A lawyer is an advocate for the client’s interests wherever the client is under attack. A barrister has to want to be and be, not be just to be.

Prof. Michał Romanowski responds to the notice submitted by Maciej Nawacki to the District Bar Council in Warsaw.

"[...] Chairman Nawacki [...] identifies with the notion of a scoundrel, a notion [...] used by turn-of-the-century US Senator Boies Penrose when he wrote:

"Public office is the last refuge of the scoundrel".

Mr Nawacki's denunciation of me [...] proves that there are remnants of self-criticism left in Mr Nawacki.

Mr Nawacki's behaviour is widely known. Judge J. Ciejek justified the verdict in the case of Mr Juszczyszyn:

"The authorities want to show [...] that even against a judge protected [...] by the Constitution and international treaties they can do whatever they want [...] think to yourselves ALL what we can do to YOU who have no such protection. Then, for example, when we want to expropriate you from your fathers' land for a spectacular investment, overhear your [...] secrets, or just exclude [...] for views we [...] don't like. All we still need are judges who 'know their place'.

Refusal to obey court rulings should be considered a particularly dangerous crime for the freedom and rights of citizens! Such behaviour on the part of Mr Nawacki does not deserve respect, but condemnation.

P. W. Radzik and M. Nawacki are trying to intimidate me by filing reports to the UW authorities, to the ORA in Warsaw, to the criminal courts. They will not succeed.

A barrister has no right, to follow the commandment "If anyone strikes you on your right cheek, turn the other cheek as well" (Matthew 5:39). The lawyer is not Christ, but the defender of his client. A lawyer has no right to turn the other cheek of his client, to remain silent when the dignity of his client is tarnished."

Cz. Jaworski argued:

"The Bar is one of the most important institutions protecting human rights. It is both a way and a way of life. A barrister cannot just be just to be. A barrister has to want to be and to be".

The freedom of speech of lawyers is not so much the freedom to express one's own views, but a tool for the proper defence of the interests of the principals. The lawyer is an advocate (defender) of the client's interests not only in the courtroom, but wherever the client is under attack. A lawyer may not, fearing the consequences, deviate from defending his client outside the courtroom, all the more so when the allegations made against his client relate to the proceedings conducted by the lawyer.".

"[...] Professor Marcin Król wrote:

"Immobility and passivity [...] occur whenever thoughtlessness begins to prevail. "Great people [...] had a colossal influence on me [...] they created an atmosphere of freedom in which I breathed [...]freely" good can only be seen in juxtaposition with evil. Good is the result of the struggle against evil [...] It is only through the struggle against evil that we become good."

Text of the answer: Here

We wish you all the best for Christmas and, above all, the right to a lawyer who will not turn the other cheek in the fight for your freedoms and rights.