Berek takes oath in Sejm, then enters Constitutional Tribunal amid protests and scuffles
Maciej Berek, a Constitutional Tribunal judge chosen by the Sejm in September, entered the court building under police escort on Wednesday, 14 October, after protesters tried to block the entrance.
Oath in the Sejm
On Wednesday, 14 October, at 9:00, Maciej Berek took his oath as a Constitutional Tribunal judge in the Sejm. The Sejm had chosen him in September, and until recently he served as a minister in Donald Tusk's government. He swore the oath in the 'before the president' formula and then delivered the written oath with a notarised signature at the Chancellery of the President of Poland. At the ceremony he said the following.
Taking the oath by a Constitutional Tribunal judge is his legal obligation.
Standoff at the Tribunal
Later that day Berek and other judges elected by the Sejm in this term went to the Tribunal building, but its president, Bogdan Święczkowski, did not admit them to adjudicate. Protesters, among them members of the Ruch Obrony Granic and Gazeta Polska clubs and some PiS politicians, gathered outside to block the entrance. Police then escorted Berek and the other judges inside. NIEZALEZNA.PL reported that officers forcibly removed peaceful protesters and that several people were roughed up, while other media reports described scuffles and pushing. Święczkowski came out to the crowd and asked people to let officers through.
Ladies and gentlemen, the police are securing the entrance to the Tribunal and have the right to enter, so please do not obstruct.
- Maciej Berek takes the oath in the Sejm
- Berek and other Sejm-elected judges go to the Tribunal as protesters try to block the entrance
- Czarnek calls the day's events criminal on Telewizja Republika
- Planned demonstration in front of the Tribunal on al. Szucha
Czarnek's accusations
Przemysław Czarnek, a PiS member of the Sejm and the party's candidate for prime minister, called the day's events criminal in remarks broadcast on Telewizja Republika that evening. He accused Berek of taking the oath before a president who was not present, of pressing Święczkowski to begin work, and of filing a false complaint with prosecutors over bodily integrity. These are Czarnek's accusations, not findings by a court or prosecutor. He also said his lawyers were preparing notifications to prosecutors, claiming recordings and evidence against police officers and against Berek and the judges. Czarnek said he had held a long conversation with Karol Nawrocki about the matter and thanked the president for it on X.
Saturday demonstration
Czarnek urged supporters to join a demonstration in front of the Tribunal on al. Szucha on Saturday, 17 October, starting at 14:00. NIEZALEZNA.PL reported that Jarosław Kaczyński and Tomasz Sakiewicz, chairman of Republika, had called the rally. Czarnek praised protesters who have camped outside the Tribunal for a month, and he appealed to police officers not to carry out orders he called absurd. He ended his appeal with a message for the weekend.
Let the whole of Poland hear our voice on Saturday.