Draft:Marek Małecki (lawyer)

Marek Małecki (born in Warsaw) – Polish lawyer, advocate (adwokat), social activist, sports judge, sports activist, philantrophist, judge of the State Tribunal.

Founder and the first Chairman of the Polish Advertising Ethics Committee (until 2008), long-standing advisor to the Polish Business Roundtable and the Lewiatan Confederation.

Since 2011, Malecki is the President of the Sport Tribunal PZMot.

Since 2014, he has served as an international judge, and since 2018, he has also been a Member of the Court of the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM) in Geneve.

Od 2017 r. jest międzynarodowym sędzią w Trybunale Międzynarodowej Federacji Samochodowej (FIA - Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile ) w Paryżu.

Since 2021, he has been the Chairman of the FIA International Tribunal (CCAP F1 FIA).

In his career, Malecki represented clients in many difficult and often high-profile civil and criminal cases that made headlines in Poland and around the world, such as the Rywin affair, the wiretapping scandal, lustration of Archbishop Stanisław Wielgus, the case of authors of Martial Law in Poland, defended General Czempiński and the deputy chief of the Central Investigation Bureau of Police and the head of the anti-terrorist unit in the so-called "Magdalenka shooting" case.

On November 21, 2023, he was elected as a judge of the State Tribunal.

Malecki is one of the heroes of Dorota Kowalska's book "Lawyers. Their Most Important Cases".

Education and legal practice
Marek Malecki was born and educated in Warsaw.

The son of Elżbieta and Rafał. In 1996, he graduated from the Faculty of Law and Administration at the University of Warsaw. Malecki was the head of the student self-government at the Faculty of Law and Administration, a student member of the Faculty Council and the University Senate, a member of the student parliament and one of the leaders of the Young Liberals. In 2000, Malecki completed the Warsaw Bar Association’s training and qualified as an advocate (adwokat). He began his legal career in 1992 in an American law firm in Warsaw. Malecki received professional training in France, Austria, Great Britain, Switzerland, Germany and the United States. He served as the head of the legal department of the Polish branch of Rabobank.

Malecki specialises in civil, commercial and criminal law matters.

Legal practice
Since 2001, Marek Małecki has been actively practicing as a lawyer. He has been involved in the most interesting business projects and litigation of the first decade of the 21st century. Malecki advised on and co-created the most important energy lines, cross-border energy connections and railway routes in Poland at the beginning of the 21st century. In 2012, he established his own law firm in Warsaw, specialising in criminal and business law. His first case was the high-profile murder case of the student Wojtek Król on Lwowska street in Warsaw (one of the most prominent trials in the Polish judicial system), in which he defended Mariusz S. (who was acquitted), accused of robbery and the murder of the student..

Malecki represented Małgorzata Niezabitowska, the spokesperson for Tadeusz Mazowiecki's government, alongside lawyer Czesław Jaworski in the lustration proceedings.

He prepared Generals Wojciech Jaruzelski, Florian Siwicki and Tadeusz Tuczapski for defence in relation to charges of unlawfully imposing martial law (all the generals died before the end of the trial); he defended General Florian Siwicki in court.

Malecki defended Lew Rywin, who was involved in one of the largest yet incompletely resolved corruption scandals of the Third Republic of Poland.

He defended the Minister of Sport in the PiS government, Tomasz Lipiec, who was accused of corruption.

Malecki represented Marek Falenta, who was behind the illegal recording of conversations involving politicians, which sparked the so-called wiretapping scandal in 2014.

He dedended the leader of PSL, Jan Bury,, the Deputy Minister of the Ministry of State Treasury, a member of the National Court Register, detained by officers of the Central Anticorruption Bureau in connection with accusations of committing corruption offences related to the so-called Podkarpacie scandal. Malecki represented the vice president of Orlen, Marek Serafin, detained by the Internal Security Agency in 2011, in connection with allegations of corruption (termination of proceedings and obtaining compensation for the client).

He represented well-known politicians from various political factions, ministers, and prime ministers from the governments of Tadeusz Mazowiecki, Waldemar Pawlak, Leszek Miller, Marek Belka, Donald Tusk, Jarosław Kaczyński, Beata Szydło and Mateusz Morawiecki.

Malecki defended a well-known right-wing politician responsible for the privatisation of large state-owned enterprises, during which there were suspicions of many abuses of rights (clearing the client of charges).

He defended Archbishop Stanisław Wielgus in the lustration proceedings (the proceedings were terminated).

Malecki won a personal rights protection case against publisher of tabloid newspaper, where damages awarded to his clients constituted one of the highest amounts awarded by the courts in the history of Polish judicature (2020).

Malecki also represented Jan Wejchert and Mariusz Walter in civil proceedings against the Minister of National Defence for the disclosure of the report on the liquidation of the Militry Information Services (the court ruled that the personality rights of J. Wejchert and M. Walter were violated). He defended the world-famous architect, Karol Marcinkowski (acquitted of the charge). Currently, Malecki represents Marian Banaś, the President of the Supreme Audit Office (NIK), in civil proceedings in connection with allegations of submitting false asset declarations, concealing assets and undocumented sources of income.

Non-legal activities
Marek Malecki is a patron of the arts, as well as philanthropist whose major objective is attaining the best for Polish culture and heritage. He supports culture and art by making regular purchases of exhibits for national museums and the Royal Castle in Warsaw. Malecki has contributed to expand the collection of paintings, silverware, clocks, and 18th century glassware, which are deposited at the Royal Castle in Warsaw, the National Museums in Warsaw, Cracow, Gdansk, Poznan, as well as regional museums in Torun and Kazimierz Dolny. He donated to the Royal Castle a valuable collection of hussar armour, including Polish sabre (karabela), horseman’s picks and ‘anima’ breast plates, which completes the castle's established armoury. Malecki also provides legal and financial assistance to musicians, composers and non-profit organisations promoting music culture.

He often involves pro-bono matters to support the poor and underprivileged litigants.

Private life
Spouse: Małgorzata Niedzwiecka - Malecka (graduate of the Faculty of Law and Administration at the University of Warsaw, graduate of the Faculty of Psychology at the SWPS University).

Children: Marta Malecka and Maria Malecka.