Profile
Filip Czernicki, J.D. is a lawyer. He specializes in aviation law, company law as well as project and administration management in business.
Dr Czernicki graduated from the Faculty of Law and Administration of the University of Warsaw. He is also an alumni of the School of German Law, which operates in collaboration with the University of Bonn in Germany. In 2016, he successfully defended his doctoral thesis at the Institute of Criminal Law of the University of Warsaw.
His research interests include access to law, promotion of professional pro bono activity among members of the legal profession, development of practical law teaching programs, and development of student legal services in Poland and Eastern Europe.
He founded and spearheads the Legal Aid Center by the District Chamber of Legal Advisers (OIRP) in Warsaw. In May 2018, as an attorney at law, he was appointed Coordinator of Pro Bono Programs at OIRP. He has been a member of OIRP's Board since 2020.
In August 2023, Dr. Czernicki, was appointed to the position of the Head of the Centre for Constitutionalism and Legal Culture at the Institute of Public Affairs.
He also owns a private Law firm that provides legal counsel services.
In 2022, he was a Director of the “Summer School on the Rule of Law” in Sopot, Poland, where he also lectured and run workshops. The School was organized by SWPS University in collaboration with the University of Oslo, and was co-financed by the Norway Funds. The School welcomed 40 participants from several countries of the Central and Eastern Europe and over 20 speakers from various EU countries.
He has been engaged in numerous pro bono community initiatives and has been collaborating with various NGOs in Poland. For many years he has been supporting and developing a network of Student Legal Services in Poland and Eastern Europe. He has also been advocating for devoting time to pro bono services among legal professionals. He cofounded the second legal aid service in Poland, which is run at the University of Warsaw. He published numerous articles about legal aid services and access to legal counsel. He holds a pro bono position of the President of the Legal Clinics Foundation (since 2002). Since 2001, he has been a board member, and then a long-standing Chair, of the Global Alliance for Justice Education. Since 2015, he has been a member of the Council for Free Legal Aid and Legal Education by the Minister of Justice. He is a legal coordinator for Poland of the European Lawyers in Lesvos and he has been involved in organizing aid for political refugees form Belarus and war refugees from Ukraine.
Filip Czernicki is a recipient of the 2012 European Pro Bono Award granted by the Global Network for Public Interest Law (PILnet). In 2013, he was awarded Poland’s Gold Cross of Merit and in 2010 he received the Minister’s of Justice Medal for the contribution to he Polish legal system.
At SWPS University, he teaches classes concerning business law, such as organizational environment, managerial skills, founding a business, forms of business organizations, National Court Register – analysis of business entities’ documentation, and solving business problems. He is also an undergraduate thesis advisors for students of the Business Law program.