‘During the final session of 24 January this year, the National Judicial Council gave a negative opinion on the bill on peculiar solutions concerning the designation by the ultimate Court of cases related to the elections of the president of Poland and supplementary elections to the Polish legislature in 2025. She felt that it was contrary to the fundamental constitutional principles of the Polish legal order" – was given in a press release sent to our editorial board.
The Sejm passed the alleged emergency bill of the thought of Marshal Szymon Hołownia (Poland 2050), according to which the validity of the election of the president in 2025 is to be ruled by 15 judges with the oldest internship in the ultimate Court, alternatively than – as yet – the Chamber of Extraordinary Control and Public Affairs of the SN. The bill will now go to the Senate.
220 Members voted in favour of the bill, 204 opposed and 20 abstained. Earlier, the Sejm did not take into account the PiS's motion to reject the bill in its entirety!
Interestingly, 2 Members of the KO – Claudia Jachira and Małgorzata Tracz, as well as all left-wing MPs, abstained.
The National Judicial Council reacted to information provided by our website on social media.
The bill was adopted without the opinion of the National Judicial Council, despite the negative opinion of the president and Constitutional Court, as regards the adoption of specified fundamental changes of law just before the elections
— indicated.
KRS message
Shortly thereafter, our editorial board received a message after the National Judicial Council gathering of 21-24 January 2025, which was handed over to us by a spokesperson for the council.
Below we present its content in the section devoted to this issue:
During the final session of 24 January this year, the National Judicial Council gave a negative opinion on the bill on peculiar solutions concerning the designation by the ultimate Court of cases related to the elections of the president of Poland and supplementary elections to the Polish legislature in 2025. She considered that it was contrary to the basic constitutional principles of the Polish legal order.
Under applicable law, the designation of electoral protests and the determination of the validity of elections belong to the home of Extraordinary Control and Public Affairs of the SN. On the another hand, the proposal sent to the Council states, among another things, that the functioning of this home raises doubts about the global courts of the ETPCz and the TEU. It proposed that electoral protests and the declaration of the validity of the elections of the president of Poland and supplementary elections to the Polish legislature should be recognized by judges of the combined chambers of the ultimate Court: Civil, Criminal and Labour and Social Insurance.
The National Judicial Council has a negative opinion on the proposal presented to it, as changes in electoral law can be made at least six months before the election deadline. This is confirmed, among others, by the erstwhile case law of the Constitutional Court (the judgement of the Constitutional Tribunal of 28.10.2009 and the judgement of the Constitutional Tribunal of 3.11.2006). The first circular of elections of the president of Poland will take place on 18 May 2025.
On the another hand, the Venice Commission in the Code of Good Practice in electoral matters stresses that the basic elements of electoral law should not be subject to changes little than 1 year before the elections.
On January 24, this year, the Sejm yet adopted a different version of the Act – without the opinion of the National Courts – proposed by the Marshal of the Sejm a solution, according to which 15 judges of the ultimate Court are to decide on the validity of the elections in the oldest internship in the SN. Now the bill will be handled by the Senate.
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