Warsaw Court Overturns Record 550,000 Zloty Fine Imposed on TVN24

The District Court in Warsaw on March 27, 2026, overturned a 550,000 zloty fine imposed on TVN24 by the National Broadcasting Council for airing the investigative report "Bielmo. Franciszkańska 3," ruling that the material was prepared with journalistic diligence and did not constitute an attack on the Catholic Church or Christian values. The court fully overturned the decision issued on March 4, 2024, by then-chairman Maciej Świrski, who had accused TVN SA of violating Article 18, paragraphs 1 and 2 of the Radio and Television Broadcasting Act. In its oral reasoning, the court stated that the program could not be attributed with promoting attitudes contrary to the law or violating the Christian system of values. The court also emphasized that the Polish state has not conducted a thorough reckoning with the phenomenon of pedophilia in the Catholic Church, and that addressing such topics in journalistic materials is a foundation of democracy. The judgment is not final, and the current chairwoman of KRRiT, Agnieszka Glapiak, announced an appeal.

Court finds KRRiT chairman lacked legal authority to fine A central element of the ruling was the court's finding that Maciej Świrski had no legal basis to impose the fine in the first place. The court stated that even if irregularities in journalistic standards had occurred, the chairman of KRRiT was not authorized to examine such circumstances, and the provisions of the Radio and Television Broadcasting Act do not provide a legal basis for penalizing a broadcaster on those grounds. The court noted that the protection of personal rights of natural and legal persons is served by a separate procedure provided for in the Civil Code, not by administrative proceedings before the broadcasting regulator. The court further ruled that the mere fact of canonization cannot prevent research and analysis of the biography or the circumstances of the ministry of Cardinal Karol Wojtyła. It also stated that the program did not insult the cult of John Paul II, and that pedophilia and its concealment are contrary to the Decalogue and violate the basic values proclaimed by the Catholic Church.

The report "Bielmo. Franciszkańska 3" by TVN24 journalist Marcin Gutowski premiered on March 6, 2023, as the seventh installment of the "Bielmo" investigative series. It presented the thesis that Karol Wojtyła, as Metropolitan of Kraków, covered up cases of pedophilia among clergy before becoming Pope John Paul II. The report drew an average of 1.05 million viewers. Following its broadcast, KRRiT received what it described as a record number of complaints in the council's history — 6,058 submissions containing 39,613 signatures expressing opposition to the content. Maciej Świrski served as chairman of KRRiT from 2022 to 2025 and initiated proceedings against TVN24 after receiving those complaints.

Mateusz Sosnowski, deputy editor-in-chief of TVN24, described the ruling as significant beyond the broadcaster itself. „From the beginning we knew that the actions of the chairman of the KRRiT were purely political in nature. The penalty had no legal basis, infringed on media freedom, and was an attempt to intimidate our newsroom and many other newsrooms” — Mateusz Sosnowski via Press.pl TVN24 reporter Marcin Gutowski, who spent two and a half years investigating the story, stated on social media that the court confirmed the report was reliable and based on diverse sources, including accounts of numerous witnesses, analysis of documents, and recordings. Gutowski noted that the court acknowledged the authors of the program explicitly pointed to the lower credibility of documents originating from the security services of the Polish People's Republic, addressing one of KRRiT's central criticisms. The journalist described the fine as the highest penalty in the history of Polish media and said he was "officially removing the gag" he had imposed on himself since the proceedings began. TVN24 had challenged the KRRiT decision from the outset, arguing it represented an attempt to restrict media freedom.

Glapiak calls verdict "incomprehensible," vows appeal Agnieszka Glapiak, who became chairwoman of KRRiT on July 28, 2025, reacted sharply to the ruling. „The verdict is incomprehensible and difficult to accept” — Agnieszka Glapiak via wpolityce.pl Glapiak announced that KRRiT would appeal the decision, meaning the legal dispute between the regulator and TVN24 will continue in higher courts. The original fine had been imposed under Maciej Świrski, who is no longer in the post and, according to reporting by Fakt24, is currently suspended and awaiting trial before the State Tribunal on accusations that include harassing private media and blocking license fee funds for public broadcasters. KRRiT had not issued an official statement following the court ruling, according to reporting by Fakt24. The case drew broad public attention from the moment the report aired, with more than 6,000 complaints submitted to the council and nearly 40,000 signatures collected in protest against the broadcast, alongside voices defending the journalists' right to address difficult topics of public importance.

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