Poland’s ruling PiS keeps submitting the same pair of judges—Marek Asta and Professor Artur Kotowski—yet the Sejm’s Justice Committee is poised to reject them for a fourth time.
PiS Repeats Proposal
In early October PiS announced that its two candidates, MP Marek Asta and UKSW professor Artur Kotowski, would be the only nominees for the next tribunal vacancies. They have been repeated across three prior sessions.
Judicial Vacancy Timeline
The vacancies include the mandatory retirements of Judge Krystyna Pawłowicz (December 5) and Judge Michał Warciński (December 20), plus four other judges left earlier, namely former Tribunal president Julia Przyłębska and judges Piotr Pszczółkowski, Zbigniew Jędrzejewski, and Mariusz Muszyński.
Opposition Rejections
The Sejm majority, dominated by the opposition, has consistently rejected PiS’s nominations. The Justice Committee will deliver a negative recommendation at the upcoming Wednesday meeting at 15:00, and the candidates may be dismissed again in the following week.
Potential Future Nominations
If the current nominations fail, the Sejm’s new Marshal Włodzimierz Czarzasty may open another filing period. Negotiations among coalition partners—Koło, PSL, Lewica, and Polski 2050—are expected to decide new names, but the first opportunity to appoint them may not arise until January.
Governance Challenges
The tribunal remains staffed purely by appointees of the former government, headed by Bogdan Święczkowski, a close ally of former Prime Minister Zbigniew Ziobro. Political disputes over tribunal reform and budget cuts since March last year have stalled the introduction of new legislation, leaving the court unable to replace retiring judges until 2024‑25.
Political Dynamics
The government’s strategy now is to appoint up to nine judges before the end of the current term, thereby securing a majority. However, presidential refusal to swear in new judges has occurred before—most notably in 2015 when President Duda declined to inaugurate three PiS‑selected judges, preferring “dublers” approved after the elections.
