Law and Justice (PiS) MPs Marcin Warchoł and Michał Wójcik emphasized that today’s ruling by the Constitutional Tribunal regarding the selection of Constitutional Tribunal judges confirms the court’s long-standing jurisprudence.
“It cannot be the case that when the law has been broken, the president is forced to accept that unlawfulness. In such a situation, he would not be a defender of the Constitution or a guardian of the Constitution, but a guarantor of illegality. And that was very clearly underlined today,” Marcin Warchoł said.
During today’s press conference, Michał Wójcik recalled that the ruling is consistent with the Constitutional Tribunal’s long-established line of decisions. He stressed that the judgment clearly states that the president is not obligated in every circumstance to receive the oath of office.
He also pointed out that the Tribunal clarified that the phrase “before the president,” contained in the law, means that the oath-taking ceremony must take place with the president’s actual participation. Wójcik argued that the later events in the Sejm — namely the attempt to swear in judges without the president being present — were unauthorized actions.
Warchoł also commented on the matter.
“The president is not a spokesman for unlawfulness, but a defender of the rule of law. This ruling is not a revolution; it is a continuation of the Constitutional Tribunal’s long-standing jurisprudence, dating back to the period when Professor Andrzej Rzepliński was still president of the Tribunal,” Warchoł said.
He stressed that accepting the oath regardless of circumstances would be incompatible with the constitutional role of the head of state as guardian of the Constitution.
“It cannot be the case that when the law has been broken, the president must accept that unlawfulness. In such a case, he would not be a defender of the Constitution or its guardian, but rather a guarantor of illegality. And this was emphasized very clearly today. There are very important constitutional reasons demonstrating that an unconditional obligation for the president to receive the oath is inconsistent with the Constitution,” he said.
The MP added that if the president were to accept actions deemed unlawful, he could expose himself to constitutional liability.
Earlier today, the Constitutional Tribunal examined a motion submitted by a group of MPs concerning the rules and procedure for selecting Constitutional Tribunal judges. The case involved candidates for the Tribunal who had not taken the oath of office before President Karol Nawrocki.
The Tribunal ruled that Article 4(1) of the Act on the Status of Judges is unconstitutional insofar as it imposes an obligation on the president to receive the oath from a person elected by the Sejm.