Poland's Constitutional Tribunal hit by deepening power struggle over judge appointments
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A battle over the appointment and oath-taking of Constitutional Tribunal judges has intensified, with President Karol Nawrocki blocking several oaths and the tribunal’s own leadership turning on itself by suspending its president.
Poland’s Constitutional Tribunal has been drawn into a new and increasingly troubling phase of conflict after President Karol Nawrocki refused to accept the oaths of four judges elected by the Sejm in March 2026. The president pointed to procedural irregularities, including missed deadlines and the need for individual votes, and claimed he was under no duty to accept appointments automatically. The Sejm, for its part, insists that it holds the constitutional authority to elect judges and that the president has no right to obstruct those appointments.
On 9 April, the four judges took their oaths before a notary in parliament and sent the documents to the presidential office. The president’s office and Tribunal president Bogdan Święczkowski dismissed the move, arguing that the oath must be taken in the president’s presence. The tribunal later ruled in case K 3/26 that the president is not required to accept every appointment and must be physically present for the oath.
The European Court of Human Rights issued an interim measure in May ordering Polish authorities not to obstruct the judges from assuming their duties, while the Venice Commission advised that the president’s role in the oath-taking should be ceremonial and not a barrier to a judge’s accession.
The dispute intensified in October when judge Maciej Berek also took his oath in parliament after receiving no invitation from the president. Tribunal president Święczkowski refused to recognise oaths taken without the president’s presence and barred several newly elected judges from participating in cases. On 30 October, judge Anna Korwin-Piotrowska ordered a one-month suspension of Święczkowski and vice-president Bartłomiej Sochański, taking over the tribunal’s management herself. She said the step was necessary to restore the institution’s functioning and allow all Sejm-elected judges to work.
The existing leadership rejected the suspension as unlawful, arguing that there is no legal basis for removing the president and that judges sworn in without the presidential ceremony are not full members. The confrontation then moved inside the tribunal building, where seven judges entered accompanied by State Protection Service officers, triggering a physical clash. President Nawrocki described the incident as an attempted takeover of a constitutional institution and called for urgent consultations with political leaders. Święczkowski announced that his remaining judges would seek to regain control, while Korwin-Piotrowska said she would convene a General Assembly of judges on 3 November.
The standoff underscores wider concerns about the separation of powers, judicial independence and the authority of constitutional rulings in Poland, with possible consequences for legislation, taxation and public services.