Six judges recently elected by the Sejm have formally requested the president of the Constitutional Tribunal to convene a General Assembly to address the ongoing constitutional crisis and stalled judicial appointments.
Request for a General Assembly
Six judges, elected by the Sejm in March, submitted a formal request on Friday to Constitutional Tribunal President Bogdan Święczkowski. The Tribunal’s spokesperson confirmed the document is currently undergoing legal review, specifically focusing on the authority of the signatories to initiate such a proceeding.
The request, dated May 22, bears the signatures of the two judges who took their oaths before President Karol Nawrocki, as well as the four who took their oaths in the Sejm on April 9, stating they did so “before the President.”
Constitutional Dispute and Seating Deadlock
The judges are seeking an assembly involving all members elected in accordance with Article 194, paragraph 1 of the Constitution. They aim to develop strategies to resolve the crisis caused by the refusal to allow duly elected judges to perform their judicial duties.
While the Constitution mandates the Tribunal consist of 15 judges elected by the Sejm, only two of the six judges elected on March 13 have been permitted to adjudicate, despite identical election processes for all six.
Legal and Procedural Tensions
The Tribunal’s spokesperson, Weronika Ścibor, noted that scheduling a General Assembly is, with narrow exceptions, the exclusive prerogative of the Tribunal President. The administration contends that the events in the Sejm on April 9 do not constitute a valid oath “before the president.”
The situation has drawn the attention of the European Court of Human Rights, which issued an interim measure in May ordering Poland to cease obstruction of the judges’ duties. Meanwhile, the National Prosecutor’s Office has launched an investigation into the non-swearing-in and subsequent exclusion of the four judges from their positions.
