Four Constitutional Tribunal judge nominees are set to take their oath in the Sejm, but the Presidential Office insists the oath must be administered by the President.
Judges Schedule Oath-Taking Despite Presidential Concerns
Four judges selected by the Sejm in March – Krystian Markiewicz, Maciej Taborowski, Marcin Dziurda, and Anna Korwin-Piotrowska – have invited President Karol Nawrocki to the Sejm for an oath-taking ceremony on Thursday at 12:30 PM. The judges stated they requested the ceremony be held at the Presidential Palace but received no response.
Presidential Office Cites Procedural Issues
Last week, President Nawrocki accepted oaths from two other judges selected in March, Magdalena Bentkowska and Dariusz Szostek. Zbigniew Bogucki, Head of the President’s Chancellery, explained that two vacancies existed within the Tribunal during Nawrocki’s term. Bogucki also stated that the Presidential Chancellery is analyzing the situation of the remaining four nominees due to “serious procedural and constitutional deficiencies” allegedly committed by the parliamentary majority.
Oath Must Be Administered by the President, Official States
Zbigniew Bogucki emphasized that the oath must be taken in the presence of the President. He stated that the President received the oath from two individuals selected by the Sejm to serve as judges of the Constitutional Tribunal on April 1, 2026.
Bogucki further clarified that the President has repeatedly publicly stated that the cases of the remaining individuals selected by the Sejm require further analysis and clarification due to serious doubts regarding the correctness of the selection procedure conducted by the Sejm, and its impact on the validity of the resolutions passed.
Refusal to Oath Before President Equates to Resignation
Bogucki added that the only body before which an oath of a Constitutional Tribunal judge can be effectively taken is the President, and the word “before” means “in the presence of” the President. He stressed that there is no alternative form or procedure for administering the oath.
Referring to the planned oath-taking of the four judges in the Sejm, Bogucki stated that such action has no legal basis. He argued that the law explicitly requires the oath to be taken before the President and cannot be replaced by a unilateral declaration or an event organized without the President’s participation.
Bogucki warned that any action taken by the nominees other than taking the oath before the President would be considered a conscious and deliberate violation of the law, impacting any future consideration of administering the oath. He stated that such ostentatious and deliberate actions contrary to the law should be treated as a refusal to take the oath, which, according to the law, is equivalent to resigning from the position of Constitutional Tribunal judge.
Constitutionalist: President’s Role is Ceremonial
Constitutional law expert Dr. Kamil Stępniak stated last week that the President’s role is purely ceremonial, limited to receiving the oath. He emphasized that the President has no authority to assess or select judges appointed by the Sejm.
Stępniak also noted that the Constitution is silent on the President’s role in the appointment process of Constitutional Tribunal judges.