In brief

• Justice Minister Waldemar Żurek signed the first six payment demands to so-called neo-judges of the Supreme Court.
• The demands total 690,650.74 zloty, and compensation already paid out stands at 6.5 million zloty.
• More than 1,200 Polish cases are frozen at the European Court of Human Rights, and the next step is a civil lawsuit for the State Treasury.

First six demands signed

Waldemar Żurek said on Friday that he had signed the first six demands for payment directed at several so-called neo-judges of the Supreme Court (Kolejny zwrot w sporze o neosędziów. Żurek chce odzyskać wypłacone odszkodowania – Bankier.pl) (Działania Waldemara Żurka wobec neosędziów. "Podpisałem sześć wezwań" – Dziennik.pl) (Żurek wezwał do zapłaty pierwszych sześciu tzw. neosędziów SN – Rzeczpospolita). The demands are part of regress civil proceedings, which Żurek said should have been brought against these judges for taking part in hearings (Odszkodowania za wyroki neosędziów. Żurek podpisał wezwania – Wirtualna Polska). According to the Justice Ministry, the demands total 690,650.74 zloty („Podpisałem sześć wezwań do zapłaty”. Żurek o działaniach wobec neosędziów – RMF24).

Compensation already paid

Żurek put the amount the state has actually paid out so far for the work of neo-judges in the Supreme Court at 6.5 million zloty. He noted that the sum depends on the euro exchange rate, because the European Court of Human Rights pays awards in euros.

The Strasbourg court has awarded sums in cases involving the neo-judges, and the total keeps growing, Żurek said.

Frozen cases and risk

According to Żurek, more than 1,200 cases of Polish citizens are currently frozen at the European Court of Human Rights. These cases ended in the Supreme Court with a neo-judge on the bench. He warned that if the court unfreezes them, Poland could lose them one after another.

What comes next

The next step, the minister said, is filing a civil lawsuit on behalf of the State Treasury. Żurek argued that the state is caught in a bind: it pays substantial salaries to these judges while their rulings generate compensation that taxpayers must cover.

The dispute over the status of judges appointed with the participation of the National Council of the Judiciary is long-running, and a new law intended to settle their position is under discussion.