MAIN POINTS
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After the current EU-backed left-liberal governing majority in Poland refused four times to nominate its candidates to the Constitutional Tribunal (TK), whose verdicts it stopped publishing and executing two years ago, the Speaker of the Sejm, Włodzimierz Czarzasty, unexpectedly announced on March 9, 2026, another deadline for submitting nominations.
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However, the deadline for this and the subsequent deadline for their election by the Sejm were extremely short—two days—and contrary to the general rules contained in the Rules of Procedure of the Sejm and to good parliamentary practices.
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The Chair of the Sejm Committee on Justice and Human Rights, Paweł Śliz of Poland 2050, a party that is part of the governing coalition, initially refused to allow civil society representatives to participate in the Committee meeting at which candidacies for judges of the Constitutional Tribunal were to be considered. Then, 40 minutes before the Committee meeting, he unexpectedly changed his mind. Ultimately, however, during the meeting, the civil society representatives were not allowed to speak.
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Ultimately, on March 13, the ruling majority selected 6 candidates it recommended. However, the vote was held in violation of the Sejm’s Rules of Procedure.
Currently, as many as 6 of the 15 seats in the Constitutional Tribunal remain vacant because of the governing coalition’s refusal to appoint new judges up to now. The Rules of Procedure of the Sejm define the procedure for electing judges to the Constitutional Tribunal (TK), and they are elected by the Sejm by a simple majority for a nonrenewable 9-year term. Pursuant to Article 30(3)(1) of the Rules of Procedure of the Sejm, motions nominating a specific candidate must be submitted no later than 30 days before the expiration of the term of office of the judge vacating a seat on the Tribunal. Meanwhile, the current ruling majority decided four times not to put forward its candidates within the above-mentioned deadline, and subsequently rejected in votes (February 21, 2025, May 9, 2025, September 12, 2025, and January 23, 2026) the candidates nominated by the opposition.
Procedural concerns regarding the actions of the ruling majority
Unexpectedly, at the beginning of this week—on Monday, March 9—the Speaker of the Sejm from the “Left” party, also part of Donald Tusk’s coalition, Włodzimierz Czarzasty, set the deadline for further nominations for judges of the Constitutional Tribunal to March 11. This meant that the entities authorized to submit nominations (that is, the Presidium of the Sejm—the Speaker and Deputy Speakers making decisions by majority vote, or at least 50 members of the Sejm) had just two days to nominate candidates.
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Source of cover photo: Adobe Stock
