The Journal of Laws of the Republic of Poland (Dziennik Ustaw Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej) has published the resolution of the Supreme Court affirming the validity of Karol Nawrocki’s election as President of the Republic of Poland. However, a scandalous annotation was added to the resolution, stating that the case’s panel of the Supreme Court cannot be recognized as a “court established by law” under European tribunal jurisprudence. It’s worth recalling that the publication of the Journal of Laws is the exclusive competence of the Prime Minister.
On Tuesday, the Supreme Court — sitting in full composition of the Chamber of Extraordinary Control and Public Affairs — confirmed the validity of Karol Nawrocki’s election as President of Poland, held on June 1 of this year. The resolution was adopted by all 18 judges of the Chamber. The content of the resolution and its reasoning were read by the President of the Chamber, Krzysztof Wiak. Three judges submitted dissenting opinions — two objected to the entire resolution, and one to its reasoning.
President Wiak, in his justification, emphasized that the high number of election protests — approximately 54,000 — did not increase the gravity of the objections raised, and none of the identified irregularities had any impact on the overall election outcome.
Present at the session were the Head of the National Electoral Commission, Sylwester Marciniak, as well as the Prosecutor General, Adam Bodnar, and his deputy, Prosecutor Jacek Bilewicz. At the beginning of the session, Bodnar motioned for the validity of the election to be reviewed by the Supreme Court’s Labour and Social Insurance Chamber. In his justification, he argued that the Chamber of Extraordinary Control did not meet the requirements of independence and impartiality, and he also requested the disqualification of its judges from the case. In response, President Wiak stated that the Prosecutor General’s motions had no basis in the current legal framework and informed that they were dismissed without examination.
According to provisions introduced in 2018, the body responsible for examining election protests and confirming the validity of elections is the Chamber of Extraordinary Control and Public Affairs of the Supreme Court. This Chamber is composed of individuals appointed after 2017 as judges upon the recommendation of the National Council of the Judiciary (NCJ), formed under the procedure outlined in the 2017 Act on the NCJ.
On Friday evening, the resolution adopted by the Supreme Court on July 1 was published in the Journal of Laws. However, in the published version, the resolution was preceded by a note stating:
“According to the rulings of the European Court of Human Rights (…) as well as the jurisprudence of the Court of Justice of the European Union (…), the National Council of the Judiciary formed under the Act of 8 December 2017 (…) does not guarantee independence from the legislative and executive branches, and the irregularities in the process of appointing judges prevent recognition of the Supreme Court — adjudicating in panels including persons appointed to judicial office by the President of Poland upon the recommendation of the NCJ formed under the procedure defined by the Act of 8 December 2017 (…) — as a court established by law.”
It bears repeating that the publication of the Journal of Laws falls under the exclusive competence of the Prime Minister, who exercises it through the editorial team at the Government Legislation Centre.
On Tuesday, July 1, Sejm Marshal Szymon Hołownia announced that he would convene the National Assembly on August 6 to administer the presidential oath to Karol Nawrocki.
Also on Friday, the Journal of Laws published an earlier Supreme Court resolution adopted on May 14 of this year by the full Chamber of Extraordinary Control and Public Affairs. That resolution confirmed the validity of the Senate by-election held on March 16 in electoral district No. 33 in Kraków. This resolution was also accompanied by an identical annotation to the one added to the resolution on Karol Nawrocki’s election.