We want fair courts

A great number of Poles did not participate in the elections precisely because the courts, which for ordinary citizens are the most important representatives of the Polish state, have not changed at all since the communist times. Public opinion is shaken by tragic reports of abuse during the hearings but also of ordinary crimes committed by judges.

Extremely often, the judge's toga ensures impunity. Judges caught breaking the law did not refrain from serving the law to other citizens. There was no effective system to stop this pathology. The links of the judiciary with the political world and often with ordinary mafia groups allowed not only for their impunity but even for censorship of unfavourable information. Journalists and social activists exposing irregularities in the courts have often been ruthlessly punished and, during trials, often deprived of a real right to defence. In this way, censorship slowly made its way back to Poland. Fatal court decisions contributed to many scandals, which deprived the treasury and ordinary citizens of great wealth. One of the most famous cases was the Supreme Court's resolution to mitigate the penalties for VAT fraud, which deprived the Polish budget of tens of billions of euros. 

Ladies and gentlemen,
The Poles paid a great price for regaining independence and restoring democracy. All the more so, we suffer because of the last relic of the communist system, which is the justice system. The Supreme Court still employs people placed there by the communist regime. One of the most important people in this institution is an officer delegated by the military service when they were still subordinate to Moscow. Such people formed the current justice system. As a result, communist criminals with blood on their hands of those who fought for freedom, were acquitted. Those responsible for genocide, torture, but also racist persecution were not punished, ensuring impunity for those who committed anti-Semitic purges in 1968 on behalf of the communist occupation authorities. There was no punishment, because many judges were involved in these crimes. The majority of them have already retired, but the disastrous law enforcement system, hostile to ordinary people, remained. 

Ladies and gentlemen,
Recently a demonstration took place in Warsaw with tens of thousands of people demanding changes in the courts. It was not attended by politicians. Instead, among the speakers were the creators of "Solidarity" and other organizations which, opposing the communist dictatorship, led to the liberation of Poland and gave the nations of Eastern Europe an example of the struggle for civil rights. Many of the participants of this demonstration spent years in prisons punished for fighting for freedom. It is a paradox that people wronged by the present courts stood next to them. The common demand is to restore fundamental rights for ordinary citizens. Unfortunately, there are politicians and business people in Poland who benefit from corrupt courts. They are trying to convince the European Union institutions that the reform of the justice system is an attack on the independence of judges. They do not mind that coincidentally, they aim to deprive hundreds of judges who are not demoralised by the totalitarian system of administering the law. 

Ladies and gentlemen,
We want changes in Polish courts, similar to solutions existing in other European countries. We want fair trials and judges independent of politicians and the mafia. Today this trial has just begun. It was started by democratic elections and elected representatives of the nation, who have the support of the vast majority of society. The attempt to block these changes is a denial of the values for which our Fathers wanted to unite Europe. Poles feel they are Europeans and therefore they do not want to uphold the current system of courts, which serve as a communist relic. 

We never felt more Polish than when we fought for freedom.

We never felt more like the people of Europe when we demanded that the courts should respect fundamental human rights.

If freedom and justice are still a value for you, stand alongside those who seek change.