Justice minister suspends three Warsaw appeals judges as prosecutors seek immunity waivers

The suspensions

Justice Minister Waldemar Żurek ordered the immediate suspension of three judges of the Warsaw Court of Appeal, Michał Lasota, Piotr Schab and Przemysław W. Radzik, from their official duties. He announced on X that he had signed decisions putting a one-month break on their work at the court. A ministry communiqué published on Wednesday, 14 October 2026, said the orders rest on the act on the system of common courts, which allows an immediate pause until a disciplinary court issues its resolutions, for no longer than one month. The ministry added that the step does not prejudge the judges' guilt and serves to protect the dignity of the court and important service interests. The orders follow motions the National Prosecutor's Office (Prokuratura Krajowa) filed on 9 October 2026 seeking permission to bring criminal proceedings against the judges.

A court is a place for protecting the law, not a private fiefdom of a system of lawlessness. The time of impunity is over.

What prosecutors allege

Żurek said the charges concern impersonating state bodies, using seized seals and fabricating proceedings against independent judges. The motions concern an investigation into the appropriation of judicial functions held by disciplinary spokespersons. Prosecutors suspect Lasota of exceeding his powers by presenting himself as deputy spokesperson for disciplinary matters of common court judges, although the minister dismissed him from that post on 29 July 2025. The motion also says he took actions reserved for that post, including conducting disciplinary cases and attending hearings before the Supreme Court. Prosecutors want to bring a similar charge against Schab, who allegedly kept presenting himself as spokesperson after his dismissal on 25 April 2025. Radzik is to answer, among other things, for concealing disciplinary case files and opening such cases without basis, and he is also said to have claimed to remain deputy spokesperson despite being removed from that post in 2025.

1. Apr 25, 2025Schab dismissed as disciplinary spokesperson by the justice minister
2. Jul 29, 2025Lasota dismissed as deputy disciplinary spokesperson by the justice minister
3. Oct 9, 2026Prosecutors file motions with the Supreme Court to lift the immunity of the three judges
4. Oct 14, 2026Minister orders immediate one-month suspension of the three judges

Dispute over the Supreme Court chamber

Żurek argued that the motions must be decided by the Supreme Court's Professional Liability Chamber, whose legality, in his words, has long been challenged because it was set up with the involvement of the politicised neoKRS. He called on prosecutors to ask that so-called neojudges, appointed in a defective procedure, be excluded from the panels.

I will not allow people without proper mandate to decide on lifting immunity, because the case requires a lawful and fair ruling.

wPolityce.pl, a right-leaning outlet, took the opposite view, calling the suspensions an attack on judicial independence and arguing that the charges amount to criminalising the judges' official work. The outlet said the three men had enforced ethical and disciplinary standards as legally appointed disciplinary spokespersons, and it accused the ministry of seizing offices and disciplinary files by force. It also argued that pressure to exclude neojudges breaches Article 179 of the Polish Constitution.

What happens next

According to the ministry, the suspension lasts until the disciplinary court rules, and in any case no longer than one month. The motions are addressed to the Supreme Court and ask it to permit criminal proceedings against the three judges. The articles do not say when the Supreme Court will rule on them.