European Commission says Poland's Sejm holds the power to appoint Constitutional Tribunal judges

1 November 2026

A European Commission spokesperson has said that appointing eight new members of Poland's Constitutional Tribunal falls within the constitutional power of the Sejm, the lower house of the Polish parliament. The statement came during a standoff over the court. The Tribunal's chief judge, Bogdan Swieczkowski, who had been appointed during the Law and Justice government of 2015 to 2023, was suspended, and President Karol Nawrocki then held talks at the presidential palace attended by nationalist, far-right and some governing coalition parties, while Prime Minister Donald Tusk's Civic Coalition stayed away. The Commission urged Nawrocki to accept the nomination of the new judges. The European Court of Human Rights had earlier issued interim measures requiring the competent Polish authorities to stop obstructing certain judges. Prime Minister Donald Tusk traces the quarrel over who may sit on the Tribunal to the Law and Justice government of 2015 to 2023. The Constitutional Tribunal is Poland's court for testing laws against the constitution.