The failure of the reform of the National Council of the Judiciary. President: I have decided to veto the amendment to the act
On Thursday, President Karol Nawrocki vetoed the amendment to the Act on the National Council of the Judiciary and the related amendment to the Electoral Code. He also announced the presentation of his own legislative initiative regarding the rule of law and the right to a court.
President Nawrocki also announced that if the dialogue proposals are rejected, he will finally request a referendum on “restoring normality in the functioning of the courts.”
– Let the citizens decide, their voice is always the most important – said President Nawrocki in the published recording.
The head of the Ministry of Justice, Waldemar Żurek, told PAP after the presidential veto to the amendment to the act on the National Council of the Judiciary that he “will not give up in bringing about the restoration of constitutional bodies to citizens.” – We have a plan B and we will implement it – emphasized Żurek.
In his opinion, the president's veto will “deepen the chaos and prolong the proceedings that are most bothering Poles.” – Responsibility for the veto falls on the president. From tomorrow, the responsibility for delays in the courts falls on the president. He will have to stand up and tell citizens why the trials for Ziobro were extended. I will not give in to bring about the restoration of constitutional bodies to citizens. We have a plan B and we will implement it, emphasized Żurek.
The amendment to the Act on the National Council of the Judiciary and the related amendment to the Electoral Code were adopted by the Sejm on January 23 this year. Then on January 28 this year the amendment was accepted by the Senate without amendments. According to the provisions of the amendment, 15 judge-members of the National Council of the Judiciary were to be elected in direct and secret elections – organized by the National Electoral Commission – by all judges in Poland, and not – as currently – by the Sejm.
Judges with at least 10 years of judicial experience and 5 years in a given court could run for the new National Council of the Judiciary, which also opened the way for some judges promoted after 2017. The change in regulations was criticized by PiS, and the government – including the Ministry of Justice – argued that the amendment would make the National Council of the Judiciary constitutional.
In the recording, President Nawrocki emphasized that as president he is obliged to uphold the constitution and take care of the interests of citizens. In his opinion, the amendment to the Act on the National Council of the Judiciary does not fulfill this goal and “in fact contradicts it.” Therefore, as he justified, he decided to veto it.
Statement of the President of the Republic of Poland Karol Nawrocki 🇵🇱 pic.twitter.com/XymJUODHjD
— Chancellery of the President of the Republic of Poland (@presidentpl) February 19, 2026
– I cannot sign a bill that, under the slogan of “restoring the rule of law”, actually introduces a new stage of chaos and opens the way to political influence on judges – said the president. He assessed that the amendment introduces segregation of judges and “places the justice system in the hands of a political interest group.” He also emphasized that he was “strongly opposed to dividing judges into better and worse”, and that in the Polish legal system “there are no “neo” or “paleo” judges.”
He also recalled that appointing judges is the president's constitutional prerogative and is not subject to verification by the government.
According to the president, the consequence of the amendment could be “widespread undermining of the status of judges, and then – the rejection of their judgments.” This, in turn, according to the president, would mean the uncertainty of “millions of issues.” He emphasized that the court's judgment must be “like a granite pillar – durable and certain,” and a citizen “cannot wake up with the question whether his civil, inheritance or criminal case will be questioned just because political decision-makers decided to indicate who can adjudicate and who cannot.”
According to the vetoed proposals, elections to the National Council of the Judiciary would be organized by the National Electoral Commission. The president said that “the National Electoral Commission is getting involved in the dispute over the judiciary, ultimately trying to politicize another state institution.”
Referring to the amendment to the National Council of the Judiciary, the President also said that he had received “a legal boondoggle prepared on the knee, widely criticized, pushed through the Sejm in an extraordinary manner.”
At the same time, he announced his own initiative regarding the judiciary. – Due to the ongoing disintegration of the justice system, as I announced earlier, I am presenting my own bill to restore the right to a court and hear cases without unjustified delay. Based on three specific principles: impartiality of courts; incontestability of judgments; confirming the status of properly nominated judges, said Nawrocki.
He added that if the dialogue proposals are rejected, “in accordance with his commitment, he will finally ask the nation for a referendum on restoring normality in the functioning of the courts.” “Let the citizens decide, their voice is always the most important,” he added.
On Sunday, in Polsat News, President Nawrocki, when asked about the amendment to the National Council of the Judiciary, said that he was not in favor of leaving the issue of arranging Polish courts exclusively to the judicial community. The president also emphasized that there are ministries that “try to be in dialogue with the Presidential Palace” to work on compromises. – Minister Żurek did not behave like that; he tried to be confrontational from the very beginning – added Nawrocki.
The term of office of the current National Council of the Judiciary ends in May this year. and the procedure for nominating candidates for judicial members of the National Council of the Judiciary has already started, conducted on the basis of current regulations. It started on February 11 this year. announced by the Speaker of the Sejm in Monitor Polski and will last until March 13. The final list of 15 judicial candidates for members of the National Council of the Judiciary is established by a Sejm committee, who are then elected by the Sejm by a 3/5 majority of votes for a four-year term.
On Monday, the presidents of 10 out of 11 courts of appeal in Poland declared their readiness to help organize elections to the National Council of the Judiciary, proposing that the Sejm – on the basis of applicable regulations – elect 15 judges to the National Council of the Judiciary, but from among those candidates who receive the highest support in the popular vote at judges' assemblies. The procedure, previously announced by the judges' association “Iustitia”, would be preceded by a declaration of the Sejm accepting the recommendations of the judicial community.
The Presidium of the current National Council of the Judiciary expressed disapproval of the statement of the presidents of the courts of appeal. In its statement, the Council assessed that the procedure for electing members of the National Council of the Judiciary was “completely” regulated in the act, and any supplementation of the procedure outside the law violates the principle of legalism and the rule of law. In turn, the participation of a public official in organizing a non-statutory procedure for selecting members of the Council “constitutes an abuse of powers constituting an action to the detriment of the public interest, and as such may constitute a crime.” The National Council of the Judiciary therefore called on the presidents of the courts of appeal to withdraw the initiative and appealed to all judges “not to give in to pressure.” (PAP)
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