a constitutional body meant to safeguard the independence of courts and judges, and they continued initiating disciplinary proceedings.
Adamiak said the actions were taken under a criminal investigation into “hiding documents” by refusing to hand them over, and into “claiming to hold a function” when a person no longer performs it.
She said a prosecutor issued an order on January 14, 2026, demanding the release of materials and authorizing a search.
Dagmara Pawełczyk-Woicka, chair of the National Council of the Judiciary, said police restricted her access to the building on Wednesday as she tried to hold a news conference there, saying she was left “standing in the cold” and unable to speak to the media.
Żurek, who is justice minister and prosecutor general, said the dismissed disciplinary officials had been ordered to hand over the files and did not do so.
He described the operation as routine, saying it was aimed at people under criminal investigation rather than the National Council of the Judiciary, though he noted the government disputes the council’s current composition.
The raid drew sharp criticism from the opposition.
President Karol Nawrocki said he had asked his chief of staff, Zbigniew Bogucki, to review the matter on behalf of the President's Office.
(rt)
Source: IAR, PAP