Top Polish Supreme Court justice refuses to quit amid chaotic judicial purge

Poland Supreme Court president Malgorzata Gersdorf
(Image credit: Janek Skarzynski/AFP/Getty Images)

On Wednesday, a new law in Poland took effect that aimed to force more than a third of the country's Supreme Court into early retirement, allowing the ruling right-wing Law and Justice Party to take control of the last part of the judiciary it hasn't already subsumed. But many of the 27 targeted justices refused to step down, and Supreme Court president Malgorzata Gersdorf defiantly showed up to work, telling a crowd of supporters that she's "doing this to defend the rule of law and to testify to the truth about the line between the Constitution and the violation of the Constitution."

The government said it won't allow Gersdorf or other holdout judges to rule on any cases. Gersdorf, whose term is supposed to last until 2020, ended the day by saying she is going on "vacation," leaving Justice Josef Iwulski in charge. President Andrzej Duda had accepted Iwulski's petition to stay on the court — the law lowered the mandatory retirement age to 65 from 70; Iwulski is 66, Gersdorf is 65 — but Iwulski added to the confusion by saying "Duda neither appointed me, nor did he entrust any duties to me."

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up
To continue reading this article...
Continue reading this article and get limited website access each month.
Get unlimited website access, exclusive newsletters plus much more.
Cancel or pause at any time.
Already a subscriber to The Week?
Not sure which email you used for your subscription? Contact us
Peter Weber, The Week US

Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.