Polish president accuses justice minister of breaking law by dismissing national prosecutor

By Jo Harper

WARSAW (AA) - Polish president Andrzej Duda on Monday accused Poland’s Justice Minister Adam Bodnar of breaking the law after the latter dismissed National Prosecutor Dariusz Barski.

“There is no doubt that the law was broken here,” said Duda, referring to Bodnar’s dismissal of Barski last week.

According to Bodnar, who also holds the position of prosecutor general, there was a flaw in how Barski was appointed in 2022. The then-ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party passed a law making his appointment and removal contingent on the president’s green light.

“I asked the prime minister to restore order in this regard,” Duda said, following his meeting with Prime Minister Donald Tusk.

During the meeting, Duda and Tusk also discussed the issue of the two imprisoned PiS MPs Maciej Wasik and Mariusz Kaminski.

Since the opposition won power in October’s election it has pledged that returning rule of law to Poland is a top priority. Critics have accused the PiS party, which ruled for eight years until December, of politicizing the justice system media and other areas.

Bodnar met on Friday with Barski and handed him a document stating that the latter’s reinstatement to active service on Feb. 16, 2022, by the previous Prosecutor General Zbigniew Ziobro was made in violation of regulations.

"A provision of the act was applied that was no longer in force," a Justice Ministry statement said, adding: “This means that as of January 12, Dariusz Barski remains retired, which makes him unable to perform the function of the National Prosecutor."