President Andrzej Duda was speaking after a general assembly of Supreme Court judges on Saturday nominated a pool of five candidates for him to select from.
Duda said in a media interview the next day that he would make the choice with care, exercising his right to “select freely from among the five candidates.”
"In view of the presidential prerogative, each of these candidates is theoretically equal, because the president can choose completely freely from among them,” he told broadcaster TVP Info in an interview on Sunday evening.
He added he would appoint the new chief justice while taking into account the “judicial experience” of the candidates and “whether or not they openly voiced their political views, especially recently.”
Judge Włodzimierz Wróbel secured the most support during the general assembly of Supreme Court judges, winning 50 votes from his colleagues, Poland’s PAP news agency reported.
Judge Włodzimierz Wróbel. Photo: PAP/Wojciech Olkuśnik
Meanwhile, Małgorzata Manowska garnered 25 votes, Tomasz Demendecki received 14, Leszek Bosek got four, and Joanna Misztal-Konecka got two votes, the state news agency reported.
The voting was held after the Polish president earlier this month appointed Judge Aleksander Stępkowski as a new caretaker chief justice to preside over the general assembly.
Judge Aleksander Stępkowski, temporary head of Poland's Supreme Court; he is expected to discharge the duties of the office until a new chief justice is selected on a permanent basis. Photo: PAP/Tomasz Gzell
Stępkowski, 45, is expected to perform his duties until a new chief justice is selected on a permanent basis to fill a vacancy created by Małgorzata Gersdorf, who left office at the end of April after a six-year term.
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Source: PAP