New Polish constitutional court judge takes oath in defiance of president

The standoff between the government and opposition-aligned President Karol Nawrocki over Poland’s Constitutional Tribunal (TK) deepened today, as Maciej Berek, whom Prime Minister Donald Tusk recently described as his “right-hand man”, took his oath as a new judge without the presence of the president.

Berek is now the fifth judge to take their oath without presidential approval. The previous four have been denied entry to the TK, and speculation is rife that the government may soon take action to ensure that the excluded judges are able to take up their positions.

PILNE 🚨 dr Maciej Berek złożył w Sejmie ślubowanie na sędziego Trybunału Konstytucyjnego! pic.twitter.com/sZlzLnsL3M

— Bogdan Zdrojewski (@BZdrojewski) October 14, 2026

Under Polish law, a new TK judge must swear an oath “before the president”. However, since Berek was elected to the TK by the government’s majority in parliament in early September, Nawrocki has refused to swear him in.

The president claims that Berek has not presented evidence that he meets the statutory requirement of having practiced as a legal counsel for at least 10 years. Berek says he has done so.

Nawrocki has also expressed his opposition to the fact that Berek has gone from serving in Tusk’s cabinet, where he was minister in charge of overseeing the implementation of policy, to becoming a TK judge.

Even some members of Tusk’s ruling coalition opposed Berek’s candidacy, saying that it contradicted the government’s earlier pledges to “depoliticise” the judicial system, including by banning anyone who had served as a politician in the last four years from becoming a TK judge.

With no invitation from Nawrocki forthcoming, on Wednesday morning Berek instead swore his oath at a ceremony organised in parliament. He declared that he was directing the oath towards the president, despite Nawrocki not being present.

The development came a day after the Venice Commission, an advisory body to the Council of Europe on constitutional law, had issued an opinion effectively supporting the government’s position on the crisis around the TK.

The commission found that the Polish president should swear in TK judges chosen by parliament “without delay” and does not have the power to review their election. It added that, if the president refuses to receive a judge’s oath, they are justified in taking it without him being present.

The opinion was welcomed by Tusk and his government. However, Nawrocki’s spokesman, Rafał Leśkiewicz, pointed out that the Venice Commission’s opinions are advisory and not legally binding.

1294/2026

Poland – Opinion on the powers of the President in the context of the oath-taking of the judges of the Constitutional Tribunal and of other judicial appointments.https://t.co/vcpfNeteWo

— Radoslaw Szewczyk (@SzewczykRadek) October 13, 2026

Earlier this year, four other TK judges chosen by parliament similarly organised their own swearing-in ceremony in parliament after Nawrocki failed to invite them to take their oaths before him.

However, when they arrived at the TK to take up their positions, they were prevented from doing so by the court’s chief justice, Bogdan Święczkowski, who was appointed under the former Law and Justice (PiS) government (and had previously served as a minister in that government).

Święczkowski argues that the judges cannot take up their positions unless they swear an oath in the presence of Nawrocki, who was elected as president last year with the support of PiS.

In May, the European Court of Human Rights ordered that the four judges be accepted onto the TK. However, Święczkowski has so far refused to comply, arguing that the ECHR does not have the authority to make such a decision.

In a further escalation of the crisis around Poland's constitutional court, prosecutors have charged two officials for preventing new judges from taking up their positions.

Meanwhile, the chief justice has launched proceedings against three other judges https://t.co/aeKKue37oN

— Notes from Poland 🇵🇱 (@notesfrompoland) September 24, 2026

Since replacing PiS in office in December 2023, Tusk’s government has refused to recognise the legitimacy of the TK, pointing to the fact that some of its judges were unlawfully appointed under PiS. It has ignored all rulings issued by the tribunal.

Until this year, the ruling coalition refused to fill new vacancies that resulted from the expiration of judges’ nine-year terms or their retirement. However, that position changed in March, when it began filling the backlog.

So far this year, parliament has chosen eight new judges, meaning that its candidates in theory now have a majority on the 15-person court. However, Nawrocki has only sworn in three of those judges, with the other refused entry to the TK.

Prime Minister @donaldtusk has succeeded in having Maciej Berek, whom he recently described as his “right-hand man”, elected by parliament as a constitutional court judge, staving off a rebellion from some members of his own coalition https://t.co/VAVbkGL8xS

— Notes from Poland 🇵🇱 (@notesfrompoland) September 4, 2026

Speculation has been rife that the government will take action to ensure that the excluded judges can gain access to the court, perhaps even using the police to force entry.

Speaking to broadcaster Polsat today, justice minister Waldemar Żurek said that “the state must do everything to enable these judges to adjudicate”. He added that Berek’s swearing-in “brings us much closer to launching the tribunal’s work”.

However, Nawrocki’s chief of staff, Zbigniew Bogucki, told Polsat that today’s ceremony in parliament was “grotesque” and “a sad day for Polish democracy”.

This morning has also seen some clashes between police and supporters of PiS and Nawrocki, who have been camped out outside the TK in order to defend it from any takeover by force.

❗️Policja szarpie posłów oraz zgromadzonych obywateli pod TK ❗️ pic.twitter.com/eGPRFQJnAX

— Oskar Szafarowicz (@Szafarowicz2001) October 14, 2026

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Main image credit: Kamila Gasiuk-Pihowicz/X