CEDH · CASELAW;JUDGMENTS;CHAMBER;ENG — 6 octobre 2022

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vertical-align:super; color:#0069d6 }   FIRST SECTION CASE OF JUSZCZYSZYN v. POLAND (Application no. 35599/20)   JUDGMENT   Art 6 § 1 (civil) • Grave irregularities in appointment of judges to newly established Supreme Court’s Disciplinary Chamber, that suspended judge from duties for verifying independence of another judge appointed upon recommendation of reformed National Council of the Judiciary   (NCJ) • Very essence of the right to a “tribunal established by law” impaired • Independence and impartiality of Disciplinary Chamber compromised • Application of Reczkowicz v. Poland in the light of three-step test formulated in   Guðmundur Andri Ástráðsson v.   Iceland [GC] Art 8 • Private life • Unforeseeable suspension of judge, in connection with the giving of a judicial decision, based on manifestly unreasonable application of law, by a body not being “a tribunal established by law” Art 18 (+ Art 8) • Restriction for unauthorised purposes • Disciplinary measures leading to applicant’s suspension predominantly aiming to sanction and dissuade him from verifying lawfulness of appointment of judges upon recommendation of reformed NCJ   • Context of successive reforms resulting in the weakening of judicial independence • Impugned measures in disregard of the rulings of the CJEU and the Polish Supreme Court, which made fundamental findings as to the lack of independence of the reformed NCJ and the status of judges appointed upon its recommendations • Impugned measures incompatible with the fundamental principles of judicial independence and the rule of law   STRASBOURG 6 October 2022 FINAL   30/01/2023   This judgment has become final under Article 44 § 2 of the Convention. It may be subject to editorial revision. In the case of Juszczyszyn v. Poland, The European Court of Human Rights (First Section), sitting as a Chamber composed of:   Marko Bošnjak , President,   Péter Paczolay ,   Krzysztof Wojtyczek ,   Erik Wennerström ,   Raffaele Sabato ,   Lorraine Schembri Orland ,   Ioannis Ktistakis , Judges, and Renata Degener, Section Registrar, Having regard to: the application (no.   35599/20) against the Republic of Poland lodged with the Court under Article 34 of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (“the Convention”) by a Polish national, Mr Paweł Juszczyszyn (“the applicant”), on 4 August 2020; the decision to give notice to the Polish Government (“the Government”) of the complaints under Article 6 § 1, Article 8, Article 18 taken in conjunction with Article 8, and Article 1 of Protocol No. 1 to the Convention; the observations submitted by the respondent Government and the observations in reply submitted by the applicant; the written comments submitted by the “Judges for Judges” Foundation (the Netherlands) jointly with Professor L. Pech, the International Commission of Jurists and the Commissioner for Human Rights of the Republic of Poland, who were granted leave to intervene by the President of the Section; the factual update submitted by the applicant on 7 June 2022 and the Government’s reply to it of 1 July 2022; Having deliberated in private on 6 September 2022, Delivers the following judgment, which was adopted on that date: INTRODUCTION 1.     The case concerns the applicant’s suspension from his judicial duties by the Disciplinary Chamber of the Supreme Court which, in the applicant’s submission, did not satisfy the requirements of an “independent and impartial tribunal established by law”. He also claimed that the suspension had amounted to a breach of his right to respect for his private life and that the restriction on the said right had been applied for a purpose not prescribed by the Convention. The applicant relied on Article 6 § 1, Article 8, Article   18 taken in conjunction with Article 8, and Article 1 of Protocol No. 1 to the Convention. THE FACTS 2.     The applicant was born in 1972 and lives in Olsztyn. He was represented by Mr P. Kładoczny, a lawyer with the Helsinki Foundation of Human Rights, a non ‑ governmental organisation based in Warsaw. 3.     The Government were represented by their Agent, Mr J. Sobczak, of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. 4.     The facts of the case may be summarised as follows. Background and context of the case 5.     The broader domestic background to the present case was set out in the Court’s judgments in Reczkowicz (no. 43447/19, §§ 4-53, 22 July 2021) and Grzęda ([GC], no.   43572/18, §§ 14-28, 15 March 2022). Proceedings concerning the applicant’s suspension 6.     The applicant passed a judicial exam and became a trainee judge in June 2001. On 4 December 2003 he was appointed as judge of the Olsztyn District Court ( Sąd Rejonowy ). 7.     On 2 September 2019 the Minister of Justice seconded the applicant to the Olsztyn Regional Court ( Sąd Okręgowy ) until February 2020. He was assigned to the civil appellate division. 8.     On 20 November 2019 the applicant, sitting in a single-judge formation at the Olsztyn Regional Court, heard an appeal lodged by a defendant in a civil case against a judgment given by the Lidzbark Warmiński District Court. The District Court had given its judgment in a single-judge formation composed of Judge D.I. The proceedings concerned a claim for payment brought by an investment fund against an individual. 9.     When hearing the appeal, the applicant made an order ( postanowienie ) directing the Head of the Chancellery of the Sejm ( Szef Kancelarii Sejmu ) to produce copies of the endorsement lists for the judicial candidates to the new National Council of the Judiciary ( Krajowa Rada Sądownictwa – “the NCJ”) who had been subsequently elected by the Sejm on 6 March 2018. Those documents had been submitted to the Chancellery in the framework of the procedure for election of the judicial members of the “new” NCJ laid down in the Act of 12 May 2011 on the NCJ as amended by the Act Amending the Act on the NCJ (“the 2017 Amending Act”). The applicant also directed the Head of the Chancellery to submit the statements of citizens or judges who had withdrawn their support for the candidates (for further details concerning the election procedure to the “new” NCJ see Reczkowicz , cited above, §§   11 ‑ 22). 10.     The applicant fixed a one-week time-limit for transmission of the relevant documents from the delivery of his order, on pain of a fine being imposed in the event of unjustified refusal to produce the requested documents. The order did not contain any reasons or the legal basis on which it was made. Information on the order was provided to the media by the spokesperson of the Olsztyn Regional Court. According to her, the judge who adjudicated in the case at first instance had been appointed on the basis of a resolution adopted by the new NCJ. She further stated that in the appellate court’s view, in the light of the CJEU’s judgment of 19 November 2019, such a situation could have raised doubts as to whether the ruling made in the case had been given by a person authorised to do so. 11.     The applicant submitted that he had intended to verify whether the lower court had complied with the requirement of independence under EU law since Judge D.I. had been appointed by the President of the Republic on the basis of a resolution adopted by the new NCJ. This was relevant for the validity of the first-instance proceedings and consequently for the right to a fair hearing of the parties to those proceedings in the light of the judgment of the Court of Justice of the European Union (“the CJEU”) of 19 November 2019 ( A.K.   and   Others , joined cases C-585/18, C-624/18 and C-625/18) concerning the independence of the NCJ and the Disciplinary Chamber of the Supreme Court (see paragraphs 120-122 below). 12.     The endorsement lists were not publicly available at the relevant time. A Deputy to the Sejm , Ms K.G.-P., requested the Chancellery of the Sejm to disclose those documents under the Access to Information Act, but to no avail. She challenged the refusal before the administrative courts. However, despite a final judgment of the Supreme Administrative Court of 28 June 2019 (case no. I OSK 4282/18) ordering disclosure, the endorsement lists were not made public. They were eventually disclosed on 14 February 2020 (see Reczkowicz , cited above, § 22). 13.     On 25 November 2019 the Minister of Justice terminated the applicant’s secondment to the Regional Court. He did not give any reasons for his decision. On 26 November 2019 the Minister of Justice stated at a press conference: “[T]he role of a court is to adjudicate fairly, and not to play politics and undermine the status of other judges or constitutional foundations of the Republic of Poland, including the powers of such authorities as the Sejm , the NCJ or the President of the Republic. The Minister of Justice will never support this kind of activity in the courts, which amounts to anarchisation of the Polish judiciary and overstepping the judges’ powers ...” 14.     On the same day the Ministry of Justice published a press release on the termination of the applicant’s secondment. It stated, inter alia , as follows: “This judge [the applicant] was examining an appeal in one of the civil cases. In the course of the proceedings he unjustifiably challenged the status of a judge appointed by the President of the Republic, who in the same case had given a first-instance judgment. In the Ministry of Justice’s assessment, such an act constitutes an inadmissible interference with the activities of the [State] constitutional organs and may lead to chaos and anarchy. No judge has the right to assess the status of another judge by using to that end the evidential proceedings in a particular case. Once the letter of appointment to the office of judge has been signed by the President of the Republic, that letter may not be challenged ....” 15.     On 26 November 2019 in a courtroom of the Olsztyn District Court the applicant made a statement to the media relating to the termination of his secondment. In this connection he stated: “... the parties’ right to a fair trial is more important to me than my professional situation. A judge must not be afraid of politicians, even if they have an influence on his career. I appeal to my fellow judges to always remember their judicial oath [and] to adjudicate independently and courageously”. 16.     On 28 November 2019 M.L., the Deputy Disciplinary Officer for Ordinary Court Judges ( Zastępca Rzecznika Dyscyplinarnego Sędziów Sądów Powszechnych ; “the deputy disciplinary officer”) initiated disciplinary proceedings against the applicant and charged him with four disciplinary offences. 17.     Firstly, the applicant was charged with the disciplinary offence of compromising the dignity of the office of judge under section 107(1) of the Act of 27 July 2001 on the Organisation of Ordinary Courts (“the 2001 Act”), as applicable at the relevant time, with reference to the decision of 20   November 2019. The deputy disciplinary officer alleged that the applicant had abused his power by ordering, without any legal basis, the Head of the Chancellery of the Sejm to produce copies of documents regarding the election of the judicial members of the new NCJ. By doing so, he had arrogated to himself a competence to assess the lawfulness of the election of those members and of the exercise by the President of the Republic of his prerogative to appoint judges, and had thus acted against the interest of the proper functioning of the administration of justice. The deputy disciplinary officer further alleged that the applicant’s order amounted to a criminal offence of abuse of power under Article 231 § 1 of the Criminal Code. 18.     The deputy disciplinary officer noted that the Disciplinary Chamber was competent to hear the case as a first-instance court since the disciplinary charge relating to the decision of 20 November 2019 also carried the constitutive elements of an intentional offence. 19.     Secondly, the applicant was charged with acting contrary to section   89(1) of the 2001 Act by making statements to the press relating to the termination of his secondment. 20.     Lastly, he was charged with two counts of the disciplinary offence of compromising the dignity of the office of judge in connection with two requests to withdraw from hearing a criminal case. The deputy disciplinary officer alleged that in those requests the applicant had relied on untrue facts. 21.     On 29 November 2019 Judge   M.N., the President of Olsztyn District Court, ordered an immediate interruption in the exercise of the applicant’s judicial duties for a period of one month and until the Disciplinary Chamber had given a decision in this respect, pursuant to section 130(1) of the 2001 Act. He found that the immediate suspension was justified by reference to the authority of the court and the essential interests of the service, having regard to the nature of the disciplinary charges brought against the applicant and the fact that one of them also amounted to a publicly-prosecuted offence. 22.     Judge M.N. was also a judicial member of the new NCJ elected by the Sejm on 6 March 2018. 23.     On 20 December 2019 the applicant’s lawyers filed an application with the First President of the Supreme Court for withdrawal of the disciplinary officer, P.S., and his two deputies, P.R. and M.L., from dealing with the case owing to their lack of impartiality. They also submitted that their application could not be examined by the Disciplinary Chamber which, according to the Supreme Court’s judgment of 5 December 2019 (no.   III   PO   7/18), was not a court within the meaning of EU or domestic law. They proposed that their application should be examined by the Criminal Chamber of the Supreme Court. 24.     On the same day the applicant’s lawyers requested the First President of the Supreme Court to find that the Disciplinary Chamber did not have competence to hear the case regarding the applicant’s suspension. They requested that a different chamber be designated to examine the case. They maintained that the Disciplinary Chamber could not be regarded as an independent and impartial tribunal established by law within the meaning of Article 45 of the Constitution, Article 47 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights and Article 6 of the Convention. 25.     On 23 December 2019 M.G., the First President of the Supreme Court replied that the request of the applicant’s lawyers had been received on 20   December, while the case was to be heard on 23 December 2019. In these circumstances, she was unable to act as requested and, in addition, the acting President of the Disciplinary Chamber had refused to transmit the case file. The first-instance decision of the Disciplinary Chamber 26.     On 23 December 2019 the Disciplinary Chamber, sitting as the first-instance court in a formation of two judges, J.W. and A.R. and one lay member, adopted a resolution setting aside the order of the President of Olsztyn District Court of 29 November 2019 on the immediate interruption in the exercise of the applicant’s judicial duties. 27.     As a preliminary point, the Disciplinary Chamber noted that, in accordance with the established case-law of the Supreme Court, in proceedings concerning the suspension of a judge from his official duties the disciplinary court could decide only on the justification for removing a judge from his duties in connection with the disciplinary charges brought against him. Such proceedings, being of an auxiliary nature, could not categorically determine the question of liability of a judge for the disciplinary offence in question. 28.     As regards the first disciplinary charge, the Disciplinary Chamber found that the decision given by the applicant on 20 November 2019, allegedly in connection with the CJEU’s preliminary ruling delivered on the previous day, had been manifestly unjustified. It was impossible to determine in the proceedings regarding the issue of the applicant’s suspension whether this was an error on the applicant’s part resulting from insufficient analysis of that ruling, or whether it was the result of intentional action for which the CJEU’s ruling served merely as a pretext. This question would be decided by the disciplinary court in the main proceedings if a relevant disciplinary charge were brought. While noting that it was legitimate to seek transparency in the context of election of the NCJ members, the Disciplinary Chamber emphasised that the attempt to obtain the relevant information by way of a decision given by the applicant had been unjustified. 29.     However, it found that there were fundamental doubts as to the possibility of engaging the disciplinary liability of a judge for issuing even an obviously groundless decision by characterising his act as the disciplinary offence of compromising the dignity of his office. The Disciplinary Chamber stressed that the giving of an unfounded judicial decision could not have been characterised as such a disciplinary offence in the light of the existing case-law and views of legal scholarship. 30.     It further noted that a disciplinary offence which consisted in giving an unjustified or erroneous judicial decision, i.e. the act concerning the exercise of judicial duties, could possibly be considered as an obvious and gross violation of the law under section 107(1) of the 2001 Act. However, the disciplinary officer had not formulated such a charge despite the fact that he had alleged that the applicant had abused his powers. 31.     The Disciplinary Chamber further noted that it was unjustified at this stage of the proceedings to claim that the impugned act of the applicant had amounted to the offence of abuse of power by a public official under Article   231 §   1 of the Criminal Code. It observed that there was no information in the case file about any action of a prosecutor related to such a charge against the applicant. It also found that the evidence collected by the disciplinary officer had not warranted the reasonable suspicion that the applicant had committed such an offence. 32.     Furthermore, the Disciplinary Chamber found that the legal grounds invoked by the President of the Olsztyn District Court for his decision ordering an immediate interruption in the exercise of the applicant’s judicial duties did not exist at the time of its consideration of the case. The issuance of even an obviously unjustified decision did not constitute such a ground. This was a one-off act on the part of the applicant, which could not be regarded as significantly undermining the authority of the court or important interests of the service. 33.     The Disciplinary Chamber noted that the criteria relevant for suspension of a judge included: detriment to the service, the degree of culpability, the interest of the administration of justice and sufficient probability of the commission of the act. In conclusion, having assessed the circumstances relating to the issuance of the order of 20 November 2019, the Disciplinary Chamber held that it was unnecessary to suspend the applicant from his judicial duties on account of the first disciplinary charge. 34.     As regards the disciplinary charge of acting contrary to section 89(1) of the 2001 Act (see paragraph 19 above), the Disciplinary Chamber agreed that the applicant’s making of statements to the press relating to the termination of his secondment contravened this provision. However, the disciplinary officer did not indicate whether this act should be characterised as compromising the dignity of the office of judge or as an obvious and gross violation of the law under section 107(1) of the 2001 Act. In any event, the Disciplinary Chamber found that, also with regard to this charge, there were no circumstances requiring the applicant’s suspension from his judicial duties. 35.     In respect of the two remaining charges (see paragraph 20 above) and having regard to the relevant criteria, the Disciplinary Chamber found that they did not justify the applicant’s suspension. 36.     Lastly, the Disciplinary Chamber analysed the legitimacy of the applicant’s suspension in the light of the entirety of the disciplinary charges against him. It noted that a decision on suspension required great caution and should be regarded as an exceptional measure, which was to be supported by the serious gravity of the offence and the degree of culpability or the exceptionally negative public perception of the judge’s conduct. However, in addition, the assessment carried out in this light did not indicate a need to suspend the judge. 37.     On 30 December 2019 the deputy disciplinary officer lodged an interlocutory appeal ( zażalenie ) against the first-instance decision of the Disciplinary Chamber. He   argued that the Disciplinary Chamber had erred in finding that the disciplinary charges against the applicant did not constitute a sufficient basis for his suspension. He sought to have the applicant suspended from his judicial duties and his salary reduced by 50% for the duration of the suspension. 38.     On 13 January 2020 the applicant’s lawyer again requested the First President of the Supreme Court to find that the Disciplinary Chamber did not have jurisdiction to hear the case and to designate a different chamber of the Supreme Court to this effect. 39.     In two decisions of 4 February 2020 the disciplinary officer dismissed the applicant’s challenge to the deputy disciplinary officer M.L. and left unexamined the challenge to himself and his other deputy. The second-instance decision of the Disciplinary Chamber 40.     On 4 February 2020 the Disciplinary Chamber, sitting as the second-instance court, in a formation of two judges, R.W. and A.T. and one lay member, amended the first-instance resolution of 23 December 2019. It   decided to suspend the applicant from his judicial duties and to reduce his salary by 40% for the duration of the suspension. 41.     The Disciplinary Chamber agreed with most of the reasoning of the first-instance court; however, it did not accept the latter’s view as regards the assessment of the degree of social harm of the applicant’s order of 20   November 2019 for the administration of justice. This issue had to be examined in the light of section 130(1) in conjunction with section 107 of the 2001 Act. Those provisions governed the grounds for ordering an immediate interruption in the exercise of judicial duties by a judge in case of an alleged disciplinary offence. The Disciplinary Chamber noted that in the applicant’s case two of the grounds specified in section 130(1) were relevant, namely the authority of the court and the essential interests of the service, which were related to his conduct in the form of an obvious and gross violation of the law ( oczywista i rażąca obraza przepisów prawa ) and compromising the dignity of judicial office, as referred to in section 107(1) of the 2001 Act. 42.     The Disciplinary Chamber considered that it had to focus on the applicant’s order of 20 November 2019. It established the following as regards the order: (1) it did not include the legal basis on which it had been given; (2) there was a clear lack of connection between the requested documentary evidence regarding the candidates for election to the NCJ and the civil case at hand, since the former was not relevant to the determination of the latter; (3) the order had an adverse legal effect for the parties to the proceedings, since it resulted in postponing the examination of the case; and (4) it was unjustified to make the order on the basis of the CJEU’s preliminary ruling of 19 November 2019. For the Disciplinary Chamber, these circumstances justified the assumption that, at the time when the order had been made, there was a manifest breach of the law. 43.     The Disciplinary Chamber further noted that the applicant’s disciplinary liability was related not only to a manifest breach of the law and the improper drafting of the order, but also to the violation of the Constitution in respect of provisions on the prerogatives of the President of the Republic on the appointment of judges. In view of the law in force, the President’s competence to appoint judges left no doubt that he was the only organ authorised to create holders of judicial power in Poland. His powers in this respect derived directly from the Constitution and the encroachment on these powers by a court or judge was not permissible. 44.     Furthermore, the Disciplinary Chamber noted that the courtesy aspect of the relationship between all courts/judges and the President of the Republic came into play. A necessary part of the ethics of the judicial profession was to maintain respect for the office of the President of the Republic. A judge’s questioning of the appointment of another judge constituted a form of accusation directed at the President of the Republic and thus compromised the dignity of the judge in a flagrant manner. 45.     The Disciplinary Chamber observed that when issuing the order of 20   November 2019 the applicant had disregarded the requirement for the court to focus on the resolution of a specific case involving the actual parties to the proceedings. It could not be accepted that one judge, instead of focusing on the subject matter of the case, de facto intended to undermine the status of another judge. It further noted that the proper exercise of judicial power did not consist of arbitrary interpretation of the law or arbitrary arrogation of powers that one did not have. Thus, if the court had no right to assess the correctness of the President’s decision to appoint a judge, then it also had no right to assess the correctness of the election of the members of the NCJ, and consequently the evidence sought by the applicant was irrelevant for the purpose intended. 46.     The Disciplinary Chamber also referred to the Collection of Principles of Judges’ Professional Ethics ( Zbiór zasad etyki zawodowej sędziów i   asesorów sądowych ) adopted by the NCJ on 13 January 2017. In accordance with Article 4 of the Collection, a judge was required to safeguard the authority of his office, that of the administration of justice and the constitutional role of the judiciary. Pursuant to Article 8 of the Collection, in all assigned cases, the judge was obliged to act without delay and without exposing the parties and the State Treasury to unnecessary costs. However, in the Disciplinary Chamber’s view, the applicant had not complied with those rules of professional ethics because he had exposed the parties to the risk of additional hearings and the State Treasury to liability for delays in the proceedings as well as failing to respect the President’s prerogatives and the interests of the administration of justice. 47.     The Disciplinary Chamber further questioned the applicant’s motivation, noting that in this “quasi-controversy” it was impossible to see the interests of the citizen or his/her right to a fair hearing referred to in Article   45 of the Constitution. Had the parties to the proceedings previously challenged the status of the judge hearing the case, they would have had the procedural means to raise the issue. However, in this case the applicant alone had taken the initiative of raising the issue, despite the fact that Polish civil procedure was, in principle, based on an adversarial approach. 48.     The Disciplinary Chamber observed that it could not fully address the motives for the applicant’s conduct as he had not explained them in the proceedings. Nonetheless, it noted that the applicant’s behaviour during his meeting with the media on 26 November 2019 had contradicted the assertion that the sole purpose of his action was to clarify doubts related to the status of the judge hearing the case at first instance. In the Disciplinary Chamber’s view, the applicant’s action required that his superiors take immediate corrective measures by suspending him from his duties. 49.     The Disciplinary Chamber went on to note that the applicant’s behaviour had been harmful to the image of the judiciary and had exacerbated legal uncertainty among citizens who did not understand how the representatives of the judiciary could not know who a judge was. In its view, the respect for the State and its institutions required that every judge recognise the President’s prerogative to appoint judges. Furthermore, the task of judges was to apply the law and to adjudicate cases submitted to them, not to examine the correctness of the establishment of other constitutional bodies and the manner in which they exercised their constitutional powers. 50.     The Disciplinary Chamber concluded that the applicant had therefore breached not only Article 248 and the accompanying provisions of the Code of Civil Procedure by issuing the impugned order outside the powers granted to him by law, but had also violated the Constitution by undermining the constitutional legal order. This applied in particular to constitutional provisions relating to: (1) the scope of the presidential prerogative (Article   144 § 3 (17) in conjunction with Article 4 § 2 of the Constitution); (2) exceeding the limits of the law beyond the scope of competence in the exercise of the administration of justice (Article 175 § 1 in conjunction with Article 7 of the Constitution); and (3) treating the President of the Republic as an administrative organ with regard to his decisions based on prerogatives (Article 179 in conjunction with Article 10 § 2 of the Constitution). The   Disciplinary Chamber found that the applicant had thus undermined the essential interests of the service and had thereby violated the authority of the court by issuing an order that was clearly contrary to the provisions of the law. 51.     The Disciplinary Chamber observed that the significance of the violation, the exceptionally bad example for other judges, the undermining of the competences of the President of the Republic, the unlawfulness of the order and the threat of chaos if the practice of every judge encroaching on the President’s prerogatives were to be accepted, had fully justified the need to suspend the applicant from his judicial duties. 52.     As regards the 40% reduction in the applicant’s remuneration, the Disciplinary Chamber took into account, on the one hand, the fact that the applicant would not be performing any work and, on the other, the need to provide him with sufficient means. It noted that this decision was one of a preventive nature and did not prejudge the outcome of the disciplinary case. However, the disciplinary charges against the applicant were of such a serious nature that it would be contrary to the interests of the administration of justice if the applicant, who had undermined the principles relating to the President of the Republic’s prerogatives, were to continue exercising his judicial duties. 53.     The Disciplinary Chamber’s resolution of 4 February 2020 suspending the applicant was immediately enforceable. In connection with the resolution, the President of the Olsztyn District Court ordered on the same day that no more cases be assigned to the applicant and that the cases on his docket be distributed among other judges of the court. 54.     The applicant did not take part in the proceedings before the Disciplinary Chamber as he did not consider it to be a lawful tribunal. 55.     On 18 February 2020 the applicant informed the President of the Olsztyn District Court that because the Disciplinary Chamber was not a court within the meaning of EU and domestic law, the resolution of 4 February 2020 could not have had the effect of suspending him. He requested the President of the District Court to allow him to resume his judicial duties. On   5   March 2020 the President of the District Court replied that he would issue necessary orders allowing the applicant’s request once the resolution of the Disciplinary Chamber had been changed or set aside. Subsequent requests by the applicant to the same effect were to no avail. 56.     On 14 July 2020 the deputy disciplinary officer charged the applicant with a new disciplinary offence of compromising the dignity of judicial office, alleging that he had committed an administrative offence of speeding in October 2015. 57.     On 4 February 2021 the deputy disciplinary officer referred to the Disciplinary Chamber an application for examination of a disciplinary case against the applicant. These proceedings are currently pending before the Chamber of Professional Responsibility following the abolition of the Disciplinary Chamber as of 15 July 2022. Civil proceedings against the Olsztyn District Court 58.     On 12 March 2021 the applicant lodged an application for an injunction against the Olsztyn District Court with the latter court. He sought, inter alia , to be allowed to exercise his rights and duties as a judge. On   23   March 2021 the Olsztyn Regional Court decided that his application would be examined by the Bydgoszcz District Court. 59.     On 14 April 2021 the Bydgoszcz District Court granted the injunction. It ordered the Olsztyn District Court to allow the applicant to exercise his rights and duties as judge of the latter court for the duration of the main proceedings. It further ordered the applicant to bring proceedings in respect of his claim within two weeks from the service of the injunction. The court found that the applicant had sufficiently substantiated the existence of the claim and his legal interest in the granting of the injunction. It noted that there were reasonable doubts as to the legal existence of the Disciplinary Chamber’s resolution of 4 February 2020 issued in the applicant’s case. These doubts followed from the Supreme Court’s judgment of 5 December 2019 (no. III PO 7/18) which had been given in consequence of the CJEU’s preliminary ruling of 19 November 2019 in A.K. and Others (C ‑ 585/18, C ‑ 624/18 and C ‑ 625/18; see respectively paragraphs 96-97 and 120-122 below). 60.     On 20 April 2021 the applicant lodged an application with the Olsztyn District Court to initiate enforcement proceedings in respect of the injunction. His application was transferred to the Bydgoszcz District Court for examination. That court ruled that the injunction had become final on 8 June 2021. The enforcement proceedings appear to be pending before that court. 61.     On 4 May 2021 the applicant brought an action for a declaratory judgment against the Olsztyn District Court with the latter court. He sought to establish that he had retained all rights and duties arising from his appointment to the position of judge of the Olsztyn District Court and that the Disciplinary Chamber’s resolution had no effect on his status. He further sought that the Olsztyn District Court allow him to exercise his rights and duties as a judge. On 13 May 2021 the case was transferred to the Bydgoszcz District Court for examination. 62.     On 17 December 2021 the Bydgoszcz District Court gave judgment allowing the applicant’s action. In particular, it ordered the respondent to allow the applicant to exercise his judicial duties. On 20 December 2021 the applicant requested Judge K.K., the Vice-President of the Olsztyn District Court to enforce the judgment. On the same day the Vice-President of the District Court issued an order setting aside the order of the President of the Olsztyn District Court of 4 February 2020 on the basis of which the applicant had been prevented from exercising his judicial duties. However, on the very same day the Minister of Justice decided to reappoint Judge M.N. to the position of President of the Olsztyn District Court, his previous term of office in this position having expired before the Vice-President had issued his decision. Immediately after his reappointment, Judge M.N. set aside the Vice ‑ President’s order. Civil proceedings against the Supreme Court 63.     On 23 April 2021 the applicant lodged applications for an injunction against the State Treasury, represented by the First President of the Supreme Court and the President of the Disciplinary Chamber, with all 46 Regional Courts in Poland. He sought the suspension of the effectiveness and enforceability of the Disciplinary Chamber’s resolution of 4 February 2020. He further sought that the respondent be ordered to add an annotation to the said resolution on the Supreme Court’s website indicating that its enforceability was suspended. 64.     On 10 May 2021 the Olsztyn Regional Court granted the injunction as requested for the duration of the proceedings initiated by the applicant’s action. It also ordered the applicant to bring his action within two weeks from the service of the injunction. After the Olsztyn Regional Court had granted the injunction, the applicant withdrew the applications he had lodged with other Regional Courts. The Supreme Court lodged an interlocutory appeal against the injunction, claiming that the Olsztyn Regional Court had no jurisdiction to examine the matter. On 30 September 2021 the interlocutory appeal was dismissed and the injunction became final. 65.     On 1 June 2021 the Supreme Court published the statement of the First President of the Supreme Court, referring to the injunction issued by the Olsztyn Regional Court on 10 May 2021. The First President of the Supreme Court stated that she did not have “the right, legal possibility or intention to interfere with the content of judgments of the Supreme Court by placing any annotations or additions on their first page”. 66.     On 17 June 2021 the applicant lodged an application with the Warszawa-Śródmieście District Court to initiate enforcement proceedings in respect of the injunction granted on 10 May 2021. The enforcement proceedings were pending before that court as of 20 September 2021. 67.     On 1 June 2021 the applicant brought an action against the State Treasury – the Supreme Court with the Olsztyn Regional Court. He sought firstly a declaratory judgment that the Disciplinary Chamber’s resolution was not a ruling of the Supreme Court. Secondly, he brought a claim for infringement of his personal rights under Article 23 in conjunction with Article 24 § 1 of the Civil Code. In this respect, the applicant sought to order the respondent to refrain from impugning his reputation and dignity and for that purpose to remove the resolution at issue from the Supreme Court’s website and to prohibit the respondent from republishing it in the future. 68.     The Olsztyn Regional Court transmitted the applicant’s action to the Supreme Court and fixed a time-limit for submission of its reply. The   Supreme Court submitted its reply on 26 July 2021. On 30 July 2021 the Olsztyn Regional Court decided to return the reply as it had been submitted out of time. 69.     On 30 July 2021 the Olsztyn Regional Court gave a default judgment in the case (no. I C 593/21). It firstly held that the Disciplinary Chamber’s resolution of 4 February 2020 was not a ruling of the Supreme Court. Secondly, it ordered the respondent to refrain from infringing the applicant’s personal rights by enjoining it to take the measures sought by the applicant. It dismissed the remainder of the applicant’s claim. 70.     On 17 August 2021 the Supreme Court lodged an objection to the Olsztyn Regional Court’s default judgment. It alleged that the impugned judgment had been given in breach of the provisions of the civil procedure because the Olsztyn Regional Court had failed to examine a valid request for the removal of Judge J.C. from the case. 71.     On 28 December 2021 the Olsztyn Regional Court upheld its default judgment. According to the information submitted by the applicant on 14   January 2022 that ruling was not yet final. Criminal complaints 72.     The applicant lodged criminal complaints against the President of the Olsztyn District Court and the First President of the Supreme Court, alleging that they had failed to respect the injunctions of 14 April and 10 May 2021. The prosecutor refused to open investigations into the cases. The applicant lodged interlocutory appeals and the relevant proceedings were pending as of 20 September 2021 according to the information provided by him. Lifting of the applicant’s suspension 73.     On 19 February 2022 the deputy disciplinary officer addressed a pleading to the Disciplinary Chamber, requesting that the applicant’s disciplinary case be promptly examined since he had already been suspended for more than two years. 74.     On 23 May 2022 the Disciplinary Chamber, sitting in a one-judge formation (Judge A.R.), gave, of its own motion, a resolution and decided to lift the applicant’s s