Polish top court judges declare quorum as critics dispute the vote
Eight judges of Poland's Constitutional Tribunal met Tuesday and voted that they were enough to make valid decisions, Wprost and Rzeczpospolita report. They then passed the court's budget for 2027, Rzeczpospolita reports. Some lawyers say the court has 15 seats, so 10 judges must attend, the paper reports.
Eight judges of Poland's Constitutional Tribunal met on Tuesday and decided they had enough members present to make valid decisions. Critics question whether the meeting was lawful.
The meeting of all the court's judges was called by Judge Anna Korwin-Piotrowska. She says she is standing in for the court's president, Bogdan Święczkowski, whom she suspended on Friday, Rzeczpospolita reports.
She said 12 judges had the right to take part, Wprost reports. She left out Święczkowski and his deputy, Bartłomiej Sochański, because of their suspensions. She also left out Judge Jarosław Wyrembak, who she said was chosen in a flawed way.
The law says such a meeting needs two-thirds of the court's judges. Judge Sławomir Patyra argued that this means 15 seats minus judges who cannot legally take part. “Today, when it comes to the total number of Tribunal judges, we can speak only of 12 people,” he said, in our translation from Polish of Wprost's report.
All eight judges present voted yes. “I find that there is a quorum,” Korwin-Piotrowska said, in our translation of Wprost's report. The judges then passed the court's plan for income and spending in 2027, Rzeczpospolita reports. They also drew lots for the panels that will review the suspensions of Święczkowski and Sochański, the paper reports. Judge Stanisław Piotrowicz was drawn to act as disciplinary prosecutor in Święczkowski's case.
Before the meeting, Rzeczpospolita set out the dispute. If the court has 15 judges, 10 must attend. Some lawyers, among them Święczkowski, say the court now has only 10 lawful judges, the paper reports. Law professor Marcin Matczak wrote on X that counting from 12 was a “spiral of searching for legal grounds that do not exist,” in our translation, Rzeczpospolita reports.
Judge Jakub Stelina stayed away. He said Korwin-Piotrowska had “artificially created a vacancy” by suspending the president, in our translation, Rzeczpospolita reports, citing his interview with Onet.
Police blocked the main entrance because of a protest, Wprost reports. The judges were informed of a way in from the side of the prime minister's office.
What we know: The judges present voted that they had a quorum, at a meeting shown live, Wprost reports.
What we don't: Whether the president, other courts and the opposition will accept the decisions as valid.
Where outlets agree Wprost's and Rzeczpospolita's accounts of the assembly agree that the judges present voted without dissent that they formed a quorum.
Where they differ The cited reports agree on the key facts so far.