Standoff erupts at Academy of Justice as Sopiński resists dismissal by Żurek

Standoff at the Warsaw campus

On the morning of 10 September 2026, Professor Sławomir Cudak arrived at the Warsaw headquarters of the Academy of Justice (AWS) to take control as acting rector-commandant following an appointment by Justice Minister Waldemar Żurek. Cudak, the oldest member of the university Senate, carried documents signed by Żurek the previous morning authorizing him to manage the school until the Senate elects a permanent replacement. Academy personnel refused to release the keys to the rector's office, while Law and Justice (PiS) Member of Parliament Mariusz Gosek stood outside the office door to prevent entry alongside TV Republika staff led by Jarosław Olechowski. Police officers summoned to the scene declined to escort Cudak into the office. Cudak briefly retreated into an accessible restroom before leaving the premises, after which academy administrators issued an immediate disciplinary dismissal against him for gross violation of employee obligations.

I tried to perform my duties, but as a result of the media that appeared there, very unfriendly towards me, I was unable to fulfill my duties.

Injunctions and the administrative dispute

The confrontation follows an ongoing conflict over the leadership of the higher education institution, which educates staff for the court system and the Prison Service. The Constitutional Tribunal issued an interim injunction under case reference K 11/26 on 27 May 2026, ordering the Justice Minister to refrain from dismissing or suspending AWS rector Michał Sopiński pending a review of the dismissal procedures. Sopiński, who was attending the Economic Forum in Karpacz, reported that Prison Service officers had been dispatched to locate him in the town to deliver dismissal papers. On platform X, Sopiński maintained that the ministerial decision had no legal validity because it had not been formally delivered under the Code of Administrative Procedure (KPA).

The decision does not take effect at the moment of its signing. But at the moment of its delivery. Therefore, he did not dismiss me effectively, because he did not deliver the decision.

Ministry justification and press conference

The Ministry of Justice issued a formal statement listing three statutory grounds for removing Sopiński: irregularities in doctoral degree award proceedings, breaches of the principle of political neutrality, and deficiencies in conducting tasks associated with probation officer training. In public remarks, Żurek stated that political agitation could not be permitted at an academy training law enforcement and prison officers.

Michał Sopiński definitively ceases to serve as Rector-Commandant of the Academy of Justice. My decision is final and enforceable upon signature. There is no and will not be consent to partisan agitation in the position of Rector of the Academy responsible for training Prison Service officers.

At a press conference held after 16:00 at the Ministry of Justice, Deputy Justice Minister Maria Ejchart and Sławomir Cudak addressed the dispute. Ejchart acknowledged that officials failed to hand the decision directly to Sopiński in Karpacz, but asserted that his verified knowledge of the delivery attempt rendered the dismissal effective. Cudak dismissed the validity of his own disciplinary firing, stating he had already dismissed the vice-rector who signed the order. Speaking on TV Republika, Sopiński accused Piotr Raczkowski, director of the Department of Execution of Judgments and Probation, of orchestrating Cudak's takeover attempt.