{"id":6442,"date":"2026-07-28T17:37:56","date_gmt":"2026-07-28T17:37:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ceo.com.pl\/en\/?p=6442"},"modified":"2026-07-28T17:37:56","modified_gmt":"2026-07-28T17:37:56","slug":"newly-sworn-in-constitutional-tribunal-judge-refuses-to-hear-cases-17624","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ceo.com.pl\/en\/newly-sworn-in-constitutional-tribunal-judge-refuses-to-hear-cases-17624\/","title":{"rendered":"Newly Sworn-In Constitutional Tribunal Judge Refuses to Hear Cases"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>S\u0142awomir Patyra has announced that he will not participate in Constitutional Tribunal rulings or its internal organisational procedures until all four judges elected by the Polish parliament in March are allowed to perform their duties. His decision has added another layer to the continuing institutional crisis surrounding Poland\u2019s constitutional court.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>S\u0142awomir Patyra made the announcement shortly after taking the judicial oath before President Karol Nawrocki on Tuesday, 28 July.<\/p>\n<p>Although the ceremony formally opened the way for him to begin serving on the Constitutional Tribunal, Patyra said that he would not take part in adjudication under the current circumstances. He also intends to stay away from organisational proceedings connected with the functioning of the court.<\/p>\n<p>His position is conditional: he plans to resume his duties only when four other judges elected by the Sejm in March are permitted to participate fully in the work of the Tribunal.<\/p>\n<p>Patyra explained that he could not swear to uphold the Constitution one day and then, in his view, participate in violating it the next.<\/p>\n<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_85 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-grey ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-title-toggle\"><a href=\"#\" class=\"ez-toc-pull-right ez-toc-btn ez-toc-btn-xs ez-toc-btn-default ez-toc-toggle\" aria-label=\"Toggle Table of Content\"><span class=\"ez-toc-js-icon-con\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/div>\n<nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/ceo.com.pl\/en\/newly-sworn-in-constitutional-tribunal-judge-refuses-to-hear-cases-17624\/#Patyra_expresses_solidarity_with_excluded_judges\" >Patyra expresses solidarity with excluded judges<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/ceo.com.pl\/en\/newly-sworn-in-constitutional-tribunal-judge-refuses-to-hear-cases-17624\/#Six_judges_elected_by_the_Sejm_in_March\" >Six judges elected by the Sejm in March<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/ceo.com.pl\/en\/newly-sworn-in-constitutional-tribunal-judge-refuses-to-hear-cases-17624\/#Competing_interpretations_of_the_appointment_procedure\" >Competing interpretations of the appointment procedure<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/ceo.com.pl\/en\/newly-sworn-in-constitutional-tribunal-judge-refuses-to-hear-cases-17624\/#Patyra_says_oath_was_made_to_the_nation\" >Patyra says oath was made to the nation<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/ceo.com.pl\/en\/newly-sworn-in-constitutional-tribunal-judge-refuses-to-hear-cases-17624\/#Who_is_Slawomir_Patyra\" >Who is S\u0142awomir Patyra?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-6\" href=\"https:\/\/ceo.com.pl\/en\/newly-sworn-in-constitutional-tribunal-judge-refuses-to-hear-cases-17624\/#Tribunal_crisis_remains_unresolved\" >Tribunal crisis remains unresolved<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Patyra_expresses_solidarity_with_excluded_judges\"><\/span>Patyra expresses solidarity with excluded judges<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>After leaving the Presidential Palace, Patyra appeared outside the Constitutional Tribunal\u2019s headquarters accompanied by several judges elected by the Sejm earlier this year.<\/p>\n<p>Among those present were Magdalena Bentkowska and Dariusz Szostek, who took their oaths before President Nawrocki in April and were subsequently admitted to the Tribunal\u2019s work. Anna Korwin-Piotrowska and Krystian Markiewicz, who have not been allowed to adjudicate, also joined the appearance.<\/p>\n<p>Two other judges elected in March, Maciej Taborowski and Marcin Dziurda, were unable to attend.<\/p>\n<p>Patyra said he stood in solidarity with the judges who, in his assessment, were being unlawfully prevented from carrying out their constitutional duties. He announced that he intended to submit a formal declaration refusing to adjudicate until the dispute was resolved.<\/p>\n<p>The newly sworn-in judge presented his decision as a matter of judicial ethics rather than political strategy. He argued that a Constitutional Tribunal judge must remain loyal to the Constitution even when doing so requires opposing the way in which the institution is currently managed.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Six_judges_elected_by_the_Sejm_in_March\"><\/span>Six judges elected by the Sejm in March<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>The latest controversy is connected with the Sejm\u2019s decision of 13 March 2026 to elect six new members of the Constitutional Tribunal.<\/p>\n<p>The parliament selected Magdalena Bentkowska, Dariusz Szostek, Anna Korwin-Piotrowska, Krystian Markiewicz, Maciej Taborowski and Marcin Dziurda to fill vacancies at the court.<\/p>\n<p>President Nawrocki accepted the oaths of Bentkowska and Szostek on 1 April. They were later admitted to the Tribunal and formally began performing judicial duties.<\/p>\n<p>The president did not accept the oaths of the remaining four judges. They later read and signed the oath during a ceremony held in the Sejm without the president\u2019s participation.<\/p>\n<p>This created a fundamental disagreement over their legal status.<\/p>\n<p>The four judges and representatives of the governing parliamentary majority argue that they were properly elected by the Sejm and should be allowed to take office. The leadership of the Constitutional Tribunal maintains that they have not completed the procedure required to assume judicial duties because they did not take the oath before the president.<\/p>\n<p>As a result, Korwin-Piotrowska, Markiewicz, Taborowski and Dziurda remain outside the Tribunal\u2019s adjudicating panels and have not been granted full participation in its internal bodies.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Competing_interpretations_of_the_appointment_procedure\"><\/span>Competing interpretations of the appointment procedure<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>The dispute concerns the relationship between the Constitution and legislation regulating the status of Constitutional Tribunal judges.<\/p>\n<p>Article 194 of the Polish Constitution provides that the Tribunal consists of 15 judges elected individually by the Sejm for nine-year terms. The relevant legislation also requires a newly elected judge to take an oath before the president.<\/p>\n<p>The disagreement centres on whether the president\u2019s participation is merely a formal obligation following the parliamentary vote or whether taking the oath before the head of state is necessary for a judge to enter office.<\/p>\n<p>Supporters of the four excluded judges argue that the president should not have the power to block a person properly elected by parliament. In their view, allowing the head of state to select which elected judges may take the oath would give the president influence over the composition of an institution that is supposed to remain independent.<\/p>\n<p>The Presidential Chancellery and the current leadership of the Tribunal have taken a different position. They maintain that the statutory procedure has not been completed and that the four individuals therefore cannot participate in adjudication.<\/p>\n<p>The conflict has remained unresolved despite letters, public appeals and attempts by the elected judges to enter the Tribunal and participate in its meetings.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Patyra_says_oath_was_made_to_the_nation\"><\/span>Patyra says oath was made to the nation<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Patyra emphasised that although he took the oath inside the Presidential Palace, the commitment itself was made to the Polish nation.<\/p>\n<p>He pointed to the wording of the oath, which requires a Constitutional Tribunal judge to remain faithful to the nation and to protect the Constitution. In his assessment, accepting a place on the court while other properly elected judges are excluded would be inconsistent with that obligation.<\/p>\n<p>Patyra also said that the judges elected in March should be viewed as a team prepared to restore the Constitutional Tribunal to what he described as its proper constitutional and institutional role.<\/p>\n<p>He praised their professional experience and argued that their participation would strengthen the court\u2019s ability to examine cases involving the rule of law, constitutional rights and the limits of state authority.<\/p>\n<p>His statement indicates that he intends to cooperate closely with the judges elected by the current parliamentary majority rather than operate separately after being sworn in by the president.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Who_is_Slawomir_Patyra\"><\/span>Who is S\u0142awomir Patyra?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>S\u0142awomir Patyra was elected to the Constitutional Tribunal by the Sejm on 11 June 2026. His appointment was connected with the expiry of Judge Andrzej Zielonacki\u2019s term.<\/p>\n<p>Patyra is a constitutional law professor associated with Maria Curie-Sk\u0142odowska University in Lublin. He has worked at the university since the 1990s and heads its Department of Constitutional Law.<\/p>\n<p>He is also a legal counsel, academic lecturer and author or co-author of publications devoted to constitutional law and Poland\u2019s political system.<\/p>\n<p>His candidacy was supported by parties belonging to the governing parliamentary majority. Law and Justice backed a different candidate for the vacant position.<\/p>\n<p>President Nawrocki\u2019s decision to accept Patyra\u2019s oath initially appeared to represent a possible step towards reducing the conflict over appointments to the Tribunal. Patyra\u2019s immediate refusal to adjudicate, however, means that the ceremony is unlikely to improve the court\u2019s ability to operate.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Tribunal_crisis_remains_unresolved\"><\/span>Tribunal crisis remains unresolved<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>The Constitutional Tribunal has been at the centre of Poland\u2019s political and legal disputes for years.<\/p>\n<p>The current government and parliamentary majority question the legitimacy of parts of the court\u2019s composition and accuse the institution of having become politically dependent under the previous Law and Justice government.<\/p>\n<p>The Tribunal\u2019s leadership rejects those accusations and continues to treat its current members and decisions as legally valid.<\/p>\n<p>The refusal to admit four judges elected in March has created an additional internal conflict. Even Bentkowska and Szostek, who were admitted to the court after taking their oaths before the president, have supported calls for the remaining judges to be allowed to participate.<\/p>\n<p>Patyra\u2019s decision further complicates the situation. The Tribunal now has another formally sworn-in judge who is legally capable of hearing cases but does not intend to do so.<\/p>\n<p>His stance could affect the formation of adjudicating panels, the organisation of general assemblies and the Tribunal\u2019s ability to reach the required quorum in certain proceedings.<\/p>\n<p>The development also demonstrates that accepting an oath from an individual judge does not resolve the broader conflict over the court\u2019s composition. Unless the president, parliament and the Tribunal\u2019s leadership reach an agreement on the status of the four excluded judges, the institution is likely to remain divided.<\/p>\n<p>Patyra\u2019s refusal to adjudicate is intended as an act of solidarity. In practice, however, it may deepen the operational paralysis of a court already struggling with questions about its composition, authority and public legitimacy.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>S\u0142awomir Patyra has announced that he will not participate in Constitutional Tribunal rulings or its internal organisational procedures until all four judges elected by the Polish parliament in March are allowed to perform their duties. His decision has added another layer to the continuing institutional crisis surrounding Poland\u2019s constitutional court. S\u0142awomir Patyra made the announcement [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6443,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"Poland\u2019s Constitutional Tribunal crisis has deepened after newly sworn-in judge S\u0142awomir Patyra announced that he would not participate in rulings or the court\u2019s internal procedures.\r\n\r\nPatyra said he would resume his duties only after four judges elected by the Sejm in March are allowed to perform their constitutional functions. Although they were elected by parliament, President Karol Nawrocki did not accept their oaths, and the Tribunal\u2019s leadership has refused to admit them to adjudicating panels.\r\n\r\nPatyra described his decision as an act of loyalty to the Constitution and solidarity with the excluded judges. He argued that he could not swear to uphold the Constitution and then participate in what he considers a violation of it.\r\n\r\nHis stance may further complicate the formation of judicial panels, general assemblies and the Tribunal\u2019s ability to reach the required quorum.\r\n\r\nRead more about the competing interpretations of the appointment procedure and the growing operational paralysis of Poland\u2019s constitutional court.","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[10],"tags":[4755,4759,4754,4760,4756,77,4757,4753,4758,4752],"class_list":["post-6442","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","tag-anna-korwin-piotrowska","tag-constitutional-tribunal","tag-dariusz-szostek","tag-karol-nawrocki","tag-krystian-markiewicz","tag-maciej-taborowski","tag-magdalena-bentkowska","tag-marcin-dziurda","tag-slawomir-patyra"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ceo.com.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6442","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ceo.com.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ceo.com.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ceo.com.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ceo.com.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6442"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/ceo.com.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6442\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6444,"href":"https:\/\/ceo.com.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6442\/revisions\/6444"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ceo.com.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6443"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ceo.com.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6442"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ceo.com.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6442"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ceo.com.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6442"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}