Polish justice minister fined by police for road offence caught during YouTube interview

Poland’s justice minister, Waldemar Żurek, has been fined by police for a traffic offence that was caught on camera while he was being interviewed. The incident came to light at the same time as Żurek publicly announced a crackdown on dangerous drivers.

The minister waived his legal immunity in order to accept his punishment, which was issued because he failed to stop at a pedestrian crossing when a woman was already walking across.

Żurek, who has served as justice minister since last July, had been appearing on the YouTube channel of Filip Nowobilski, who interviews people while driving in an old Fiat 126 “Maluch”, a tiny car that was a symbol of Poland’s communist era.

While the minister was behind the wheel and answering questions, he drove over a pedestrian crossing that, as one of the cameras in the car showed, a woman had already started to cross. That is an offence punishable with a fine of 1,500 zloty (€356) and 15 penalty points.

The interviewer immediately drew attention to what had happened, telling Żurek to “be careful” and saying that he “almost ran over that woman”. Żurek denied it, saying that the “woman was far away from us” and insisting that he “drives safely”.

However, after clips of the incident – which was first published on YouTube on 25 January – started going viral on social media, Żurek issued a statement saying that, “if an offence has taken place, I do not evade responsibility”.

“We are all equal before the law,” he added. “Road traffic safety rules apply to everyone. However, the final assessment belongs to the police.”

Many commentators also pointed to the irony that, a day after the interview was published on YouTube, Żurek announced the launch of a campaign to clamp down on “road bandits” who drive dangerously.

On 27 January, police in the province of Małopolska, where the incident took place, announced that they were investigating. Today, they confirmed that, any analysing the evidence, including surveillance footage from outside the car, they had determined that an offence was committed.

The police added that Żurek had agreed to voluntarily waive his immunity as prosecutor general (a position he holds alongside being justice minister) and accept a fine for his actions.

The minister himself also confirmed the news, telling the Polish Press Agency (PAP) that “there are no sacred cows” and “this also applies to me”.

“What is important is reflection and the words ‘I’m sorry’,” he added. “Public figures should set an example in such situations.”

Żurek was not directly involved in politics before being appointed as justice minister last year. He had served as a judge at the district court in Kraków, the city where the driving offence took place.

He was one of many judges to actively oppose the judicial reforms introduced by the former Law and Justice (PiS) government, which were widely seen as an effort to bring judges under greater political control.

In 2022, the European Court of Human Rights ruled that the Polish authorities had violated Żurek’s rights by removing him from his position at the court and using state bodies to “intimidate him because of the views he had expressed in defence of the rule of law”.

Since being appointed justice minister and prosecutor general, Żurek has led the current government’s efforts to hold to account former PiS officials for their alleged abuses of power and other offences.