Poland’s Constitutional Tribunal (TK) has struck down a government bill aimed at overhauling the National Council of the Judiciary (KRS), a central institution in Poland’s years-long rule-of-law crisis. The decision—expected due to the TK’s continued dominance by judges appointed under the previous Law and Justice (PiS) government—declares the reform unconstitutional.
The Tusk government, which does not recognize the legitimacy of the current Tribunal because of unlawfully appointed judges, had sought to restore judicial independence by reversing PiS-era changes that allowed politicians to select most KRS members. Those reforms, introduced in 2017, were widely criticized in Poland and abroad for undermining judicial independence and for producing a “neo-KRS” whose decisions—including the appointment of around 2,500 judges, among them 60% of Supreme Court judges—have been repeatedly questioned.
President Andrzej Duda blocked the government’s earlier KRS reform in 2024 and sent it to the TK, claiming it improperly cut short the current council’s term. The Tribunal has now agreed. Judge Krystyna Pawłowicz—herself a former PiS MP—warned lawmakers against attempting similar reforms, even raising the possibility of criminal consequences.
Justice minister Waldemar Żurek has proposed a revised bill aimed at addressing Duda’s objections while still shifting influence back to the judiciary. But the new president, Karol Nawrocki—also aligned with PiS—has signaled he is unlikely to sign it. His office has floated an alternative reform plan and even the possibility of a national referendum if the government resists.
Without a political compromise, Poland may face further institutional uncertainty: PiS-era rules require parliament to select new KRS members in May 2026, a process that the governing coalition would control. In the meantime, tensions between the government and the presidency continue to escalate, including Nawrocki’s recent refusal to approve 46 judicial nominations.