The data protection inspector at the Supreme Administrative Court assessed that the judges’ “primaries” for the National Council of the Judiciary (KRS) in common courts fall outside the Act on the National Council of the Judiciary and recommended “ceasing the processing of personal data of candidates for the KRS outside the procedure provided for by applicable law.”
“This caste-style invention of primaries during general assemblies in courts is intended to cover up the embarrassment of Iustitia and Themis candidates in the process of collecting support signatures,” stated the Lawyers for Poland Association.
The current four-year term of the judicial “fifteen” – members of the National Council of the Judiciary – ends on May 13. The election of their successors is tentatively scheduled for a session of the Sejm to be held on May 13-15, 2026.
On February 27, the Sejm of the Republic of Poland adopted a resolution by majority vote concerning the selection of the judicial fifteen, which includes a declaration that the Sejm “will take into account the results of elections conducted by judges in universal and transparent elections.”
Minister Żurek, in cooperation with “Iustitia,” intends to organize a “primary-style” vote among judges and then present the resulting list to the Speaker of the Sejm – MPs would merely confirm it. This scenario has met with opposition from a significant part of the legal community. However, the idea received a positive opinion from the presidents of 10 appellate courts in a joint statement published on March 9, 2026.
The problem is that the proposed procedure for evaluating candidates conflicts with the provisions of the current law. The court presidents strongly reject this view and emphasize that the final selection of new KRS members will be made by the Sejm. According to them, “this evaluation constitutes a statement strictly concerning the functioning of the judiciary,” and they point out that “no one can forbid judges and judicial assemblies from expressing opinions on the functioning of the justice system” – as reported by TV Republika and Niezalezna.
Extra-legal primaries
As revealed by TV Republika and Niezalezna, meetings of 15 candidates for the National Council of the Judiciary supported by the associations Iustitia and Themis are being held in courts across Poland. In line with the will of Minister Waldemar Żurek, general assemblies of judges are to take place in most Polish courts on April 20, during which KRS candidates will be evaluated.
Judge Łukasz Piebiak points out that such organization of assemblies has no legal basis whatsoever. The Lawyers for Poland Association has called on judges to refrain from participating in these extra-legal initiatives.
In an interview with “Gazeta Polska Codziennie,” Judge Piebiak indicated that the association would обратиться to the President of the Personal Data Protection Office due to the possibility of violating data protection laws during these “evaluation” assemblies.
Data Protection Inspector: Significant risk of violations
The Lawyers for Poland Association has now presented an opinion by the data protection inspector of the Supreme Administrative Court regarding the “admissibility of processing personal data of candidates for KRS membership in connection with organizing informal candidate selection procedures.”
“Under the current legal framework, in particular the provisions of the Act of May 12, 2011 on the National Council of the Judiciary, the Sejm of the Republic of Poland elects fifteen members of the KRS from among judges. It should be emphasized that this Act does not provide for any procedure involving the General Assembly of Judges of the Supreme Administrative Court in the electoral process, nor does it regulate in any way the process of evaluating candidates by the judicial community. The resolution of the Sejm of the Republic of Poland encouraging the General Assembly of Judges of the Supreme Administrative Court to present opinions on KRS candidates, as mentioned above, does not constitute a source of universally binding law within the meaning of Article 87 of the Constitution of the Republic of Poland.” reads the inspector’s statement.
Inspector Dariusz Rosiak recommended in his opinion “ceasing the processing of personal data of KRS candidates outside the procedure provided for by applicable law.”
“Undertaking such actions involves a significant risk of violating personal data protection regulations, as well as potential legal liability,” he added.
Lawyers for Poland: Covering up embarrassment
According to the Lawyers for Poland Association, “this caste-style invention of primaries during general assemblies in courts is intended to cover up the embarrassment of Iustitia and Themis candidates in the process of collecting support signatures.”
“Their top candidate collected around 400 signatures, while each of the Lawyers for Poland candidates obtained more than 20,000,” it was stated.
It was also recalled that the Act on the KRS does not provide for the participation of judicial self-government in the evaluation process, and that “no Polish citizen can be forced to participate in any electoral processes.”
“Forcing judges to participate in general assemblies constitutes interference with citizens’ electoral rights and judicial independence,” the association indicated.
Moreover, according to the opinion of the data protection inspector at the Supreme Administrative Court, during such assemblies “there is a violation of EU personal data protection regulations.”