Sejm elected six Constitutional Court judges on Friday afternoon; Justice Minister urges president to swear them in without delay.
Sejm Elects Six Constitutional Court Judges
On the afternoon of Friday, March 13, the Sejm elected six judges to fill vacant seats in the 15-member Constitutional Tribunal. All candidates were nominated by the Sejm’s Presidium. No support was garnered by either of the two candidates put forward by PiS.
Justice Minister’s Appeal to President
Justice Minister Waldemar Żurek, present in the Sejm, expressed hope that the documents regarding the elected judges would reach the Presidential Chancellery by Friday evening. He anticipated the judges’ swearing-in ceremony would occur the following week. Żurek appealed to President Karol Nawrocki not to “attempt to violate the constitution” and to promptly accept the oaths of the six judges elected by the Sejm.
Voting Results and Unsuccessful Candidates
The elected judges are: Krystian Markiewicz (current chair of the MS codification commission), Maciej Taborowski (legal scholar at the Polish Academy of Sciences), Marcin Dziurda (Warsaw University law professor), Anna Korwin-Piotrowska (presiding judge of the Opole District Court), Dariusz Szostek (professor at the University of Silesia), and Magdalena Bentkowska (attorney). Neither of the PiS-nominated candidates—Michał Skrzyński (Catholic University of Lublin) or Artur Kotowski (Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński University)—secured the required support.
Plan B Amid Constitutional Standoff
When pressed if the government has a “Plan B” if the president refuses to swear in the judges, Żurek confirmed: “Of course, we do. I will disclose it when circumstances necessitate implementation.” He emphasized that parliament alone selects Constitutional Court judges and the president must swear them in immediately.