Sławomir Mentzen condemned the political maneuvering surrounding the swearing-in of Constitutional Tribunal judges, accusing both governing and opposition parties of obstruction.
Constitutional Tribunal Judges’ Oath-Taking
On March 13, the Sejm elected six judges to the Constitutional Tribunal. President Karol Nawrocki accepted the oaths of office from Dariusz Szostek and Magdalena Bentkowska last week. The remaining four judges – Krystian Markiewicz, Maciej Taborowski, Marcin Dziurda, and Anna Korwin-Piotrowska – invited Nawrocki to the Sejm on Thursday at 12:30 PM.
In letters to the President, they announced their intention to take the oath “in order to assume the duties of a Constitutional Tribunal judge.” During Thursday’s ceremony in the Sejm, all six judges elected in March took their oaths.
Presidential Chancellery’s Statement
Zbigniew Bogucki, head of the Presidential Chancellery, previously stated that “the only body to which the oath of a person elected to the office of Constitutional Tribunal judge can be effectively administered is the President of the Republic of Poland.”
Legal Procedure Dispute
Bogucki added that “attempts to replace the statutory procedure with another form must be assessed as a refusal to submit to the applicable law.” He believes this “triggers the effect directly provided for” in the regulations, according to which “refusal to take the oath is equivalent to renouncing the position of Constitutional Tribunal judge.”
