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1997–2015: how judges were chosen and what preceded the 2015 dispute

Status as of: 31 October 2026, 04:00 CET Last updated: 31.10.2026 Basics: 4 min read · For followers: 11 min read · Expert: 28 min read

How Poland's Sejm chose Constitutional Tribunal judges in 1997–2015, with which majorities, and how Article 137 of the 2015 Act shaped autumn 2015.

Level of detail
BasicsPlain language, the essential facts For followersNames, dates, votes, who says what ExpertProvisions, case numbers, benches, footnotes to sources

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Contents — Basics
  1. How judges were chosen
  2. Who chose, and with what majority
  3. Empty seats and Presidents of the Tribunal
  4. The 2015 Act and the provision on five seats
  5. Why it matters

Level of detail: Basics4 min read

How judges were chosen

The Constitutional Tribunal checks whether laws comply with Poland's Constitution. Its judgments are final and binding on everyone, so who sits on it matters to every citizen.

The Constitution of 2 April 1997 fixed the Tribunal at 15 judges. Each is elected individually by the Sejm, the main chamber of parliament, for nine years. Nobody can be elected twice.

Under the Constitutional Tribunal Act of 1 August 1997, candidates were nominated by the Presidium of the Sejm (the Marshal and Deputy Marshals) or by at least 50 MPs. The Sejm elected a judge by absolute majority, more than half of the votes cast. The person elected took an oath before the President of the Republic; refusing it counted as giving up the post.

The Act did not say when a judge's term begins or set deadlines for nominations or the oath; the 2015 Act added only a nomination deadline.

Who chose, and with what majority

From October 1997 to September 2015 the Sejm elected 31 judges (see the chart).

Persons elected to the Tribunal, by the Sejm term that elected them
  1. Sejm PRL-IX12
  2. Sejm X-19896
  3. Sejm II6
  4. Sejm III9
  5. Sejm IV6
  6. Sejm V7
  7. Sejm VI8
  8. Sejm VII6 (incl. without an oath before the President: 5)
  9. Sejm VIII11
  10. Sejm IX5
  11. Sejm X8

All persons elected are counted (including those who did not take the oath before the President). Names — on hover and in the register of judges.

Seven of the 31 also had clear support from the largest opposition group. The others were elected by the majority of the day. This happened in the 3rd to 6th terms, under successive governments: Solidarity Electoral Action (AWS) with the Freedom Union (UW), the Democratic Left Alliance (SLD) and Law and Justice (PiS), each with partners, and Civic Platform (PO) with the Polish People's Party (PSL). The only judge elected by the 7th-term Sejm before autumn 2015, Leon Kieres, also had support from part of the opposition.

Some had been active in politics. According to the fact-checking site Demagog, Jerzy Ciemniewski, Jerzy Stępień, Janusz Niemcewicz, Marek Mazurkiewicz, Adam Jamróz, Marek Kotlinowski (a League of Polish Families activist and Deputy Marshal) and Teresa Liszcz had sat in parliament. Niemcewicz and Andrzej Rzepliński had earlier belonged to the PZPR, communist Poland's ruling party, and Kieres had run on PO lists.

Empty seats and Presidents of the Tribunal

Only three vacancies lasted over a month: in 2007 (about 45 days), 2010 (64 days) and 2010–2011 (33 days), after failed votes or a resignation.

The Tribunal's President (its chief judge) is appointed by the head of state from two candidates put forward by the General Assembly of the Tribunal's judges. The Tribunal was led in turn by Marek Safjan, Jerzy Stępień, Bohdan Zdziennicki and Rzepliński (from December 2010). This is a function, not a separate seat.

The 2015 Act and the provision on five seats

In 2013 President Bronisław Komorowski sent the Sejm a bill for a new Tribunal Act. The Sejm passed it on 27 May 2015 with the votes of PO, PSL and SLD, PiS voting against; it entered into force on 30 August 2015.

Article 137 was a special nomination rule only for the five seats falling vacant in 2015: three on 6 November, one on 2 December and one on 8 December. A PO MP proposed it in a Sejm committee in May 2015.

In the outgoing 7th-term Sejm, PO and PSL held the majority. On 8 October 2015 it elected five people to all five seats, including the two falling vacant in December, during the next Sejm's term. The Presidium formally nominated them; according to TVN24 the PO, PSL and SLD clubs chose them, and PiS voted against. PiS then won the 25 October election with an outright majority (235 seats). President Andrzej Duda did not accept the oath of any of the five.

On 3 December 2015 the Tribunal held (case K 34/15) that Article 137 was consistent with the Constitution for the three November seats. For the two December seats it was not: according to the Tribunal, an outgoing Sejm could not elect judges "in advance" to seats falling vacant in the next Sejm's term. The Tribunal also held that the President must take the oath of a judge elected by the Sejm without delay.

Why it matters

Election rules look technical, but they decide who reviews the laws that apply to everyone. Autumn 2015 and after are covered in the 2015–2017 crisis article.

Contents — For followers
  1. The legal framework: the Constitution and the 1997 Act
  2. Who chose: the 3rd–7th-term Sejm
  3. How many elections had cross-party support
  4. Vacancies longer than a month
  5. Presidents and Vice-Presidents of the Tribunal
  6. Amendments to the 1997 Act
  7. From the presidential bill to the Act of 25 June 2015
  8. Article 137 and the five terms ending in 2015
  9. Who claims what
  10. How this shaped the autumn-2015 dispute

Level of detail: For followers11 min read

Under Article 194(1) of the Constitution of 2 April 1997, the Tribunal has 15 judges elected individually by the Sejm for nine years, with no re-election.1,2 The President and Vice-President of the Tribunal are appointed by the President of the Republic from candidates of the General Assembly of Judges (Art. 194(2)), and judges may not belong to a party while in office (Art. 195(3)).1,2

The Constitutional Tribunal Act of 1 August 1997 (the 1997 Act) entered into force on 17 October 1997 and was repealed with effect from 30 August 2015.3 Its Article 5 governed elections:4

  • candidates are nominated by at least 50 MPs or by the Presidium of the Sejm (para. 4);4
  • the Sejm elects by absolute majority, with at least half the statutory number of MPs present (para. 4);4
  • the judge takes an oath before the President of the Republic (para. 5);4
  • "refusal to take the oath is equivalent to renouncing the post" (para. 6).4

The Act, even as amended, set no start of term and no deadlines for nominations or the oath; according to the applicants in K 34/15, the Standing Orders of the Sejm set procedural details.5,6

Some Sejm resolutions, published in Monitor Polski (the official gazette, M.P.), named a start date (e.g. 1 December 1997, 6 November 2006); others, including those of 1998 and 1999, gave none.7,8,9,10 Five times (twice in 1997, in 2001, October 2006 and November 2010) the Sejm elected several judges in a single joint resolution.11

Who chose: the 3rd–7th-term Sejm

Sejm term Government Judges elected (year) Number Backed by the main opposition club
3rd (1997–2001) AWS–UW; minority government from 2000 Teresa Dębowska-Romanowska, Marek Safjan, Marian Zdyb, Wiesław Johann, Biruta Lewaszkiewicz-Petrykowska, Andrzej Mączyński (1997); Jerzy Ciemniewski (1998); Jerzy Stępień (1999); Janusz Niemcewicz (2001) 9 Niemcewicz12,7,9,10,13,14
4th (2001–2005) SLD–UP–PSL; without PSL from 2003 Marian Grzybowski, Marek Mazurkiewicz, Mirosław Wyrzykowski, Bohdan Zdziennicki (2001); Ewa Łętowska (2002); Adam Jamróz (2003) 6 Wyrzykowski (partly)15,16,17,14
5th (2005–2007) PiS; PiS–Samoobrona–LPR from 2006 Maria Gintowt-Jankowicz, Wojciech Hermeliński, Marek Kotlinowski, Zbigniew Cieślak, Lidia Bagińska, Teresa Liszcz (2006); Mirosław Granat (2007) 7 Liszcz, Granat8,18,19,20,21,14
6th (2007–2011) PO–PSL Andrzej Rzepliński (2007); Stanisław Biernat (2008); Sławomira Wronkowska-Jaśkiewicz, Stanisław Rymar, Piotr Tuleja, Marek Zubik (2010); Małgorzata Pyziak-Szafnicka, Andrzej Wróbel (2011) 8 Wronkowska-Jaśkiewicz, Tuleja22,23,24,25,26,27,14
7th (2011 – Sep 2015) PO–PSL Leon Kieres (2012) 1 Kieres28,14

Formally, motions came from the Presidium or at least 50 MPs; Demagog names clubs as nominators, and each motion's formal route was not established.4,29

3rd term. In 1997 six judges were elected in two list votes; no club breakdown exists for 1997–1999.30 In 2001 Niemcewicz was backed by both AWS (144) and the opposition SLD (146).31 According to Demagog, the UW club nominated Dębowska-Romanowska and Ciemniewski, and the AWS club Zdyb, Johann and Stępień.29

4th term. In 2001 SLD, Samoobrona, PSL and UP voted for all four elected; PO and PiS backed only Wyrzykowski among them (57 and 29 votes), plus Stanisław Biernat and Marek Zirk-Sadowski, who fell short.32 Łętowska (2002) was backed by SLD, PSL, UP and part of Samoobrona, Jamróz (2003) by SLD, UP and PLD; both times PO, PiS and LPR voted for rival candidates.33,34 According to Demagog, the SLD club nominated Mazurkiewicz, Zdziennicki and Jamróz.29

5th term. In October 2006 PiS, LPR, Samoobrona and part of PSL voted for Gintowt-Jankowicz, Hermeliński and Kotlinowski, while PO and SLD voted for Biernat, Andrzej Rzepliński and I. Lipowicz.35 Cieślak (November) and Bagińska (December, 207:159) were elected with PiS, Samoobrona and LPR votes.36,37 Liszcz was backed by PiS, SLD, Samoobrona, PSL and 58 PO MPs (38 against), Granat in 2007 by PiS and PO, with SLD against.38,39 According to Demagog, the LPR and Samoobrona clubs nominated Kotlinowski and the PiS club Liszcz and Cieślak; according to RMF FM, Samoobrona recommended Bagińska.29,40,41

6th term. Rzepliński (2007) was backed by PO and PSL; LiD voted for Andrzej Sokala and PiS (136 MPs) against all candidates.42 When Biernat was elected in 2008 (270:5), the whole PiS club stayed out.43 Wronkowska-Jaśkiewicz (2010) was backed by PO, PiS, Lewica and PSL.44 In November 2010 Tuleja won 348 votes, including most PiS MPs, while Rymar (203) and Zubik (200) were elected with most of the PiS club against.45,46 In 2011 PO, PSL and SLD elected Pyziak-Szafnicka and Wróbel; PiS and PJN backed Krystyna Pawłowicz and Piotr Andrzejewski.47,48 According to tvn24, Demagog and prawo.pl, nominations came from the PO club (Rzepliński, Biernat, Wronkowska-Jaśkiewicz, Rymar, Tuleja, Pyziak-Szafnicka), PSL (Zubik) and SLD (Wróbel); sources differ on the co-nominators of Zubik and Wróbel.49,29,50

7th term (to September 2015). Kieres, the only candidate, was nominated jointly by PO, PSL and SLD; 340 MPs voted for him, including 196 from PO and 80 from PiS (41 PiS MPs abstained), and 41 Ruch Palikota MPs against.51,52,53

Political background. According to Demagog, Ciemniewski, Mazurkiewicz and Niemcewicz had been MPs, Stępień and Jamróz senators, Liszcz both (she co-founded Porozumienie Centrum), and Kotlinowski an MP, Deputy Marshal of the Sejm and LPR activist. Niemcewicz and Rzepliński had belonged to the PZPR, and Kieres had run on PO lists; several, including Stępień, Jamróz, Zdziennicki and Cieślak, had been deputy ministers.29

How many elections had cross-party support

The notes count an election as cross-party when the two largest clubs, one in opposition, backed the candidate.31,32,38,39,44,45,51 Seven of the 31 elections meet this test: Niemcewicz and, partially according to the notes, Wyrzykowski (2001), Liszcz (2006), Granat (2007), Wronkowska-Jaśkiewicz and Tuleja (2010), and Kieres (2012).31,32,38,39,44,45,51

The other 24 were elected by the majority of the day, with the main opposition club voting against, staying out or backing others (no club data for 1997–1999).30,32,35,37,42,43,47 Candidates who fell short included Zdziennicki (1997–1999), Biernat and Zirk-Sadowski (2001), Sokala (2003, 2007), Biernat, Rzepliński and I. Lipowicz (2006), B. Szlachta (2006) and Pawłowicz (2010, 2011); Zdziennicki, Rzepliński, Biernat and Wróbel were elected later.30,32,34,54,42,45,47,15,22,23,27

Vacancies longer than a month

  • About 45 days (13 March – 26 April 2007): Lidia Bagińska, elected in December 2006, took the oath on 6 March 2007 and renounced the post a week later without adjudicating, according to RMF FM; Granat was elected on 27 April.19,55,41,21
  • 64 days (3 March – 5 May 2010): on 19 February, before Niemcewicz's term ended, the Sejm rejected putting the election on the agenda (202:210:6), and on 4 March the PiS candidate Krystyna Pawłowicz fell short (157:264:5); Wronkowska-Jaśkiewicz was elected on 6 May.45,24
  • 33 days (3 December 2010 – 4 January 2011): four terms ended on 2 December 2010, but on 26 November the Sejm filled only three seats, as neither Pawłowicz nor Wróbel won a majority; Pyziak-Szafnicka was elected on 5 January 2011.45,56,26

Presidents and Vice-Presidents of the Tribunal

Under Article 15 of the 1997 Act, the President of the Republic appointed the Tribunal's President and Vice-President from two candidates per post chosen by the General Assembly.4,5

Function Person From To
President vacancy after A. Zoll 1 Dec 1997 6 Jan 199857,58
President Marek Safjan 6 Jan 1998 5 Nov 200657,58,59,60
President Jerzy Stępień 6 Nov 2006 (appointed 4 Nov by President Lech Kaczyński) 25 Jun 200861,62
President Bohdan Zdziennicki 26 Jun 2008 (appointed by L. Kaczyński) 2 Dec 201062,63
President Andrzej Rzepliński 3 Dec 2010 (appointed by President Bronisław Komorowski) 19 Dec 201664,58
Vice-President Janusz Trzciński 1 Dec 1993 1 Dec 2001 unverified58
Vice-President Andrzej Mączyński 2 Dec 2001 1 Dec 200658,60
Vice-President Janusz Niemcewicz 2 Dec 2006 2 Mar 201058,62
Vice-President Marek Mazurkiewicz 3 Mar 2010 2 Dec 201058,64
Vice-President Stanisław Biernat 3 Dec 2010 26 Jun 201764,58

Some dates rest on en.wikipedia; appointment dates other than Stępień's and Safjan's are not confirmed by source documents.58,61,57

Amendments to the 1997 Act

The only dedicated amendment of the 1997 Act was the Act of 9 June 2000 (Journal of Laws, Dz.U. 2000 No. 53 item 638), which introduced, among other things, retirement status for judges and a three-month deadline for constitutional complaints; nine other changes were made alongside other statutes, and the election provisions kept their original wording in essence.3,65,66,5

From the presidential bill to the Act of 25 June 2015

In July 2013 President Bronisław Komorowski sent the Sejm a bill for a new Tribunal Act (print no. 1590); according to e-prawnik it was meant to speed up proceedings and make candidate selection "transparent".67,68 According to the Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights (HFPC), former judges drafted its principles under the Tribunal President's direction; a Sejm subcommittee spent over eighteen months on it and deleted the option of nominations by bodies outside the Sejm.69

The provision that became Article 137 was proposed on 12 May 2015 in the Justice and Human Rights Committee by PO MP Robert Kropiwnicki, who argued, according to HFPC, that several terms ended around the change of Sejm terms.69

On 27 May 2015 the Sejm passed the Act by 261:144 with 11 abstentions; PO (192), PSL (32) and SLD (21) voted for, PiS (122) and Zjednoczona Prawica (15) against.70 According to Polish Wikipedia and Demagog, President-elect Andrzej Duda asked Ewa Kopacz's government on 29 May 2015 to hold off on the changes until he took office.71,72 On 25 June it considered the Senate's amendments, rejecting some.73 President Komorowski signed the Act on 21 July 2015; published as Dz.U. 2015 item 1064, it entered into force on 30 August 2015.74,65

Among other things, the new Act provided for:75

  • candidates aged 40 to 67 (Art. 18);75
  • nominations by the Presidium or 50 MPs at least three months before a term ends, or within 21 days of an early expiry (Art. 19);75
  • a new motion within 14 days after a failed vote (Art. 20);75
  • an oath before the President of the Republic, with refusal counting as renunciation (Art. 21).75

Article 137 and the five terms ending in 2015

Article 137 concerned the judges whose terms ended in 2015; as described by participants in K 34/15, it set a 30-day deadline from the Act's entry into force for nominations to those seats. unverified6,76 The notes did not retrieve the provision's exact wording.6

Judge Elected Term began Term ended Basis
Maria Gintowt-Jankowicz 27 Oct 2006 6 Nov 2006 6 Nov 2015 M.P. 2006 item 7928,77
Wojciech Hermeliński 27 Oct 2006 6 Nov 2006 6 Nov 2015 M.P. 2006 item 7928,77
Marek Kotlinowski 27 Oct 2006 6 Nov 2006 6 Nov 2015 M.P. 2006 item 7928,77
Zbigniew Cieślak 17 Nov 2006 2 Dec 2006 2 Dec 2015 M.P. 2006 item 84218,77
Teresa Liszcz 8 Dec 2006 day of election (no date in resolution) 8 Dec 2015 M.P. 2006 item 91920,77
Seats on the Tribunal — as of 1 October 2015 15 + 0 + 0 + 0 = 15
  1. 01 Gintowt-Jankowicz Maria Gintowt-JankowiczSworn in before the PresidentElected: 27 Oct 2006 (Sejm term V)Oath: date not established, before the PresidentSeat assignment within a jointly elected cohort – alphabetical convention (note 02, §1.7).Since 6 Nov 2006
  2. 02 Hermeliński Wojciech HermelińskiSworn in before the PresidentElected: 27 Oct 2006 (Sejm term V)Oath: date not established, before the PresidentSeat assignment within a jointly elected cohort – alphabetical convention (note 02, §1.7).Since 6 Nov 2006
  3. 03 Kotlinowski Marek KotlinowskiSworn in before the PresidentElected: 27 Oct 2006 (Sejm term V)Oath: date not established, before the PresidentSeat assignment within a jointly elected cohort – alphabetical convention (note 02, §1.7).Since 6 Nov 2006
  4. 04 Cieślak Zbigniew CieślakSworn in before the PresidentElected: 17 Nov 2006 (Sejm term V)Oath: date not established, before the PresidentSince 2 Dec 2006
  5. 05 Liszcz Teresa LiszczSworn in before the PresidentElected: 8 Dec 2006 (Sejm term V)Oath: date not established, before the PresidentSince 8 Dec 2006
  6. 06 Granat Mirosław GranatSworn in before the PresidentElected: 27 Apr 2007 (Sejm term V)Oath: date not established, before the PresidentSince 27 Apr 2007
  7. 07 Rzepliński Andrzej RzeplińskiSworn in before the PresidentElected: 18 Dec 2007 (Sejm term VI)Oath: date not established, before the PresidentSince 19 Dec 2007
  8. 08 Wróbel Andrzej WróbelSworn in before the PresidentElected: 27 May 2011 (Sejm term VI)Oath: date not established, before the PresidentSince 29 May 2011
  9. 09 Biernat Stanisław BiernatSworn in before the PresidentElected: 13 Jun 2008 (Sejm term VI)Oath: date not established, before the PresidentSince 26 Jun 2008
  10. 10 Wronkowska-Jaśkiewicz Sławomira Wronkowska-JaśkiewiczSworn in before the PresidentElected: 6 May 2010 (Sejm term VI)Oath: date not established, before the PresidentSince 6 May 2010
  11. 11 Zubik Marek ZubikSworn in before the PresidentElected: 26 Nov 2010 (Sejm term VI)Oath: date not established, before the PresidentSeat assignment within a jointly elected cohort – alphabetical convention (note 02, §1.7).Since 3 Dec 2010
  12. 12 Tuleja Piotr TulejaSworn in before the PresidentElected: 26 Nov 2010 (Sejm term VI)Oath: date not established, before the PresidentSeat assignment within a jointly elected cohort – alphabetical convention (note 02, §1.7).Since 3 Dec 2010
  13. 13 Rymar Stanisław RymarSworn in before the PresidentElected: 26 Nov 2010 (Sejm term VI)Oath: date not established, before the PresidentSeat assignment within a jointly elected cohort – alphabetical convention (note 02, §1.7).Since 3 Dec 2010
  14. 14 Pyziak-Szafnicka Małgorzata Pyziak-SzafnickaSworn in before the PresidentElected: 5 Jan 2011 (Sejm term VI)Oath: date not established, before the PresidentSince 5 Jan 2011
  15. 15 Kieres Leon KieresSworn in before the PresidentElected: 13 Jul 2012 (Sejm term VII)Oath: date not established, before the PresidentSince 23 Jul 2012
  • Sworn in before the President 15
  • Oath taken in the Sejm — status disputed 0
  • Elected, no oath yet 0
  • Vacant seat 0
  • elected to a seat the Tribunal (judgment K 34/15) held to be already filled
  • the Sejm resolution of 6 March 2024 does not recognise this person as a judge

Seat numbering is a research convention without legal effect. Map with date slider and sources →

The parliamentary election was held on 25 October 2015; PiS won an outright majority (235 seats).78 On 8 October 2015 the 7th-term Sejm, on a motion by the Presidium according to Demagog, elected Roman Hauser, Krzysztof Ślebzak and Andrzej Jakubecki to the seats falling vacant on 6 November and Bronisław Sitek and Andrzej Sokala to those falling vacant on 2 and 8 December (M.P. 2015 items 1038–1042).79,80,29,81,69 According to TVN24, the PO, PSL and SLD clubs chose the candidates, while PiS nominated no one and voted against.82

On 3 December 2015 the Tribunal held in K 34/15 that Article 137 was consistent with Article 194(1) of the Constitution for judges whose terms ended on 6 November 2015 and inconsistent for the terms ending on 2 and 8 December.77 In its reasoning it said that a Sejm cannot elect judges "in advance" (na zapas) to seats falling vacant in the next term, so the election of three people to the November seats was constitutional and that of two to the December seats lacked a legal basis.83,84 It also held that the President must take the oath of a judge elected by the Sejm without delay (Art. 21(1) of the 2015 Act).77,6

Who claims what

Claim Who Legal basis invoked Counter-position Who Basis invoked What courts / Venice Commission said Status
Article 137 is needed because several terms end around the change of Sejm terms PO MP Robert Kropiwnicki, 12 May 2015 (per HFPC) not given Article 137 lets the outgoing Sejm elect two judges "in advance" (na zapas) to seats falling vacant in the new term the then opposition (per A. Szmyt, University of Gdańsk); PiS MPs PiS MPs' motion K 29/15 (23 October 2015) against many provisions of the Act, withdrawn on 10 November Tribunal, K 34/15: Art. 137 consistent with Art. 194(1) for terms ending 6 Nov, inconsistent for 2 and 8 Dec 2015; reasoning: a Sejm cannot elect "in advance" to seats falling vacant in the next term decided by the Tribunal69,76,84,77
The election of five judges on 8 October 2015 keeps the Tribunal's composition continuous PO (2015, per Demagog and Polish Wikipedia) not given The election was flawed and has no legal force; on 8 October 2015 Beata Szydło described it as "spoiling the state" (psucie państwa), PiS politicians as a "grab for the Tribunal" (skok na TK) 8th-term Sejm (resolutions of 25 November 2015); B. Szydło (PiS, per TVN24); PiS politicians (per Demagog and Polish Wikipedia) the resolutions cite breaches of law in the election Tribunal, K 34/15: the basis for electing to the three November seats constitutional, to the two December seats not; Tribunal, U 8/15: the resolutions of 25 November 2015 express a political position without legal effect see the 2015–2017 crisis article72,71,82,81,77,84
Electing three judges in one resolution on 26 November 2010 breaches the requirement of "individual" election Prosecutor General Zbigniew Ziobro (January 2017) Art. 194(1) of the Constitution Each candidate was assessed separately; MPs voted for or against each of the five National Council of the Judiciary (KRS) not given the Tribunal discontinued U 1/17 on 12 March 2020 (per Polish Wikipedia) outside 1997–201546,85

How this shaped the autumn-2015 dispute

  • Relying on Article 137, the outgoing Sejm filled all five seats, including two that, as the Tribunal noted, fell vacant in the new Sejm's term.81,77,84
  • President Andrzej Duda accepted the oath of none of them; PiS MPs challenged the 2015 Act (K 29/15) but withdrew the motion on 10 November, and on 25 November the 8th-term Sejm adopted five resolutions declaring the 8 October elections to have "no legal force".84,81
  • Neither the 1997 nor the 2015 Act said when a term begins or set an oath deadline; in December 2015 the Tribunal held that a term runs from election (K 35/15) and that the oath must be accepted without delay (K 34/15).5,86,87,84,77
  • According to Demagog and Polish Wikipedia, the Venice Commission's opinion of March 2016 said the conflict originated in actions of the previous-term Sejm, found the December 2015 amendment a threat to the rule of law and called for respect of the Tribunal's judgments.72,71

Next: the 2015–2017 crisis article.

Notes

  1. [legislation] Konstytucja, Dz.U. 1997 nr 78 poz. 483 (ELI). eli.gov.pl (accessed 31.10.2026) ↩
  2. [legislation] Konstytucja, ISAP. isap.sejm.gov.pl (accessed 31.10.2026) ↩
  3. [legislation] ELI DU/1997/643 (metadane). api.sejm.gov.pl (accessed 31.10.2026) ↩
  4. [legislation] tekst pierwotny. api.sejm.gov.pl (accessed 31.10.2026) ↩
  5. [legislation] tekst ujednolicony. api.sejm.gov.pl (accessed 31.10.2026) ↩
  6. [Constitutional Tribunal] K 34/15, tekst (trybunal.gov.pl). trybunal.gov.pl (accessed 31.10.2026) ↩
  7. [legislation] M.P. 1997 poz. 810. api.sejm.gov.pl (accessed 31.10.2026) ↩
  8. [legislation] M.P. 2006 poz. 792 (eli.gov.pl). eli.gov.pl (accessed 31.10.2026) ↩
  9. [legislation] M.P. 1998 poz. 646. api.sejm.gov.pl (accessed 31.10.2026) ↩
  10. [legislation] M.P. 1999 poz. 332. api.sejm.gov.pl (accessed 31.10.2026) ↩
  11. [legislation] API Sejmu ELI – „wyboru sędziów TK”. api.sejm.gov.pl (accessed 31.10.2026) ↩
  12. [legislation] M.P. 1997 poz. 789. api.sejm.gov.pl (accessed 31.10.2026) ↩
  13. [legislation] M.P. 2001 poz. 149. api.sejm.gov.pl (accessed 31.10.2026) ↩
  14. [encyclopedia] List of prime ministers of Poland. en.wikipedia.org (accessed 31.10.2026) ↩
  15. [legislation] M.P. 2001 poz. 672. api.sejm.gov.pl (accessed 31.10.2026) ↩
  16. [legislation] M.P. 2002 poz. 371. api.sejm.gov.pl (accessed 31.10.2026) ↩
  17. [legislation] M.P. 2003 poz. 514. api.sejm.gov.pl (accessed 31.10.2026) ↩
  18. [legislation] M.P. 2006 poz. 842 (eli.gov.pl). eli.gov.pl (accessed 31.10.2026) ↩
  19. [legislation] M.P. 2006 poz. 918. api.sejm.gov.pl (accessed 31.10.2026) ↩
  20. [legislation] M.P. 2006 poz. 919. api.sejm.gov.pl (accessed 31.10.2026) ↩
  21. [legislation] M.P. 2007 poz. 320. api.sejm.gov.pl (accessed 31.10.2026) ↩
  22. [legislation] M.P. 2007 poz. 1079. api.sejm.gov.pl (accessed 31.10.2026) ↩
  23. [legislation] M.P. 2008 poz. 420. api.sejm.gov.pl (accessed 31.10.2026) ↩
  24. [legislation] M.P. 2010 poz. 525. api.sejm.gov.pl (accessed 31.10.2026) ↩
  25. [legislation] M.P. 2010 poz. 1067. api.sejm.gov.pl (accessed 31.10.2026) ↩
  26. [legislation] M.P. 2011 poz. 39. api.sejm.gov.pl (accessed 31.10.2026) ↩
  27. [legislation] M.P. 2011 poz. 492. api.sejm.gov.pl (accessed 31.10.2026) ↩
  28. [legislation] M.P. 2012 poz. 506. api.sejm.gov.pl (accessed 31.10.2026) ↩
  29. [press] Demagog, „Ilu sędziów TK poprzednich kadencji ma doświadczenie polityczne?”. demagog.org.pl (accessed 31.10.2026) ↩
  30. [legislation] api term3 – wyszukiwarka głosowań. api.sejm.gov.pl (accessed 31.10.2026) ↩
  31. [legislation] api term3 głosowanie 102/230. api.sejm.gov.pl (accessed 31.10.2026) ↩
  32. [legislation] api term4 4/3. api.sejm.gov.pl (accessed 31.10.2026) ↩
  33. [legislation] api term4 22/196. api.sejm.gov.pl (accessed 31.10.2026) ↩
  34. [legislation] api term4 52/70. api.sejm.gov.pl (accessed 31.10.2026) ↩
  35. [legislation] api term5 27/114. api.sejm.gov.pl (accessed 31.10.2026) ↩
  36. [legislation] api term5 28/87. api.sejm.gov.pl (accessed 31.10.2026) ↩
  37. [legislation] api term5 29/76. api.sejm.gov.pl (accessed 31.10.2026) ↩
  38. [legislation] api term5 29/77. api.sejm.gov.pl (accessed 31.10.2026) ↩
  39. [legislation] api term5 40/28. api.sejm.gov.pl (accessed 31.10.2026) ↩
  40. [press] e-prawnik, 17 XI 2006. e-prawnik.pl (accessed 31.10.2026) ↩
  41. [press] RMF24, 13 III 2007. rmf24.pl (accessed 31.10.2026) ↩
  42. [legislation] api term6 4/4. api.sejm.gov.pl (accessed 31.10.2026) ↩
  43. [legislation] api term6 17/55. api.sejm.gov.pl (accessed 31.10.2026) ↩
  44. [legislation] api term6 66/30. api.sejm.gov.pl (accessed 31.10.2026) ↩
  45. [legislation] api term6 – wyszukiwarka. api.sejm.gov.pl (accessed 31.10.2026) ↩
  46. [press] tvn24, 13 I 2017 (analiza). tvn24.pl (accessed 31.10.2026) ↩
  47. [legislation] api term6 82/247. api.sejm.gov.pl (accessed 31.10.2026) ↩
  48. [legislation] api term6 93/50. api.sejm.gov.pl (accessed 31.10.2026) ↩
  49. [press] tvn24, 18 XII 2007. tvn24.pl (accessed 31.10.2026) ↩
  50. [press] prawo.pl, 3 XI 2010. prawo.pl (accessed 31.10.2026) ↩
  51. [legislation] api term7 18/23. api.sejm.gov.pl (accessed 31.10.2026) ↩
  52. [press] e-prawnik, 13 VII 2012. e-prawnik.pl (accessed 31.10.2026) ↩
  53. [press] rp.pl, 16 VII 2012. rp.pl (accessed 31.10.2026) ↩
  54. [legislation] api term5 – wyszukiwarka. api.sejm.gov.pl (accessed 31.10.2026) ↩
  55. [press] RMF24, 7 III 2007. rmf24.pl (accessed 31.10.2026) ↩
  56. [press] prawo.pl, 26 XI 2010. prawo.pl (accessed 31.10.2026) ↩
  57. [Constitutional Tribunal] TK-INF1997. trybunal.gov.pl (accessed 31.10.2026) ↩
  58. [encyclopedia] en.wikipedia – Constitutional Tribunal (Poland). en.wikipedia.org (accessed 31.10.2026) ↩
  59. [legislation] M.P. 1998 poz. 191. api.sejm.gov.pl (accessed 31.10.2026) ↩
  60. [legislation] M.P. 2006 poz. 720. api.sejm.gov.pl (accessed 31.10.2026) ↩
  61. [expert / organisation] Palestra 2006 nr 11–12, s. 324–325 (bazhum). bazhum.muzhp.pl (accessed 31.10.2026) ↩
  62. [press] tvn24, 26 VI 2008. tvn24.pl (accessed 31.10.2026) ↩
  63. [press] e-prawnik, 26 VI 2008. e-prawnik.pl (accessed 31.10.2026) ↩
  64. [press] infor, 3 XII 2010. infor.pl (accessed 31.10.2026) ↩
  65. [legislation] API ELI – wyszukiwanie. api.sejm.gov.pl (accessed 31.10.2026) ↩
  66. [legislation] tekst. api.sejm.gov.pl (accessed 31.10.2026) ↩
  67. [press] e-prawnik, 11 VII 2013. e-prawnik.pl (accessed 31.10.2026) ↩
  68. [parliament] Druk nr 1590, Sejm VII kadencji – prezydencki projekt ustawy o Trybunale Konstytucyjnym (2013) — Sejm RP VII kadencji, druk nr 1590 (projekt ustawy o Trybunale Konstytucyjnym wniesiony przez Prezydenta RP, VII 2013); numer druku za notatką 02_sedziowie_1997_2015, sekcja 5.3. (accessed 31.10.2026) ↩
  69. [expert / organisation] HFPC, „Kryzys konstytucyjny w Polsce 2015–2016” (Szuleka, Wolny, Szwed; stan prawny 11 VIII 2016). hfhr.pl (accessed 31.10.2026) ↩
  70. [legislation] api term7 93/39. api.sejm.gov.pl (accessed 31.10.2026) ↩
  71. [encyclopedia] pl.wikipedia „Kryzys wokół TK". pl.m.wikipedia.org (accessed 31.10.2026) ↩
  72. [press] Demagog. demagog.org.pl (accessed 31.10.2026) ↩
  73. [legislation] api term7 – wyszukiwarka. api.sejm.gov.pl (accessed 31.10.2026) ↩
  74. [press] RMF24. rmf24.pl (accessed 31.10.2026) ↩
  75. [legislation] Dz.U. 2015 poz. 1064. api.sejm.gov.pl (accessed 31.10.2026) ↩
  76. [press] Szmyt, UG. prawo.ug.edu.pl (accessed 31.10.2026) ↩
  77. [legislation] Dz.U. 2015 poz. 2129 (sentencja). eli.gov.pl (accessed 31.10.2026) ↩
  78. [press] Obwieszczenie PKW o wynikach wyborów do Sejmu 25 X 2015, Dz.U. 2015 poz. 1731. infor.pl (accessed 31.10.2026) ↩
  79. [legislation] api term7 – wyszukiwarka. api.sejm.gov.pl (accessed 31.10.2026) ↩
  80. [legislation] Głosowania Sejmu VII kadencji, 102. posiedzenie (8.10.2015), API Sejmu. api.sejm.gov.pl (accessed 31.10.2026) ↩
  81. [legislation] API Sejmu ELI – wyszukiwanie „wyboru sędziego TK”. api.sejm.gov.pl (accessed 31.10.2026) ↩
  82. [press] TVN24, 8.10.2015: Hauser, Ślebzak, Jakubecki, Sitek, Sokala sędziami TK. tvn24.pl (accessed 31.10.2026) ↩
  83. [Constitutional Tribunal] Komunikat TK (EN) po rozprawie w sprawie K 34/15 (ustawa o Trybunale Konstytucyjnym). trybunal.gov.pl (accessed 31.10.2026) ↩
  84. [Constitutional Tribunal] Komunikat Biura TK z 29 lutego 2016 r. „w sprawie wyboru sędziów, nowelizacji ustawy oraz OTK”. trybunal.gov.pl (accessed 31.10.2026) ↩
  85. [encyclopedia] pl.wikipedia, „Kryzys wokół Trybunału Konstytucyjnego w Polsce”. pl.wikipedia.org (accessed 31.10.2026) ↩
  86. [legislation] druk nr 20, VIII kad. (sprawozdanie komisji, 18 XI 2015). api.sejm.gov.pl (accessed 31.10.2026) ↩
  87. [legislation] Wyrok TK z 9 grudnia 2015 r., K 35/15, Dz.U. 2015 poz. 2147 (ogłosz. 18.12.2015) — Dz.U. 2015 poz. 2147. eli.gov.pl (accessed 31.10.2026) ↩
Contents — Expert
  1. The law in force, 1997–2015
  2. Register of elections, 17 October 1997 – 30 September 2015
  3. Patterns of support by term
  4. Failed votes, vacancies and the Bagińska case
  5. Presidents and Vice-Presidents: legal basis and documentation
  6. Amendments to the 1997 Act
  7. Print no. 1590 and the Act of 25 June 2015 (Dz.U. 2015 item 1064)
  8. From Article 137 to the autumn-2015 dispute
  9. Disputed points
  10. Evidentiary gaps

Level of detail: Expert28 min read

The law in force, 1997–2015

The Constitution of 2 April 1997 (Dz.U. 1997 No. 78 item 483)

Article 194(1) provides that the Tribunal consists of 15 judges elected individually by the Sejm for nine years from among persons distinguished by their knowledge of the law; re-election is not allowed.1,2 Article 194(2) gives the appointment of the President and Vice-President of the Tribunal to the President of the Republic, choosing from candidates of the General Assembly of Judges, and Article 144(3)(21) lists this among the President's prerogatives.1,2,3 Article 195(1) and (3) guarantee judicial independence and bar membership of parties and trade unions while in office.1,2 These provisions have kept their 1997 wording.2

The Constitutional Tribunal Act of 1 August 1997 (Dz.U. 1997 No. 102 item 643)

The Act was published on 1 September 1997 and entered into force on 17 October 1997, except Article 5(1) and Article 88(2)–(3), which entered into force on 9 September 1997.4 It was repealed with effect from 30 August 2015 by the Act of 25 June 2015 (Dz.U. 2015 item 1064).4

  • Art. 5(1): the Tribunal has 15 judges; (2): the Sejm elects a judge for nine years; (3): a judge must meet the requirements for a judge of the Supreme Court or the Supreme Administrative Court.5
  • Art. 5(4): candidates are nominated by at least 50 MPs or the Presidium of the Sejm; election is by absolute majority with at least half the statutory number of MPs present.5
  • Art. 5(5): oath before the President of the Republic; the formula included a pledge to serve the Nation faithfully and to safeguard the Constitution.5
  • Art. 5(6): "refusal to take the oath is equivalent to renouncing the post".5
  • Art. 6(1): independence and subjection only to the Constitution; Art. 6(2a) (from 2000): retirement status after the term, with a right to return to the previous post.5,6
  • Art. 7: immunity, lifted with the consent of the General Assembly by a two-thirds majority; Art. 10: disciplinary penalties, including removal from office.5,6
  • Art. 11: the General Assembly declares a mandate expired (renunciation, permanent incapacity, final conviction or final disciplinary removal); on death, the President of the Tribunal does so and sends the act to the Marshal of the Sejm.5,6
  • Art. 15: the President of the Republic appoints the President and Vice-President from two candidates per post chosen by the General Assembly by secret ballot; Art. 16: deputising.5,6
  • Art. 88(1): existing members of the Tribunal become its judges; (2): judges elected under the 1985 Act serve eight years from their election; (3): the Sejm elects as many judges as needed to meet Article 5.5
  • Art. 89: for two years after the Constitution entered into force, rulings on pre-Constitution statutes were not final (the Sejm could reject them by a two-thirds majority), except rulings on questions of law from courts.5

The consolidated text after all amendments contains no rule on the start of a term, no deadline for nominations or for the oath, and no Articles 5a or 5b.6 A search of ELI found no consolidated text of this Act published in the Journal of Laws in 1997–2015.7

Standing Orders of the Sejm

According to the applicants in K 34/15, the details of the election procedure, including nomination deadlines, were governed before 2015 by the Standing Orders of the Sejm; the Commissioner for Human Rights (RPO) stated in that case that electing a successor before the predecessor's term ended was normal practice.3 The notes point to Article 30 of the Standing Orders unverified, but its 1997–2015 wording was not verified.3 Committee involvement is documented by the Justice and Human Rights Committee's positive opinion on Kieres (11 July 2012) and by rejected motions to refer candidacies to committee: 178 to 227 (Jamróz, 2003), 146 to 229 (Kotlinowski, 2006) and 116 to 243 (the candidacies of 8 December 2006).8,9,10,11,12

Practice in resolutions and votes

The joint resolutions of 1997 (two), 2001, October 2006 and November 2010 each covered several judges; the Sejm's API records these as votes on a list of candidates.13,14,15,11,16 A start date was named in the resolutions of 19 November 1997 (1 December 1997), 13 November 2001 (2 December 2001), 23 May 2002 (28 May 2002), 10 July 2003 (22 July 2003), 27 October 2006 (6 November 2006), 17 November 2006 (2 December 2006), 18 December 2007 (19 December 2007), 13 June 2008 (26 June 2008), 26 November 2010 (3 December 2010), 27 May 2011 (29 May 2011) and 13 July 2012 (23 July 2012).17,18,19,20,21,22,23,24,25,26,27

Register of elections, 17 October 1997 – 30 September 2015

In this period the Sejm of the 3rd to 7th terms elected 31 judges in 20 resolutions published in Monitor Polski.29,13,4 The "nominated or recommended by" column relies on secondary sources (mainly Demagog), not on Sejm prints, which were not retrieved.30

Date Resolution Elected (votes) Not elected (votes) Threshold / voting Term start in resolution Nominated or recommended by
5 Nov 1997 M.P. 1997 No. 82 item 789 Teresa Dębowska-Romanowska 234, Marek Safjan 274, Marian Zdyb 257 Marek Mazurkiewicz 179 214 / 427 none UW (Dębowska-Romanowska), AWS (Zdyb) per Demagog; Safjan – no data31,14,30
19 Nov 1997 M.P. 1997 No. 83 item 810 Wiesław Johann 254, Biruta Lewaszkiewicz-Petrykowska 240, Andrzej Mączyński 263 Bohdan Zdziennicki 174 208 / 415 1 Dec 1997 AWS (Johann) per Demagog; others – no data17,14,30
18 Dec 1998 M.P. 1998 No. 46 item 646 Jerzy Ciemniewski 240 Zdziennicki 174; against all 25 220 / 439 none UW per Demagog32,14,30
25 Jun 1999 M.P. 1999 No. 23 item 332 Jerzy Stępień 199 Zdziennicki 157; against all 7 182 / 363 none AWS per Demagog33,14,30
2 Mar 2001 M.P. 2001 No. 9 item 149 Janusz Niemcewicz 364 for, 30 against, 23 abst. – 209 / 417 none no data34,35
13 Nov 2001 M.P. 2001 No. 42 item 672 Mirosław Wyrzykowski 378, Marian Grzybowski 299, Mazurkiewicz 291, Zdziennicki 290 Stanisław Biernat 104, Marek Zirk-Sadowski 94; against all 42 220 / 438 2 Dec 2001 SLD (Mazurkiewicz, Zdziennicki) per Demagog; SLD recommendation for Zdziennicki per tvn2418,15,30,36
23 May 2002 M.P. 2002 No. 21 item 371 Ewa Łętowska 219 J. Kochanowski 141; against all 11 186 / 371 28 May 2002 no data19,37
10 Jul 2003 M.P. 2003 No. 37 item 514 Adam Jamróz 210 Andrzej Jan Sokala 165; against both 38 207 / 413 22 Jul 2003 SLD per Demagog20,10,30
27 Oct 2006 M.P. 2006 item 792 Wojciech Hermeliński 237, Marek Kotlinowski 231, Maria Gintowt-Jankowicz 224 Andrzej Rzepliński 152, Biernat 140, I. Lipowicz 109 192 / 382 6 Nov 2006 LPR and Samoobrona (Kotlinowski) per Demagog; others – no data21,11,38,30
17 Nov 2006 M.P. 2006 item 842 Zbigniew Cieślak 224 (round 1) B. Szlachta, Biernat, Rzepliński over three rounds; roll-call vote on Szlachta 183 to 163 (35 abst.), threshold 191 193 / 385 (round 1) 2 Dec 2006 PiS per e-prawnik and Demagog22,11,39,40,30
8 Dec 2006 M.P. 2006 No. 89 item 918 Lidia Bagińska 207 for, 159 against, 10 abst. – 189 / 376 none Samoobrona recommendation per RMF FM41,12,42
8 Dec 2006 M.P. 2006 No. 89 item 919 Teresa Liszcz 303 for, 38 against, 37 abst. – 190 / 378 none PiS per Demagog43,44,30
27 Apr 2007 M.P. 2007 No. 29 item 320 Mirosław Granat 328 for, 45 against, 4 abst. – 189 / 377 none no data45,46
18 Dec 2007 M.P. 2007 No. 100 item 1079 Rzepliński 222 A. Sokala 50 (nominated by LiD); against all 139 206 / 411 19 Dec 2007 PO per tvn2423,47,48
13 Jun 2008 M.P. 2008 No. 47 item 420 Biernat 270 for, 5 against, 1 abst. – 139 / 276 26 Jun 2008 PO per Demagog24,49,30
6 May 2010 M.P. 2010 No. 38 item 525 Sławomira Wronkowska-Jaśkiewicz 415 for, 2 against, 13 abst. – 216 / 430 none PO per Demagog50,51,30
26 Nov 2010 M.P. 2010 No. 93 item 1067 Piotr Tuleja 348, Stanisław Rymar 203, Marek Zubik 200 Krystyna Pawłowicz 140, Andrzej Wróbel 41; no majority in the run-off for the fourth seat or the roll-call vote (140 to 199, 25 abst., threshold 183) 191 / 380 3 Dec 2010 PO (Tuleja, Rymar), PSL (Zubik), PiS (Pawłowicz), SLD (Wróbel) per prawo.pl25,16,52
5 Jan 2011 M.P. 2011 No. 4 item 39 Małgorzata Pyziak-Szafnicka 253 Pawłowicz 149; against all 7 205 / 409 none PO per Demagog53,54,30
27 May 2011 M.P. 2011 No. 45 item 492 Wróbel 243 Piotr Andrzejewski 148; against all 29 211 / 420 29 May 2011 SLD and PO, among others, per Demagog26,55,30
13 Jul 2012 M.P. 2012 item 506 Leon Kieres 340 for, 43 against, 44 abst. sole candidate 214 / 427 23 Jul 2012 PO, PSL and SLD clubs per e-prawnik27,56,8,57

The club breakdowns were computed from named voting records in the Sejm API; in two cases the total differs from the headline figure by one or two votes (Niemcewicz: 362 vs 364; Granat: 327 vs 328).35,46 For 1997–1999 the API returned only candidates' results, without a club breakdown.14

Before the November 2010 election, nominations closed on 2 November: PO nominated Bogusław Banaszak, Rymar and Tuleja, PiS nominated Pawłowicz, PSL nominated Zubik and SLD nominated Wróbel.52 Banaszak withdrew before the vote.58 According to W. Wilk (PO), Tuleja's candidacy was supported by former Presidents of the Tribunal A. Zoll, Safjan and Stępień.52 Tvn24 reports that Zubik was nominated by MPs from PSL and PO among others, Demagog that he was nominated by PO, PSL and an independent MP.28,30

Patterns of support by term

Term Elected with the main opposition club's support Elected by the majority of the day Clubs voting for rivals or against
3rd Niemcewicz (SLD 146, AWS 144) 8 (1997–1999) no club breakdown for 1997–199935,14
4th Wyrzykowski (partly: PO 57, PiS 29) 5 (Grzybowski, Mazurkiewicz, Zdziennicki, Łętowska, Jamróz) PO, PiS, LPR; also PSL in 200315,37,10
5th Liszcz (PO 58 for, 38 against), Granat (PO 100) 5 (Gintowt-Jankowicz, Hermeliński, Kotlinowski, Cieślak, Bagińska) PO, SLD, part of PSL44,46,38,39,12
6th Wronkowska-Jaśkiewicz (PiS 136), Tuleja (most of PiS) 6 (Rzepliński, Biernat, Rymar, Zubik, Pyziak-Szafnicka, Wróbel) PiS, PJN; LiD in 200751,16,47,49,54,55
7th (to Sep 2015) Kieres (PiS 80 for, 41 abst.) 0 Ruch Palikota against56

According to Rzeczpospolita, the association Iustitia said in 2012 that Kieres's election was a "formality" and that nomination by parties alone keeps the process political.57 The candidate had been heard beforehand at HFPC (10 July 2012); since 2010 candidates had been monitored by HFPC, INPRiS and the Polish section of the International Commission of Jurists.57,52

Failed votes, vacancies and the Bagińska case

Seat (convention) Vacancy Length Cause
seat_06 13 Mar – 26 Apr 2007 about 45 days Bagińska's renunciation of the post; before that, from 8 Dec 2006 to 5 Mar 2007, an elected person who had not yet taken the oath41,42,59,45
seat_10 3 Mar – 5 May 2010 64 days agenda item rejected (19 Feb 2010, 202 to 210, 6 abst.) and failed election of Pawłowicz (4 Mar 2010, 157 to 264, 5 abst., threshold 214)16,50
seat_14 3 Dec 2010 – 4 Jan 2011 33 days fourth seat left unfilled on 26 Nov 2010 (Pawłowicz and Wróbel without a majority)16,58,53

On 17 November 2006 the Sejm was to elect three judges to seats falling vacant on 1 December 2006 but elected only Cieślak; in round one (threshold 193) Cieślak won 224 votes, B. Szlachta 179, Biernat 171 and Rzepliński 157.40,11 In the next two rounds and a roll-call vote on Szlachta (183 to 163, 35 abstentions, threshold 191) no one won a majority, leaving two seats vacant for six days (2–7 December 2006).11

The Sejm elected Lidia Bagińska on 8 December 2006 (M.P. 2006 No. 89 item 918).41 According to RMF FM, she took the oath on 6 March 2007, the delay being linked to doubts about her earlier work as a bankruptcy trustee (syndyk); after the oath she did not adjudicate.42 On 13 March 2007 RMF FM reported that she had renounced the post and wrote that she had taken the oath on the "last possible date", although the 1997 Act set no deadline for the oath, so the basis of such a date is unclear. unverified59,6 The date and number of the General Assembly resolution declaring her mandate expired (Art. 11(1) of the 1997 Act) were not established.59 According to Legeartis, Bagińska later withdrew her renunciation, and in a decision of 21 July 2017 (II SAB/Wa 182/17) the Voivodeship Administrative Court in Warsaw rejected her complaint about the Tribunal's inaction, finding the administrative-court route inadmissible; the decision was not yet final at the time.60

Appointing the President and Vice-President (Art. 194(2) of the Constitution, Art. 15 of the 1997 Act) is separate from election as a judge: it concerns a function, not a seat on the bench.1,5 Candidates for President were chosen at least three months before the incumbent's term ended, or within a month of a vacancy.5,6

Function Person Period Documentation
President vacancy after A. Zoll 1 Dec 1997 – 6 Jan 1998 Tribunal's Information for 1997: the General Assembly chose candidates on 25 Nov 1997; who led the Tribunal – no data62,63
President Marek Safjan 6 Jan 1998 – 5 Nov 2006 appointed 6 Jan 1998 according to the Tribunal's Information for 1997; chairs the General Assembly as President on 4 Mar 1998 (M.P. 1998 item 191), signs the resolution of 3 Oct 2006 (M.P. 2006 No. 72 item 720)62,63,64,65
President Jerzy Stępień appointed 4 Nov 2006 by L. Kaczyński, in office 6 Nov 2006 – 25 Jun 2008 Palestra 2006 No. 11–12; tvn2466,36
President Bohdan Zdziennicki 26 Jun 2008 – 2 Dec 2010 appointed from the General Assembly's candidates, Zdziennicki and Niemcewicz (tvn24, e-prawnik)36,67
President Andrzej Rzepliński 3 Dec 2010 – 19 Dec 2016 appointed by B. Komorowski; the other candidate was Łętowska (infor)68,63
Vice-President Janusz Trzciński 1 Dec 1993 – 1 Dec 2001 en.wikipedia only unverified63
Vice-President Andrzej Mączyński 2 Dec 2001 – 1 Dec 2006 signs as Vice-President the resolution of 3 Oct 2006 (M.P. 2006 item 720)63,65
Vice-President Janusz Niemcewicz 2 Dec 2006 – 2 Mar 2010 serving Vice-President and candidate for President in June 2008 (tvn24)63,36
Vice-President Marek Mazurkiewicz 3 Mar – 2 Dec 2010 succeeded by Biernat in December 2010 (infor)63,68
Vice-President Stanisław Biernat 3 Dec 2010 – 26 Jun 2017 infor; en.wikipedia68,63

The presidential appointment decisions were not found among the implementing acts of the 1997 Act in ELI; M.P. 1998 item 191, 2001 items 567 and 668, 2006 items 334 and 720, and 2008 item 341 turned out to be General Assembly resolutions, a notice by the President of the Tribunal and correcting decisions.64,69,70,71,65,72

Amendments to the 1997 Act

ELI lists 10 amending acts; the heading of the consolidated text lists 9 (without Dz.U. 2001 No. 106 item 1149).4,6

Act Dz.U. In force Scope of change to the Tribunal Act
Act of 12 May 2000 amending the Ombudsman Act, the Code of Civil Procedure and other acts 2000 No. 48 item 552 15 Jul 2000 no data73
Act of 9 June 2000 amending the Constitutional Tribunal Act and certain other acts 2000 No. 53 item 638 8 Oct 2000 Art. 6(2a) (retirement status), Art. 39(3), Art. 46(1) (constitutional complaint within 3 months), Art. 48(1) (mandatory professional representation), Art. 59(2)74
Act of 27 July 2001 – Law on the System of Common Courts 2001 No. 98 item 1070 1 Oct 2001 no data4
Act of 24 August 2001 – provisions implementing the Code of Procedure for Petty Offences 2001 No. 106 item 1149 17 Oct 2001 no data; absent from the consolidated text heading75
Act of 8 July 2005 on the State Treasury Solicitors' Office 2005 No. 169 item 1417 15 Mar 2006 no data76
Act of 20 March 2009 amending the Law on the System of Common Courts and certain other acts 2009 No. 56 item 459 22 Apr 2009 no data77
Act of 9 October 2009 amending the Prosecution Service Act and certain other acts 2009 No. 178 item 1375 31 Mar 2010 no data78
Act of 5 August 2010 on the protection of classified information 2010 No. 182 item 1228 2 Jan 2011 no data79
Act of 24 September 2010 amending the Children's Ombudsman Act and certain other acts 2010 No. 197 item 1307 9 Nov 2010 no data80
Act of 15 April 2011 on medical activity 2011 No. 112 item 654 1 Jul 2011 no data81

The Act of 9 June 2000 also extended acquired rights to Tribunal judges already in retirement (Art. 3).74 A title search of the Journal of Laws confirms it was the only dedicated amendment of the Tribunal Act between 1997 and June 2015.7

Print no. 1590 and the Act of 25 June 2015 (Dz.U. 2015 item 1064)

Legislative history

  • 11 July 2013: President Komorowski sends the Sejm three bills, including a new Tribunal Act (print no. 1590); the notes do not settle whether the date was 10 or 11 July. unverified82,83,84
  • According to HFPC, work in the Sejm began on 29 August 2013 unverified, and the subcommittee adopted its report on 9 April 2015; the subcommittee deleted the option of nominations by bodies outside the Sejm.83
  • 12 May 2015: in the Justice and Human Rights Committee, PO MP Kropiwnicki proposes the transitional provision (Art. 135 in the committee text, Art. 137 in the Act).83
  • 27 May 2015: third reading (93rd sitting, vote no. 39): 261 for, 144 against, 11 abstentions, 44 not voting; most minority motions had been rejected beforehand.85,86
  • 12 June 2015: Senate work begins (according to HFPC).83
  • 25 June 2015: the Sejm (95th sitting) considers the Senate's resolution; in votes nos. 57–68 it rejects amendments 5–8 and 28 jointly (241 to 150, 27 abstentions) and adopts the rest.86
  • 21 July 2015: signed by President Komorowski; 30 July 2015: published (Dz.U. 2015 item 1064); 30 August 2015: entry into force.87,7

Third-reading votes by club: PO 192 for; PSL 32 for, 1 abstention; SLD 21 for, 8 abstentions; TR/RP 6 for; PiS 122 against; Zjednoczona Prawica 15 against; non-attached MPs 10 for, 7 against, 2 abstentions.85 According to the account in K 34/15, when considering the Senate's amendments the Sejm dropped a four-year limit on the terms of the President and Vice-President of the Tribunal; which vote did so was not verified.3 According to the RPO in K 34/15, the Act entered into force 30 days after publication, except Article 108(3).3 The Act was repealed by the Act of 22 July 2016 (Dz.U. 2016 item 1157).7

According to Polish Wikipedia and Demagog, President-elect Andrzej Duda asked Ewa Kopacz's government on 29 May 2015 to hold off on the changes until he took office on 6 August 2015.88,89

Provisions on election and oath

  • Art. 12: the President of the Republic appoints the President of the Tribunal from two General Assembly candidates, chosen at least three months before the incumbent's term ends (30 days in case of a vacancy); para. 5 applies to the Vice-President.61
  • Art. 17: 15 judges elected individually by absolute majority for nine years; re-election not allowed.61,90
  • Art. 18: candidates aged 40 to 67.61
  • Art. 19: motions by the Presidium of the Sejm or at least 50 MPs, filed no later than three months before a term ends, or within 21 days of an early expiry; the candidate is reviewed by the competent Sejm body.61
  • Art. 20: after a failed vote, a new motion within 14 days.61
  • Art. 21(1): oath before the President of the Republic (religious formula optional); (2): refusal counts as renouncing the post.61,90
  • Art. 23: no party or trade union membership; Art. 36: expiry of mandate (death declared by the President of the Tribunal, other cases by General Assembly resolution, with notice to the Marshal of the Sejm); Art. 37: retirement status.61
  • Art. 43: provisions on the Supreme Court apply accordingly, "including as regards the service relationship".90

Like the 1997 Act, the 2015 Act did not fix when a term begins or a deadline for the oath; a rule that the term begins with the oath, and a 30-day deadline for it, were proposed in the PiS bill of November 2015 (print no. 20 of the 8th-term Sejm).91 Once these provisions were enacted (Act of 19 November 2015), the Tribunal held in K 35/15 of 9 December 2015 that the words "within 30 days of election" in Art. 21(1), and Art. 21(1a) (term running from the oath), were inconsistent with Art. 194(1) of the Constitution; in its reasoning it stated that the term runs from election.92,93

Article 137

As described by participants in K 34/15 and by A. Szmyt, Article 137 provided that for judges whose terms end in 2015, the motion nominating a candidate is filed within 30 days of the Act's entry into force. unverified3,94 Demagog describes it as requiring the Presidium of the Sejm to file, within 30 days, a motion concerning five judges.89 The exact wording of Article 137 and of Articles 139–140 (entry into force) was not retrieved.3

The 2015 term ends follow from the 2006 resolutions: Gintowt-Jankowicz, Hermeliński and Kotlinowski from 6 November 2006 (M.P. 2006 item 792), Cieślak from 2 December 2006 (M.P. 2006 item 842), and Liszcz from her election on 8 December 2006 (M.P. 2006 No. 89 item 919, no date).21,22,43 The operative part of K 34/15 confirms the dates of 6 November and of 2 and 8 December 2015, and the HFPC report lists them by name.95,83 The terms of those elected on 8 October 2015 were to begin on 7 November (Hauser, Ślebzak, Jakubecki), 3 December (Sitek) and 9 December 2015 (Sokala).83

What the Tribunal held in K 34/15 about the 2015 Act

The application in K 34/15 was filed on 17 November 2015 by a group of PO MPs; an earlier application by PiS MPs of 23 October 2015 (K 29/15), against many provisions of the same Act, was withdrawn on 10 November and the proceedings were discontinued on 25 November.93 On 30 November 2015 the Tribunal excluded Judges Biernat, Rzepliński and Tuleja from the case; judgment was given by a five-judge bench: Sławomira Wronkowska-Jaśkiewicz (presiding), Leon Kieres and Marek Zubik (rapporteurs), Stanisław Rymar and Andrzej Wróbel.93,95

  • Art. 137: consistent with Art. 194(1) of the Constitution for judges whose terms end on 6 November 2015; inconsistent for terms ending on 2 and 8 December 2015.95
  • Art. 19(2): consistent with Art. 112 of the Constitution.95
  • Art. 21(1): read otherwise than as imposing on the President a duty to take "without delay" the oath of a judge elected by the Sejm, inconsistent with Art. 194(1) of the Constitution (point 5 of the operative part).95,3
  • Art. 12(1) and (5): consistent with Art. 144(3)(21) of the Constitution; Art. 24(1)–(2) (immunity): consistent with Art. 196.95,3

In its reasoning, as summarised in the Tribunal's communiqués, the Tribunal stated that a Sejm elects judges to seats vacated during its own term and cannot elect "in advance" (na zapas) to seats falling vacant in the next term; the election of three judges to the seats vacated on 6 November was consistent with the Constitution, while the election of two to the December seats lacked a legal basis. The President does not take part in electing judges, the Constitution gives him no power to refuse the oath, and doubts about the constitutionality of the basis for an election are for the Tribunal alone to resolve.96,93

In K 34/15 the Marshal of the Sejm and the Council of Ministers took no position. The Prosecutor General asked for Article 137 to be found unconstitutional as regards the December seats and maintained that the oath does not complete the election and that only a refusal has legal effect. The RPO considered Article 137 constitutional except for the December seats, which in the RPO's view the 8th-term Sejm should fill; the RPO also argued that failing to take the oath does not end the mandate and that a successor's term runs from the day after the predecessor's term ends.3

In December 2015 the Tribunal held that a term runs from election by the Sejm (K 35/15) and that the President must take the oath without delay (K 34/15).92,95 In K 3/26 of 12 May 2026 – delivered by a five-judge bench including two persons elected to seats held filled in K 34/15, and not treated as binding by the government – the Tribunal held Art. 4(1) of the Status Act unconstitutional insofar as read as obliging the President to take the oath.97,98

From Article 137 to the autumn-2015 dispute

On 8 October 2015 (102nd sitting of the 7th-term Sejm), roll-call votes elected Roman Hauser (274 to 137, 2 abstentions), Krzysztof Ślebzak (268 to 149, 3), Andrzej Jakubecki (272 to 146, 1), Bronisław Sitek (244 to 167, 7) and Andrzej Jan Sokala (264 to 151, 3); the resolutions were published as M.P. 2015 items 1038–1042.99,100,29 According to Demagog, the candidates were nominated by the Presidium of the Sejm.30 According to TVN24, the PO, PSL and SLD clubs chose the candidates, while PiS nominated no one and voted against.101 In the election of 25 October 2015 PiS won 235 seats.102 Two of the five mandates expired during the new Sejm's term, on 2 and 8 December 2015, as the operative part of K 34/15 states.95,87

President Andrzej Duda accepted the oath of none of the five.93 On 23 October 2015 PiS MPs challenged many provisions of the 2015 Act (K 29/15), but withdrew the application on 10 November.93 On 25 November 2015 the 8th-term Sejm adopted five resolutions declaring the 8 October elections to have "no legal force" (M.P. 2015 items 1131–1135).29 According to Demagog and Polish Wikipedia, the Venice Commission's opinion of March 2016 said the conflict originated in actions of the previous-term Sejm, found the December 2015 amendment a threat to the rule of law and called for respect of the Tribunal's judgments.89,88 The election of 2 December 2015 and the judgments K 34/15 and K 35/15 are covered in more detail in the 2015–2017 crisis article.29

Disputed points

Claim Who Legal basis invoked Counter-position Who Basis invoked What courts / Venice Commission said Status
Article 137 is needed because several terms end around the change of Sejm terms PO MP R. Kropiwnicki, 12 May 2015 (per HFPC) not given in the notes Article 137 allows two judges to be elected "in advance" for seats falling vacant in the new Sejm term the then opposition (per A. Szmyt); PiS MPs PiS MPs' application K 29/15 (23 Oct 2015) against many provisions of the Act, withdrawn on 10 Nov 2015 Tribunal, K 34/15: consistent for 6 Nov 2015, inconsistent for 2 and 8 Dec 2015 (Art. 194(1)); reasoning: a Sejm cannot elect "in advance" to seats falling vacant in the next term decided by the Tribunal83,94,95,93
The election of five judges on 8 Oct 2015 keeps the Tribunal's composition continuous PO (2015, per Demagog and Polish Wikipedia) not given in the notes The election was flawed and has no legal force; B. Szydło (8 Oct 2015): "spoiling the state" (psucie państwa); PiS politicians: "a grab for the Tribunal" (skok na TK) 8th-term Sejm (resolutions of 25 Nov 2015); B. Szydło (PiS, per TVN24); PiS politicians (per Demagog and Polish Wikipedia) the resolutions cite breaches of law in the election Tribunal, K 34/15: the basis for electing to the three November seats constitutional, to the two December seats not; Tribunal, U 8/15: the resolutions of 25 Nov 2015 express a political position without legal effect further dispute: 2015–2017 crisis article89,88,95,101,93
The oath does not complete the election; only a refusal has legal effect Prosecutor General in K 34/15 not given in the notes Not taking the oath does not end the mandate; a successor's term runs from the day after the predecessor's ends RPO in K 34/15 not given in the notes Tribunal, K 34/15 (point 5): Art. 21(1), read otherwise than as imposing on the President a duty to take the oath without delay, inconsistent with Art. 194(1) ruling by the Tribunal; further dispute: 2015–2017 crisis article3,95
One resolution for three judges (2010) breaches the requirement of individual election Prosecutor General Z. Ziobro (Jan 2017) Art. 194(1) of the Constitution Each candidate was assessed separately; MPs voted for or against each KRS not given in the notes the Tribunal discontinued proceedings U 1/17 by decision of 12 March 2020 (per Polish Wikipedia) outside 1997–201528,103
Nomination by parties alone keeps the process political Iustitia (2012, per Rzeczpospolita) – no counter-position recorded in the notes – – – a participant's assessment57
  • When the term of a judge elected before the predecessor's term ended begins: resolutions sometimes named a date and sometimes did not, and neither the 1997 nor the 2015 Act regulated it; in December 2015 the Tribunal held that a term runs from election (K 35/15).6,91,3,92
  • Whether a joint resolution and a list vote meet the requirement of "individual" election in Article 194(1) of the Constitution: the Prosecutor General first raised this formally in January 2017 (application U 1/17; according to Polish Wikipedia the Tribunal discontinued the proceedings on 12 March 2020).28,103
  • The nature of Article 137: an ordering of the calendar according to its author, an election "in advance" according to the then opposition. In K 34/15 the Tribunal held that the basis for electing to the three November seats was constitutional and to the two December seats was not, because a Sejm could not elect judges to seats falling vacant in the next term; the dispute over the judgment's further effects is covered in the 2015–2017 crisis article.83,94,95,93

Evidentiary gaps

  • Oath dates before the President of the Republic are known only for Bagińska (6 March 2007); for the other 30 judges, President's Chancellery announcements or Tribunal reports would be needed.42
  • Sejm print numbers for the 1997–2012 nominations and the formal route of each motion (Presidium or at least 50 MPs) were not established for Safjan, Lewaszkiewicz-Petrykowska, Mączyński, Niemcewicz, Grzybowski, Wyrzykowski, Łętowska, Gintowt-Jankowicz, Hermeliński and Granat.30
  • No club breakdown is available for the 1997–1999 elections, so their classification rests on candidates' results and club sizes (AWS 202 plus UW 60; Safjan received 274 votes).14,104
  • The dates of the presidential decisions appointing Presidents and Vice-Presidents (except Stępień and Safjan) and of the General Assembly resolutions on the expiry of the mandates of Wierzbowski (1998), Sokolewicz (1999) and Bagińska (2007) were not established.63
  • The exact wording of Articles 137 and 139–140 of the 2015 Act, the 1997–2015 wording of the Standing Orders of the Sejm and the scope of the nine amendments other than the Act of 9 June 2000 require the source texts.61,4
  • Clubs' positions in the debates (transcripts of 27 May and 25 June 2015 and of the judicial elections) were not retrieved; only voting results are available.85,86
  • Who was responsible for the delay of Bagińska's oath (the President's Chancellery or the person elected) was not established.42

Discrepancies between sources and notes:

  • Demagog dates Liszcz's election to 8 November 2006 and those of Rymar and Tuleja to 2011; this article uses the dates in Monitor Polski and the Sejm API (8 December 2006, 26 November 2010).30,43,25
  • The HFPC report attributes the signing of the Act of 25 June 2015 to Andrzej Duda (21 July 2015), although he took office on 6 August 2015; this article follows the account that Bronisław Komorowski signed it.83,87
  • Note 02 summarises the K 34/15 ruling on Article 21(1) as unconstitutionality "insofar as" it does not provide for the duty to take the oath without delay, while note 07 summarises it as conformity only under an interpretation imposing that duty; this article follows the operative part as published in Dz.U. 2015 item 2129 and quoted in note 03 (the provision, read otherwise than as imposing that duty, is inconsistent with Art. 194(1)). All three notes confirm that the duty follows from the judgment.95,3
  • Note 07 marks the wording of Article 5 of the 1997 Act and of Articles 17–20 of the 2015 Act as unverified, while note 02 gives them as norms from ELI texts; this article follows note 02.5,61
  • Note 08 says the vote counts for judicial elections before 2017 and on 8 October 2015 were not established, while note 02 gives them from the Sejm API; this article uses note 02.99,14
  • In its list of judges by Sejm term, note 08 gives some dates that are term-start dates (e.g. 1 December 1997, 2 December 2001, 19 December 2007) rather than election dates; this article separates the two, following the resolutions.63,17,18,23
  • Note 08 gives the size of the AWS–UW coalition (261) and of PO–PSL in the 7th term (235) from general knowledge; this article gives club sizes from dated Sejm API votes (AWS 202 and UW 60; PO 206 and PSL 28).104,56
  • Sources give the date of Bagińska's renunciation as 12 or 13 March 2007.59,63
  • Note 02 bases Safjan's appointment as President (6 January 1998) on en.wikipedia and marks it unverified, while note 01 gives it as fact from the Tribunal's Information for 1997; this article follows note 01.62,63
  • Sources differ on who nominated Zubik (PSL; PSL and PO; PO, PSL and an independent MP).52,28,30

Notes

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