Polish judge takes oath without president
Maciej Berek’s appointment deepens the conflict between the government and President Nawrocki over the Constitutional Tribunal.
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Maciej Berek took the oath on Wednesday in the Polish parliament as a judge of the Constitutional Tribunal, although President Karol Nawrocki did not wish to attend the ceremony. This escalates a long-running conflict over the appointment of judges and the independence of the Polish rule of law.
At the beginning of September, Berek was elected by the Sejm, the Polish parliament, as a judge of the Constitutional Tribunal. According to the Polish government, the election was lawful. Nawrocki refuses to administer the oath, saying that Berek has not demonstrated that he meets the statutory requirement of at least ten years’ legal practice.
Because the president did not send an invitation to the swearing-in, Berek took the oath during a ceremony in parliament. In the oath, he formally addressed the president, but Nawrocki was not present. Government-aligned parliamentary speaker Włodzimierz Czarzasty then handed him the parliamentary appointment resolution.
The Polish government cites a recent opinion by the Venice Commission, an advisory body of the Council of Europe. The commission says that the president must swear in judges elected by parliament without delay and may not substantively review their election. If the president does not wish to administer the oath, a judge may, under certain conditions, take the oath in his absence, according to the commission.
The opinion is not legally binding. Nawrocki’s office therefore emphasises that the advice does not change Polish law. The president also maintains that Berek has provided insufficient evidence of his legal experience. There were objections to his candidacy within the governing coalition as well, because Berek had previously been a minister in Prime Minister Donald Tusk’s government.
Berek is now the fifth member of the Constitutional Tribunal to have taken the oath without the president present, according to Notes from Poland. Four earlier appointees were denied access to the tribunal when they sought to take up their positions. The tribunal’s president, Bogdan Święczkowski, says that taking the oath before the president is necessary.
The conflict is part of a broader power struggle over the Polish judiciary. The previous government of the conservative PiS party reformed the legal system in a way that, according to European institutions, increased political influence over judges. The Tusk government is trying to reverse that legacy, but is encountering a president backed by PiS and a tribunal whose composition remains contested.
For Poland, the ceremony does not bring an end to the legal impasse for now. The government says that Berek and other appointed judges must be able to begin their work; the tribunal is blocking this instead. Until it is clear which body will ultimately decide on the validity of the oaths, it will remain uncertain which rulings of the Constitutional Tribunal will receive political and legal authority.
One story, several perspectives
What is established
- Maciej Berek was sworn in on 14 October 2026 in the Polish parliament as a judge of the Constitutional Tribunal.
- President Karol Nawrocki was not present and disputes the appointment.
- The Venice Commission advised that the president must swear in judges elected by parliament without delay, but the advice is not binding.
- According to reports, the Constitutional Tribunal has previously denied sworn-in judges access to the court.
- The legal consequences of the swearing-in have not yet been definitively settled.
Left
Arguments The left-progressive perspective emphasises that a president may not effectively block a parliamentary appointment. The swearing-in in the president’s absence is seen as a way to allow the judiciary to function independently again.
Values An independent judiciary, rule-of-law checks on the executive, and the restoration of institutions that have come under party-political influence.
Consequences An uncompromising stance towards the president could accelerate the restoration, but could also lead to further institutional polarisation and conflicting judicial orders.
Centre
Arguments The institutional approach emphasises a solution that clarifies the statutory procedure and is accepted by all branches of government. The Venice Commission can provide guidance, but a binding national or European ruling is needed to end the impasse.
Values Procedural legal certainty, the separation of powers, continuity of the state, and predictability for citizens and businesses.
Consequences A carefully crafted compromise could restore the tribunal’s legitimacy, but would take time and prolong the current uncertainty.
Right
Arguments The right-conservative perspective emphasises that the presidential oath is not a formality and that a candidate with a recent political role must be subject to especially rigorous independence checks. A parliamentary ceremony without the president is seen as a unilateral power grab by the governing coalition.
Values The constitutional powers of the head of state, institutional restraint, and protection against the politicisation of the judiciary.
Consequences Allowing judges to take office without presidential approval could, in this view, further undermine the tribunal’s authority and encourage future governments to test similar boundaries.
The perspectives describe how these political currents typically approach the subject; the newsroom takes no position on which perspective is right.
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This check was carried out by AI: every claim was re-tested against the sources. Even an approved article can contain errors — stay critical.
The core facts about the swearing-in, the president’s refusal and the Venice Commission’s advice are confirmed by official and independent sources. The legal outcome remains uncertain, and this is presented as uncertainty in the text.
- confirmed Maciej Berek took the oath on 14 October 2026 in the Polish parliament as a judge of the Constitutional Tribunal. — Confirmed by the Polish government chancellery and Notes from Poland. source
- confirmed Berek was elected by the Sejm in September. — The Sejm’s official voting page records Maciej Berek’s election as a judge. source
- confirmed President Karol Nawrocki refused to administer the oath. — Confirmed by the government chancellery and Notes from Poland; the president disputes the appointment and the required qualifications. source
- confirmed The Venice Commission stated that the president must swear in elected judges without delay and may not review their election. — This is stated in the summary of the Council of Europe opinion. source
- confirmed The Venice Commission’s opinion is not legally binding. — The opinion is advice from the Venice Commission; the Polish presidential spokesperson also pointed this out. source
- confirmed According to Notes from Poland, Berek is the fifth judge to take the oath without presidential approval. — This number is explicitly mentioned by the independent Polish news site. source
- confirmed Four previously sworn-in judges were denied access to the Constitutional Tribunal. — Notes from Poland reports that four earlier appointees were denied access to the tribunal. source
- confirmed European institutions have previously found that the independence of Poland’s Constitutional Tribunal is under pressure. — The Court of Justice of the European Union ruled that the tribunal did not meet the requirements of independence and impartiality because of politicised appointments. source
Editor's note
It is certain that Maciej Berek took the oath in parliament on 14 October without President Nawrocki present. It is also established that the Venice Commission supports the government’s interpretation, but that its opinion is not binding. The precise legal consequences of the ceremony and access to the tribunal remain part of the dispute.Sources
- Premier: Przywracamy w Polsce praworządność. Nie cofniemy się o krok — Kancelaria Prezesa Rady Ministrów
- New Polish constitutional court judge takes oath in defiance of president — Notes from Poland
- Poland - Opinion on the powers of the President in the context of the oath-taking of the judges of the Constitutional Tribunal — Venice Commission, Council of Europe
- Wybór sędziego Trybunału Konstytucyjnego: Maciej Berek — Sejm van de Republiek Polen
- Top EU court rules Polish Constitutional Tribunal is not independent — Associated Press
More on this in Dutch media
- AD — „polen rechtsstaat”
- de Volkskrant — „polen rechtsstaat”
- RTL Nieuws — „polen rechtsstaat”