Six judges selected by the Sejm in March took their oaths of office on Thursday, prompting reactions from the Presidential Chancellery regarding the process.
Judges Take Oath, Presidential Response
During a ceremony in the Sejm, six judges elected by the Sejm in March swore their oaths of office. This included Dariusz Szostek and Magdalena Bentkowska, whose oaths were previously accepted by the President, as well as Krystian Markiewicz, Maciej Taborowski, Marcin Dziurda, and Anna Korwin-Piotrowska.
The judges recited a specific formula when taking their oath, addressing the President of the Republic of Poland based on Article 4, Section 1 of the 2016 Act on the Status of Judges of the Constitutional Tribunal.
Chronology and Constitutional Quorum
The Presidential Chancellery explained that the President accepted the oaths of two individuals due to the timing of the presidential inauguration on August 6th, which created vacancies in the Tribunal. The constitutional composition of the Tribunal requires 15 judges, with a minimum of 11 for a full panel; currently, only 9 judges are serving.
Dispute Over Legality and “Dubler” Judges
Zbigniew Bogucki, Head of the Presidential Chancellery, stated that the ceremony in the Sejm was a “farce” lacking legal basis and violating articles of the Constitution, maintaining that there are currently 11 legitimate judges and four “anti-judges.”
Marcin Przydacz, Head of the International Policy Bureau in the Presidential Chancellery, asserted that the Tribunal currently consists of 11 judges and that the President did not refuse to accept the oaths, merely hadn’t scheduled a specific time. He also questioned the legality of the actions taken by the four candidates selected by the Sejm.
Allegations of Attempted Tribunal Disruption
Bogucki further claimed that the previous parliamentary majority deliberately failed to fill vacancies in the Tribunal for over a year and three months in an attempt to dismantle it and obstruct its operations.
Historical Context of the Dispute
The dispute over the Constitutional Tribunal dates back to October 8, 2015, when the Sejm of the VII term, primarily through the votes of the then-coalition of Civic Platform (PO) and Polish People’s Party (PSL), elected five new judges: Roman Hauser, Andrzej Jakubecki, Bronisław Sitko, Andrzej Sokala, and Krzysztof Ślebzak.
On November 25, 2015, the Sejm of the VIII term, with a majority held by Law and Justice (PiS), passed resolutions declaring the election of the judges from October 8th legally invalid. On December 2nd, the Sejm elected Julia Przyłębska, Piotr Pszczółkowski, Henryk Cioch, Lech Morawski, and Mariusz Muszyński as judges of the Constitutional Tribunal.
The Constitutional Tribunal, then led by Andrzej Rzepliński, ruled on December 3, 2015, that the Sejm of the VII term had improperly elected two judges and properly elected the remaining three. The Tribunal also stated that the President had an obligation to promptly administer the oath of office to each newly elected judge.
