A groundbreaking court decision in Giżycko casts doubt on thousands of Polish divorce rulings, creating legal uncertainty for citizens.
Judicial Appointments Undermine Legal Certainty
The invalidity of judicial appointments casts an increasingly deep shadow on the validity of judgments issued in Poland, in extreme cases leading to their complete annulment. Experts, including Dr. Katarzyna Golusińska, lawyer and mediator, point out that while full annulment of all such judgments would be catastrophic for legal security, the current state of uncertainty is unacceptable.
The chaos in the judiciary is most strongly felt by ordinary people, who instead of legal protection, receive uncertainty about their civil status.
Lawyers Advise Pre-Divorce Asset Division
Lawyers: better to divide property before going to court
In the face of growing legal risk, representatives of the parties have begun to take extraordinary precautions to protect their clients’ interests. Currently, lawyers increasingly recommend that issues of property separation and division of common assets be resolved even before obtaining a final divorce judgment.
Such a strategy is intended to prevent a situation where later invalidation of the divorce blocks the ability to dispose of property. The problem is not limited to the lowest courts; judges of the Supreme Court appointed before 2018 are consistently setting aside judgments issued by persons who went through the procedure before the new KRS.
Giżycko Case Sets Precedent
The scale of the problem is best illustrated by the case from the District Court in Giżycko, which shook the legal community. This court issued a decision on January 12, 2026, rejecting the application for division of property, finding that the divorce judgment of the couple does not exist at all.
The reasoning was stunning: because a judge appointed with the participation of the new KRS (so-called neo-judge) sat on the divorce panel, the judgment on the dissolution of marriage was deemed non-existent. As a result, despite the previous belief that the relationship had ended, the former spouses formally remain in a community of property.
Neo-Judges’ Rulings Face Scrutiny
Divorces by neo-judges not to be recognized?
The decision from Giżycko is not an isolated case, but part of a broader trend. As confirmed by the press spokesman of the District Court in Olsztyn, Judge Adam Barczak, the civil departments there increasingly adopt the line that family judgments issued by neo-judges are treated as non-existent.
Although the decision from Giżycko is not yet final, it causes great fear among people whose cases were handled by judges appointed after the 2017 amendment, as their life decisions can be questioned at any time.
Rule of Law Bill Seeks Resolution
The solution to this legislative Gordian knot is to be brought by the so-called rule of law bill, which is currently being worked on in the Sejm. The project provides for mechanisms thanks to which judgments issued by neo-judges will, as a rule, remain in force, which is to prevent a complete paralysis of the state.
The status of such judgments could be changed only if the parties themselves decide to challenge them, meeting specific, statutory conditions. Until the new provisions come into force, citizens must, however, be prepared for the fact that their right to divorce may become a hostage to the political-legal dispute over the judiciary.