Sławomir Cenckiewicz wins final court ruling against Lech Wałęsa

The Warsaw Court of Appeal has issued a final ruling in a long-standing legal dispute between former Polish President Lech Wałęsa and historian Professor Sławomir Cenckiewicz. On August 21, 2026, the court dismissed Wałęsa's appeal, resulting in a definitive victory for Cenckiewicz.

The lawsuit centered on Cenckiewicz's 2013 book, ‘Wałęsa. Człowiek z teczki’ (Wałęsa. The Man from the File), which examined the former president's past and alleged cooperation with the Security Service. Wałęsa had claimed that the historian violated his personal rights by utilizing fragments of publications from other authors, including Roger Boyes and Paweł Zyzak.

Cenckiewicz characterized the legal battle as a struggle for ‘freedom of research,’ arguing that the case was not merely about Wałęsa's personal history but about the right of historians to cite documents and the findings of previous researchers. Following the ruling, the former president is responsible for the costs of the appeal proceedings.