Sylwia Gregorczyk-Abram
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Sylwia Marta Gregorczyk-Abram (born 19 November 1982) is a
Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken *Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin screenwr ...
attorney and
social activist Activism (or Advocacy) consists of efforts to promote, impede, direct or intervene in social, political, economic or environmental reform with the desire to make changes in society toward a perceived greater good. Forms of activism range fr ...
.


Education and legal career

Graduate of the Faculty of Law and Administration at the
University of Warsaw The University of Warsaw ( pl, Uniwersytet Warszawski, la, Universitas Varsoviensis) is a public university in Warsaw, Poland. Established in 1816, it is the largest institution of higher learning in the country offering 37 different fields of ...
(2006), she completed a postgraduate degree in medical law, bioethics, and sociology. In 2010 she was admitted to the Warsaw Bar as an advocate. Since 2006 professionally affiliated with
Clifford Chance Clifford Chance LLP is an international law firm headquartered in London, United Kingdom, and a member of the " Magic Circle", a group of London-based multinational law firms. It ranks as one of top ten largest law firms in the world measured ...
law office in Warsaw, where she is responsible for pro bono legal practice. She specialises in legal proceedings as well as civil and criminal law. In April 2016 she became a proxy for cooperation with non-governmental organisations at the Warsaw Bar Association. In recognition of her legal and public activity, in 2021 she was chosen Maurice R. Greenberg World Fellow at Yale University. Throughout her career, Gregorczyk-Abram has provided pro bono legal advice to non-governmental organisations which promote the rule of law and advocate for a systemic reform of the Poland’s judiciary, including the Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights, Habitat for Humanity Poland or Court Watch Poland Foundation. She is a member of the board of Zbigniew Holda Association, where she ran "Constitutional Week" – a nationwide initiative of lawyers who give lessons about the Polish Constitution in primary and secondary schools.


Public activity

In 2017, amid a series of public protests against the judiciary reforms introduced by the
Law and Justice Law and Justice ( pl, Prawo i Sprawiedliwość , PiS) is a right-wing populist and national-conservative political party in Poland. Its chairman is Jarosław Kaczyński. It was founded in 2001 by Jarosław and Lech Kaczyński as a direct ...
(PiS) government, along with Maria Ejchart-Dubois, Paulina Kieszkowska-Knapik and Michał Wawrykiewicz, she co-founded the Free Courts Civic Initiative (Inicjatywa Obywatelska “ Wolne Sądy”). In December 2019, the group organised a series of public protests against the proposed legislation that allowed the newly formed Disciplinary Chamber of the
Supreme Court of Poland , imagesize = 100 , established = , country =Poland , location = Warsaw , coordinates = , type = Presidential nomination , authority = Constitution of Poland , terms = , positions ...
to punish judges who engage in what the government deemed "political activity". In 2018, she was among co-founders of the Komitet Obrony Sprawiedliwości (KOS, Justice Defence Committee). In 2019, Gregorczyk-Abram successfully represented LGBT+ groups on a pro bono basis in their legal motion against a pro-government conservative Polish newspaper ''
Gazeta Polska ''Gazeta Polska'' ( lit.: ''Polish Newspaper'') is a Polish language pro- United Right right-wing populist to far-right weekly magazine published in Poland. Profile and history Gazeta Polska was founded in 1993 and its editor-in-chief is Tomas ...
'' which resulted in the court’s decision to halt the distribution of controversial “
LGBT-free zone LGBT-free zones ( pl, Strefy wolne od LGBT) or LGBT ideology-free zones ( pl, Strefy wolne od ideologii LGBT) are municipalities and regions of Poland that have declared themselves unwelcoming of what they described as "LGBT ideology", in order ...
” stickers. She also served as a representative of judges appealing to the
Court of Justice of the European Union The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) (french: Cour de justice de l'Union européenne or "''CJUE''"; Latin: Curia) is the judicial branch of the European Union (EU). Seated in the Kirchberg quarter of Luxembourg City, Luxembou ...
in joint case C-585/18, C-624/18iC-625/18A.K, concerning the independence of the Disciplinary Chamber of the Polish Supreme Court as well as in the case C-487/19 of a Polish judge Waldemar Żurek questioning his transfer to another court, which both ended with a ruling undermining the legality of the reforms introduced by the Polish government.


Awards and achievements

* 2016 – "Pro Bono Lawyer of the Year" prize by the Polish daily ''Rzeczpospolita'' * 2016 – "Rising Stars – Prawnicy liderzy jutra 2016", organised by
Wolters Kluwer Wolters Kluwer N.V. () is a Dutch information services company. The company is headquartered in Alphen aan den Rijn, Netherlands (Global) and Philadelphia, United States (corporate). Wolters Kluwer in its current form was founded in 1987 with a m ...
and ''
Dziennik Gazeta Prawna ''Dziennik Gazeta Prawna'' (Polish: ''Daily Legal Newspaper''; abbreviation: DGP) is a Polish legal and business daily newspaper, headquartered in Warsaw and published from Monday to Friday. The paper focuses on law, taxes and finances. The publi ...
'' * 2019 – "Złoty Paragraf" in the category of best advocates, awarded by ''
Dziennik Gazeta Prawna ''Dziennik Gazeta Prawna'' (Polish: ''Daily Legal Newspaper''; abbreviation: DGP) is a Polish legal and business daily newspaper, headquartered in Warsaw and published from Monday to Friday. The paper focuses on law, taxes and finances. The publi ...
'' * 2020 – European Citizens’ Prize (as a member of the Wolne Sądy)


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gregorczyk-Abram, Sylwia 1982 births Living people Lawyers from Warsaw University of Warsaw alumni