President Andrzej Duda signed an amendment to the law on the Supreme Court. Its main assumption is the liquidation of the illegal Disciplinary Chamber and the establishment of the Professional Responsibility Chamber in its place. The law was adopted by the Sejm on Thursday. On that day, the ruling majority rejected most of the Senate’s amendments to the bill. Not all the key amendments concerning, inter alia, the invalidation of the rulings of the liquidated entity, questioned as an independent body of the Disciplinary Chamber, gained support.

Amendments to the Act on the Supreme Court are expected by the European Commission, inter alia, making the payment of money to Poland from the Reconstruction Fund under the Polish KPO dependent on them.

Tuleya: This law does not restore the rule of law

Judge Igor Tuleya, who was deprived of immunity by the unrecognized Disciplinary Chamber, restored his duties by the Warsaw-Praga District Court and was not allowed to adjudicate by the president of the District Court in Warsaw, commented on Tuesday in “Rozmowa Piaseckiego” on TVN24.

Tuleya was asked if his future judges, as well as other judges in a situation similar to his, and the shape of the Polish judiciary “are worth 35 billion euros and their loss”. “I am convinced that neither I nor my fellow judges can be bought with any money, so it is difficult for me to weigh here money on the one hand and independent judges on the other,” he replied.

– This law, which was signed yesterday, certainly does not fulfill the guidelines contained in the judgments of European courts and which are the subject of this fight in our country – he assessed. – It is not really about me, Gąciarek and Juszczyszyn, or other judges who are or were suspended, but about whether there is a rule of law in Poland or not. There is no rule of law in Poland – he stated. He added that this law does not restore the rule of law.

Tuleya: European institutions are forgetting these foundations

In his opinion, the European Commission “should have doubts”. – Whether she will have these doubts, I do not know. These are politicians. They are not guided by what we are guided by – values, but probably by something else – he said. – These are some political games and it seems to me that in all of this these European institutions are forgetting the foundations on which our common home, this common Europe is built. On some values, such as the rule of law, he assessed.

According to Tuleya, “certain rules and principles should not be bought”. – There are some foundations on which this Europe is based. If they try to trade these values somehow, it’s probably not good – he added.

– You can negotiate and compromise, but some issues are not negotiated. It seems to me that such issues are fundamental values, the rule of law. If this rule of law does not exist, there will be no European Union, he said.

Tuleya: I will not stand before the Chamber of Professional Responsibility

The TVN24 guest also said that there were no clear points in the law signed by the president. – It’s just a sign of change. I am afraid that the Chamber of Professional Responsibility will have judges whose independence can be doubted and in fact, this Chamber of Professional Responsibility will not be an independent court – he explained.

– One of the milestones mentioned by the European Commission is the change of the disciplinary system in general. Here, this system of disciplinary liability of judges is such that everything is in the hands of one person. And he is not the president, but the minister of justice, the prosecutor general, and an active politician. It is the minister of justice who appoints disciplinary judges, appoints ombudsmen, initiates these disciplinary proceedings, appeals – said Tuleya.

He announced that he would not appear before the new chamber. – My immunity has not been waived by an independent judicial body. He has not been suspended by an independent disciplinary court. In addition, I have a judgment of a common court that says that I am in this judicial service. We have decisions of the CJEU – he explained.

– Besides, starting some procedures before the Disciplinary Responsibility Chamber would of course legalize both the earlier decision and the body that will be established in place of the Disciplinary Chamber. It would also be disloyal, and you could probably even spit in the face of all the defenders of the rule of law who have been fighting for these independent courts for seven years. Such things cannot be done – said the judge.

Judge Tuleya’s case dates back to 2017

The suspension of Igor Tuleya was related to the proceedings on the debates of the Sejm in 2017, which were moved from the meeting room to the column room and voting took place there. There was a notification to the prosecutor’s office regarding the legality of the deliberations in the column room. The prosecutor’s office discontinued the investigation twice.

The second appeal against the discontinuation of the proceedings was examined by judge Igor Tuleya, who overturned the prosecutor’s decision and agreed that journalists should be present in the courtroom during the pronouncement of the sentence.

This was declared illegal by the head of the District Court in Warsaw, disciplinary commissioners, and later by the Disciplinary Chamber of the Supreme Court. Among the transcripts, there were testimonies of Law and Justice MPs, including the Deputy Speaker of the Sejm Ryszard Terlecki.

After the prosecutor decides to discontinue the investigation, a motion to punish him was submitted to the unrecognized Disciplinary Chamber, followed by the waiver of his immunity.

The Disciplinary Chamber lifted the judge’s immunity, which allowed the prosecution to start proceedings against him. He was summoned to the prosecutor’s office, but he did not appear on several summonses, as he believes that the Disciplinary Chamber is not – within the meaning of the law – a court, and the decision to waive immunity has no legal basis.