The 7 fresh judges of the Constitutional Court called on the Polish authorities on 30 August to let 4 judges elected by the Sejm on 13 March 2026 to judge. They indicated the implementation of the ECHR's decision of 5 May as the first step towards the end of the crisis. Legality and legal certainty of citizens are at stake.
Seven judges appeal to the authorities
The message was signed by the fresh judges of the Constitutional Court. They called on all the authorities of the Republic to take action to enable the ruling of 4 persons elected by the Sejm on 13 March 2026. In their view, implementing the European Court of Human Rights will be the beginning of a crisis around the CCC.
In March, the Sejm elected six judges: Magdalena Bentkowska, Dariusz Szostek, Maciej Taborowski, Marcin Dziurda, Krystian Markiewicz and Anna Korwin-Piotrowska. Bentkowska and Szostek took a vow before the president at the Presidential Palace. The another 4 took a vow in the Sejm, and the president of the Constitutional Tribunal Bogdan Święczkowski does not let it to be ruled.
At the end of July, Sławomir Patyr besides made a vow to president Karol Nawrocki. However, he announced that he would not participate in the Court's rulings or another procedures until 4 judges were admitted to work.
The Strasbourg order does not end the dispute
The authors of the message referred to interim measurement ETPC of 5 May 2026, issued in connection with complaints by 4 judges. Strasbourg asked the Polish authorities to guarantee that they were not prevented from carrying out their judicial duties until further decision. The signatories considered it essential to comply with Article 194(1) of the Constitution.
However, the interim measurement is not a ruling. Nor does it remove the fundamental difference in positions. The 4 judges consider the election by the Sejm and the vow made in Parliament sufficient. The TK management is in the position that without a pledge to the president they cannot begin ruling. Court dispute and the scope of Strasbourg’s pressure So it continues.
In the message itself, the judges stressed that the majority of the Sejm that chose them could not influence the judicial activity. They declared service to the nation, independency and submission to the Constitution. That's what all constitutional justice should say. However, the credibility of these words will be assessed by practice, not by the signature of the message.
The crisis of institutions strikes the citizen
The conflict over the cast of the Constitutional Tribunal is imposed on further clashes between the Government, the president and the Court's leadership. Government draft budget for 2027 left the CCC without gross and expenditure includedwhich has increased the temperature of the dispute even more. The institution appointed to defend constitutional order itself has become its most inflamed point.
Poles pay for this chaos by weakening legal certainty. all sentence, bill and decision concerning the CCC becomes the subject of political war and the authority of the state falls. An ad hoc majority cannot take over a constitutional court by means of facts made. In the same way, the external court should not replace Polish bodies in determining the sustainable form of the Polish system.
The exit from the crisis requires a resolution based on the Constitution, an open procedure and compliance with the obligations of the State. Without specified grounds, allowing or preventing circumstantial judges will stay another circular of fighting for the institution. More than 7 names are at stake. The question is whether a citizen can trust that the law in Poland means the same regardless of the current majority.
Source: To Things, European Court of Human Rights
