NCJ Chair Pawełczyk-Woicka resigned on May 15, 2026, protesting the Sejm’s decision to appoint new members despite a Constitutional Tribunal interim order prohibiting such actions until a final ruling.
The Resignation Context
Pawełczyk-Woicka announced her resignation on the X platform on May 18, citing respect for the Constitutional Tribunal’s interim measure of May 12 and the Sejm’s failure to comply. The Tribunal had ordered the legislature to suspend the selection of new judicial members for the National Council of the Judiciary (KRS) pending a final verdict.
Three days after the Tribunal’s order, on May 15, the Sejm proceeded to elect 15 judicial members to the Council. Pawełczyk-Woicka has called for the First President of the Supreme Court, Małgorzata Manowska, to convene a plenary session to elect a new chair, questioning whether the Council should meet in its current form or the newly appointed one.
Institutional Dispute
The core of the conflict concerns the 15 judicial members of the 25-person Council, which also includes the Supreme Court President, the head of the Supreme Administrative Court, the Minister of Justice, a presidential representative, and several lawmakers. This group is central to determining the Council’s independence from political influence.
The dispute originates from 2017, when the United Right coalition shifted the power to elect judicial members from the judiciary itself to the Sejm. Following a presidential veto by Karol Nawrocki of legislation aimed at reversing this change, the current government implemented a “Plan B” involving judicial primaries, a procedure the opposition describes as illegal.
Internal Friction
Pawełczyk-Woicka also criticized the actions of Judge Dariusz Zawistowski, accusing him of overstepping his authority by issuing instructions to the Council’s office staff. She asserted that such management responsibilities belong solely to the Head of the Council’s Office.
