Poland’s ruling coalition has moved to bring former Justice Minister Zbigniew Ziobro before the Tribunal of State, despite lacking the votes needed to guarantee success.
Zbigniew ZiobroPAP/Art Service
Zbigniew Konwiński, head of the Civic Coalition (KO) parliamentary caucus, said on Wednesday that lawmakers from the governing bloc had submitted a motion to the Sejm, the lower house of parliament, seeking to hold Ziobro constitutionally accountable before the State Tribunal.
The body examines alleged violations of the constitution and laws by top state officials.
Konwiński said the motion was signed by lawmakers from Civic Coalition, the Left, the Polish People’s Party (PSL), the Poland 2050 group, and the small Center caucus.
He said the filing contained 51 allegations, including 25 involving what he described as constitutional offenses and 26 linked to suspected ordinary crimes.
He added that the document runs to more than 250 pages, includes 117 items of evidence, and calls for 68 witnesses to be heard by the Constitutional Accountability Committee.
The move is the latest attempt by Prime Minister Donald Tusk’s camp to pursue legal and political accountability for senior figures from the previous Law and Justice (PiS) government.
Ziobro, who served as justice minister and prosecutor-general, has already been accused by prosecutors in a separate investigation into alleged abuses involving the Justice Fund, a state fund intended to support crime victims and post-penitentiary assistance.
According to prosecutors, Ziobro is suspected of leading an organized criminal group and using his office to steer public money to favored entities.
He denies wrongdoing.
Speaking to broadcaster Polsat News on Tuesday, he said he could return to Poland even now if he were able to fight the case and „show the facts.”
The parliamentary motion comes months after Prosecutor-General Waldemar Żurek informed the lower-house Speaker that the allegations against Ziobro could provide grounds for considering constitutional liability before the State Tribunal.
Still, the chances of the case reaching that stage remain uncertain.
Under Polish law, an initial motion must be backed by at least 115 lawmakers, after which it goes to the Constitutional Accountability Committee.
A final decision to bring someone before the State Tribunal requires a three-fifths majority in the lower house, or 276 votes, a threshold the current ruling camp does not control.
Tusk acknowledged that obstacle on Tuesday while speaking in Tokyo.
He said his government faces “real limitations,” including the lack of a constitutional majority, presidential veto power and legal barriers built into the system by the previous administration.
He said he was ready for decisive action, but would act within the law.
Ziobro is also at the center of a separate extradition dispute.
Polish authorities are seeking further legal action against him after he received international protection in Hungary earlier this year. A Polish court is still considering a request for a European arrest warrant.
For Tusk’s coalition, the new motion is therefore a political and legal signal as much as an immediate path to judgment.
It opens another front in the broader effort to reckon with the legacy of the previous government, even as the parliamentary math remains unfavorable.
(rt/gs)
Sources: IAR, PAP
Radio Poland