Poland's Supreme Administrative Court Rules in Favor of BBN Head Sławomir Cenckiewicz

Poland's Supreme Administrative Court dismissed the government's cassation appeals on Wednesday, upholding lower court rulings that overturned the revocation of security clearances belonging to Sławomir Cenckiewicz, head of the National Security Bureau. The NSA ruling ended the judicial-administrative stage of a dispute that began in July 2024, when General Jarosław Stróżyk, head of the Military Counterintelligence Service, revoked Cenckiewicz's authorizations to access both national and international classified information. The decision was subsequently upheld by the Prime Minister acting as the second-instance body, before Cenckiewicz took the case to the Provincial Administrative Court in November 2024, which ruled in his favor. The NSA's dismissal of the Chancellery of the Prime Minister's cassation complaints means no further appeal is available within the administrative court system. Cenckiewicz's attorney, Lieutenant Colonel Alicja Kurek, confirmed on Telewizja Republika that the ruling was final and unquestionable.

The dispute over Cenckiewicz's security clearances unfolded against a broader political conflict between Poland's presidential office and the coalition government led by Prime Minister Donald Tusk, which took office in December 2023. The BBN serves as the organizational backbone of the National Security Council and operates under the authority of the President of the Republic of Poland. Cenckiewicz, a historian and state official, was appointed head of the BBN in 2025 under President Karol Nawrocki. The revocation of his clearances in July 2024 effectively paralyzed his ability to perform core functions of the office for a period spanning approximately eight months.

Cenckiewicz claims total vindication, demands Stróżyk resign Cenckiewicz issued a statement declaring the NSA ruling a definitive confirmation that the revocation of his clearances had constituted a gross violation of the law. „My victory before the NSA is final confirmation that the actions taken against me in July 2024 constituted a gross violation of the law” — Sławomir Cenckiewicz via Gazeta Prawna He accused the SKW, the prosecutor's office, and what he described as a coordinated system of media leaks of being used as instruments of political struggle against him personally and against presidential institutions. Cenckiewicz named Stróżyk as the direct organizer of the unlawful revocation and called for his immediate resignation from the SKW leadership, stating that two court instances had found Stróżyk's actions to be illegal. He also directed criticism at Minister of National Defense Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz, who supervises the SKW, urging him to remove Stróżyk from his post. Speaking on Telewizja Republika, Cenckiewicz described the broader campaign against him as an attempt to destroy his life and exclude him from public life, alleging that sensitive information from SKW proceedings had been leaked to friendly media outlets. Presidential advisor Błażej Poboży echoed this framing, calling the clearance revocation an element of the fight against the presidential camp and personal revenge by Prime Minister Donald Tusk. „Professor Cenckiewicz never lost access to classified information. This is an element of the fight against the presidential camp and Donald Tusk's personal revenge for revealing facts incriminating this circle” — Błażej Poboży via wpolityce.pl

Government insists new verification procedure still required Government officials pushed back sharply against the interpretation that the NSA ruling automatically restored Cenckiewicz's access to classified information. Jacek Dobrzyński, spokesperson for the Minister-Coordinator of Special Services, stated that the dismissal of the cassation appeals only obligates the SKW to conduct a new supervisory verification procedure in accordance with the court's instructions, and that Cenckiewicz does not currently hold access to classified information. Deputy Minister of National Defense Cezary Tomczyk reinforced that position on TVN24's "Fakty po Faktach" program, describing Cenckiewicz's demand for Stróżyk's resignation as absurd and noting that any dismissal would require a rational basis. Tomczyk also disclosed that Cenckiewicz faces charges in connection with the alleged disclosure of defense plans codenamed "Warta," which Tomczyk said are now circulating on Russian internet platforms, adding that this was done, in his characterization, in the name of an election campaign for a political party. Tomczyk stated that the final decision on Cenckiewicz's access to classified information rests with the Internal Security Agency. A legal expert cited by Rzeczpospolita explained that the court's ruling effectively resets the case to its starting point at the SKW, which must now issue a new substantive decision — either discontinuing the verification procedure, which would restore access, or issuing a new revocation if it finds Cenckiewicz does not provide a guarantee of maintaining secrecy.

ABW letter warns of criminal liability for sharing secrets with Cenckiewicz The ABW sent a letter directly to the National Security Bureau shortly after the NSA ruling was announced, warning that any disclosure of classified information to Cenckiewicz would, in the agency's opinion, constitute a flagrant violation of the law and could result in criminal liability for those who share such information with him. „Any disclosure of classified information to Mr. Sławomir Cenckiewicz will be, in the opinion of the ABW, a gross violation of the regulations, which may also result in criminal liability for persons disclosing classified information to the aforementioned person” — Sławomir Cenckiewicz via Niezalezna.pl Cenckiewicz described receiving the letter around 3:00 PM on the day of the ruling, characterizing it as a sign that his superiors feared he would immediately seek access to classified registries. The letter also stated that a new extrajudicial verification procedure would be conducted to determine whether Cenckiewicz provides a guarantee of maintaining secrecy, though Cenckiewicz said he did not know on the basis of what new facts or sources such a procedure would be initiated. The Rzeczpospolita legal analysis noted one new circumstance that had not existed at the start of the original proceedings: Cenckiewicz's attendance at a February meeting of the National Security Council, for which the head of the Presidential Chancellery granted a one-time consent for access to materials classified as "confidential," despite knowing that verification proceedings were ongoing. That expert assessed this circumstance could independently serve as a basis for a renewed revocation of clearances, and predicted the real resolution of the dispute would occur in the SKW's administrative process rather than in public. The dispute thus remains unresolved in practical terms, with the presidential camp claiming full legal vindication and the government maintaining that Cenckiewicz's access to state secrets remains suspended pending a new administrative decision.

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