The Chancellery of the Sejm and Justice Minister Waldemar Żurek have launched an attack on President Karol Nawrocki following his decision to administer the oath of office to only two of the six judges elected to the Constitutional Tribunal. The official statement included accusations of “usurpation of powers” and “abuse of authority”, while Żurek accused the president of “breaking the law” and claimed he “has no right to select judges as if at a gate”.
On Wednesday, President Karol Nawrocki received the oath of office at the Presidential Palace from two individuals elected on March 13 by the Sejm to vacant positions on the Constitutional Tribunal – Magdalena Bentkowska and Dariusz Szostek. Three weeks earlier, the Sejm had elected six individuals to judicial positions on the Tribunal.
The ruling camp led by Donald Tusk is now pressuring the president to also administer the oath to the remaining four individuals elected by the Sejm to the Constitutional Tribunal.
On Thursday, speaking on TVN24, Interior Minister Marcin Kierwiński assessed that “the refusal to accept the oath from the remaining four means that the president is breaking the law”. Moreover, he did not rule out the possibility of a “forced entry” into the Constitutional Tribunal building.
The statement concluded: “All individuals elected to judicial positions on March 13, 2026, are judges of the Constitutional Tribunal and are in an identical legal situation. Administering the oath only to two of them has no legal basis and constitutes an abuse of power.”
Czarzasty and Żurek speak with one voice
Referring to the statement of the Chancellery of the Sejm, Justice Minister Waldemar Żurek reiterated his criticism of President Karol Nawrocki, writing that he “is breaking the law.”
“The Sejm elected six Constitutional Tribunal judges. The president accepted the oath from only two. Not because the law says so, but because he decided so himself,” he wrote on the X platform.
Żurek added: “The Constitution is clear. Constitutional Tribunal judges are elected by the Sejm. The president has no right to select them as if at a gate.”
“This is a usurpation of powers he does NOT HAVE. Because if the head of state can choose which laws to apply, it means the law ceases to apply equally to everyone. Mr President, please take a moment, open your calendar, and set a date. Violating the Constitution is a serious matter,” he wrote, echoing the statement of the Chancellery of the Sejm.