Co-founder of ultraconservative body to head top court

Aleksander Stępkowski, who fought “gender ideology”, co-authored “Dictatorship of Gender” and is best known as the co-founder and the first head of the extreme right-wing Catholic organization Ordo Iuris, has been appointed as the chief of Poland’s Supreme Court by President Andrzej Duda. Stępkowski appointment on May 15 follows the resignation of the interim head of the court who was appointed by Duda two weeks back. Ordo Iuris prepared a bill completely prohibiting abortion, among others.

Born in the early 1970s in London, Stępkowski became a deputy foreign minister in 2015, however, he lost his position because the management did not like his ideological commitment. He was initially nominated to the top court by the “unconstitutional” National Council of Judiciary, however, Duda delayed his nomination because there were formal issues.

Critics have been widely reported as saying that Stępkowski’s appointment is yet another move by the country’s governing ruling right-wing party, Law and Justice (PiS) to turn the entire judiciary system into its “tool”.

(Onet)