Judge Dariusz Mazur

Guest Author

Judge Dariusz Mazur is the Vice-President and a press-officer of the “Themis” Association of Judges (the second largest association of judges in Poland).  He is a criminal court judge adjudicating in the Third Criminal Division of Regional Court in Cracow. Due to his criticism in the media of attempts to limit the independence of the judiciary in Poland, 2 disciplinary proceedings are currently pending against him.

Judge Mazur specializes in international co-operation in criminal matters, protection of Human Rights, asylum and immigration law, trafficking in human beings. As a lecturer on these matters he used to work with the Polish National School of Judiciary and Public Prosecutors, and he works with European Judicial Training Network (EJTN). Occasionally he has cooperated, as a legal expert, with other institutions, including the Academy of European Law (ERA), the European Institute of Public Administration (EIPA) and the Center for International Legal Cooperation (CILC).

He has been sitting as a judge for 25 years. He was honored with the title of European Judge of the Year 2015, which was granted by the Polish Section of the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) for the statement of grounds for the decision concerning the refusal of extradition of Roman Polański to the USA. In 2020, he was awarded the Badge of Honor granted by the largest Polish association of judges “Iustitia” for activities related to presenting the current situation of the Polish judiciary in the world.