Lech Wałęsa and Sławomir Cenckiewicz legal dispute

A long-standing legal dispute between former Polish President Lech Wałęsa and historian Professor Sławomir Cenckiewicz concluded with a final ruling from the Warsaw Court of Appeal. The court dismissed Wałęsa’s appeal, upholding a previous decision and requiring the former president to cover the costs of the proceedings.

The lawsuit originated from Cenckiewicz’s 2013 book, ‘Wałęsa. Człowiek z teczki’ (Wałęsa. The Man from the File), which examined allegations regarding Wałęsa’s past cooperation with the Security Service. Wałęsa argued that the historian violated his personal rights by using excerpts from other authors. Cenckiewicz defended the work as a matter of ‘freedom of research’ and the right of historians to cite established documents.

Following the ruling, Wałęsa issued a critique on social media, labeling Cenckiewicz a ‘pomiot ubecki’ (offspring of the SB/secret police) and alleging the court relied on ‘well-prepared evidence’ from communist-era security services. Cenckiewicz responded by noting the reaction came from a ‘Living Legend’ and reiterated that the case protected the rights of historians to utilize existing research.