Venice Commission on Constitutional Tribunal judges' oath-taking

In brief

The Venice Commission adopted a 20-page opinion on Friday, October 9, 2026, and published it on Tuesday, October 13, 2026.
The body recommended the possibility of a Constitutional Tribunal judge taking the oath without the President's participation in the event of the head of state's refusal or delay.
The dispute concerns the failure to swear in four judges elected in March 2026 and the delay in swearing in Maciej Berek, elected in September.

Position and recommendations of the Venice Commission

The Venice Commission indicated that the President of Poland should immediately accept the oath from Constitutional Tribunal judges elected by the Sejm, without claiming the right to control the election procedure. The body recommended that in the event of the head of state's refusal or delay, the oath should be allowed to be taken without the President's physical presence. This position was included in a 20-page document adopted at the plenary session on October 9, 2026, and published on October 13.

The European Commission for Democracy through Law, established in 1990, examined Polish regulations at the request of the Monitoring Committee of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE). The analysis covered, among other things, Articles 179 and 194 of the Constitution of the Republic of Poland. Experts from Venice concluded that regulations concerning the oath must serve their statutory purpose. The head of state has no mandate in this process to verify Sejm resolutions.

The opinion outlines an emergency procedure in case of paralysis. A judge may complete the formalities without the physical presence of the President if the basic requirements of the act are met. These include written form, proper verification of the action, and delivery of the document to the President. Media reports also mentioned the issue of notarizing the act. However, the advisory nature of the document remains a limitation. The Venice Commission's opinions are not directly binding on Polish authorities, although they set standards for European institutions.

Dispute over Constitutional Tribunal judges elected by the Sejm

The conflict surrounding the nominations erupted after the Sejm's decisions on March 13, 2026. Deputies elected six Constitutional Tribunal judges at that time. President Karol Nawrocki accepted the oath from only two of them: Magdalena Bentkowska and Dariusz Szostek. The President did not allow the remaining four – Krystian Markiewicz, Marcin Taborowski, Marcin Dziurda, and Anna Korwin-Piotrowska – to take the oath, citing formal errors in parliament.

In response, the four judges took the oath in April in the Sejm's Column Hall in the presence of Speaker Włodzimierz Czarzasty, using an oath formula stating it was taken "before the President." The documents were sent to the Chancellery of the President, but it refused to recognize the procedure. Simultaneously, Constitutional Tribunal President Bogdan Święczkowski blocked all four from adjudicating, citing a lack of information from the Presidential Palace.

The stalemate repeated after the election of another judge. On September 4, 2026, the Sejm nominated Maciej Berek for this position, proposed by Civic Coalition deputies. Head of the Chancellery of the President of the Republic of Poland Zbigniew Bogucki spoke of reasons lying with the Sejm, and presidential spokesperson Rafał Leśkiewicz stated that Karol Nawrocki would only accept the oath after the presentation of documents confirming the formal requirement of ten years of legal work. Berek responds that he meets all statutory criteria.

Reactions of the parties to the Venice opinion

The assessment of the recommendations divided the political scene. Civic Coalition MEP Bogdan Zdrojewski assessed in a post on X that the President has an obligation to immediately accept the oaths, and in the event of a blockade, the presence of the head of state becomes unnecessary if another correct form is used. A similar line is presented by the government and Minister of Justice Waldemar Żurek. Both point out that the President does not have the competence to selectively evaluate the legality of Sejm elections.

PiS MP Bartłomiej Wróblewski took a different position. He emphasized that the Venice Commission does not have the competence to interfere in Polish procedures for appointing judges, and the document itself remains solely a non-binding legal opinion.

Sources

Article prepared with the help of artificial intelligence based on: Bankier.pl, Rzeczpospolita, Gazeta.pl, RMF24, WP Wiadomości, Zero.pl. Facts checked automatically against these sources. The Wiadomości PRO newsroom is responsible for this publication.