Professor Małgorzata Gersdorf used to be the First President of the Supreme Court, however, after she was sent to retirement by President Duda, her position is now vacant, the Chairman of the National Council of the Judiciary (KRS) Leszek Mazur said on Monday.
Mazur was asked on TVN24 about the decision by the European Networks of Councils for the Judiciary (ENCJ) to suspend the KRS in membership rights; according to this organisation, Polish council is not fully independent from the legislative and executive powers". The ENCJ said it's going to closely watch actions taken by the KRS.
"The ENCJ speaks of violation of independence, whereas standards of independence from the legislative or the executive may differ. We're being accused of getting to close to the legislative and executive powers, when it wasn't us who took this step, but those two powers had undertaken certain reforms," he replied.
He added that in some other European states, judges may belong to political parties and, according to him, it doesn't raise anyone's concerns.
According to Mazur, the ENCJ forms its opinions "based mainly on certain media reports and on direct correspondence with judges' associations". "These are the reasons behind ENCJ's decisions," he stressed.
Mazur was also asked about who, in his opinion, is in charge of the Supreme Court ar the moment. "Professor (Małgorzata) Gersdorf used to be the First President of the Supreme Court, however, after she was sent to retirement by President Duda, her position is now vacant," he replied.
When asked about the substantiation of the retirement age of judges being set at 65, the KRS chairman said that it was established based, among other things, on documents disclosed by heads of the court's chambers. "It turns out that judges who turned 65 very often take medical leave or overdue vacation; their actual judicial work is very limited at this stage," he said.
Furthermore, Mazur reassured that if his tenure had been disrupted by a legislation, "he wouldn't question this fact". "I also wouldn't question a situation of my tenure had been ended by the retirement age; I would acknowledge that I no longer meet requirements to fulfil my position," he declared.
He added that there is a provision in the Constitution, that says that it the legislation which regulates the retirement age of judges.
According to the new Supreme Court law which came into effect on 3 April, after three months from this date, all judges aged 65 or older were forced to retire. Therefore from 4 July on, in line with the law, they ceased to hold their offices.
They might have been allowed to remain at the court, as long as within a month from the new Supreme Court law coming into effect, they had submitted a declaration of will and medical certificate for the president to decide upon.
Before granting or rejecting the requests, the president asked the National Council of the Judiciary (KRS) for opinion. Małgorzata Gersdorf, who is over 65, didn't submit her request to the president.
In June, the General Assembly of the Supreme Court adopted a resolution stating that, in line with the Constitution, judge Gersdorf will remain the First President until 30th of April, 2020. As the Supreme Court's press office informed, judge Gersdorf is showing up at work as usual.
In mid-September, the Deputy Chief of the Chancellery of the President, Paweł Mucha told PAP that the Supreme Court will be headed by the longest-serving judge, which in practice meant judge Dariusz Zawistowski. Judge Józef Iwulski, who headed earlier on, as well as six other judges received official letters of retirement from the president.
Autor: gf / Źródło: TVN24 International
Źródło zdjęcia głównego: tvn24