Regulating the election of judges of the Constitutional Tribunal in the Act of 25 June 2015
on the Constitutional Tribunal and its implications Cover Image

Regulacja wyboru sędziów Trybunału Konstytucyjnego w ustawie z dnia 25 czerwca 2015 r. o TK i jej implikacje
Regulating the election of judges of the Constitutional Tribunal in the Act of 25 June 2015 on the Constitutional Tribunal and its implications

Author(s): Lech Mażewski
Subject(s): Law, Constitution, Jurisprudence, Constitutional Law
Published by: Kancelaria Sejmu
Keywords: Constitutional Tribunal; electing constitutional judges in advance; non-adjudicating judges; an attempt at establishing a new model of constitutional court

Summary/Abstract: The argument on the Constitutional Tribunal, which lasted from mid-2015 to the end of 2016, concerned three dimensions. First, it was about ascertaining the inadmissibility of electing judges in advance, as provided for by Article 137 of the Constitutional Tribunal Act of 25 June 2015; second, it was about pluralising the composition of the Constitutional Tribunal, and third — about an attempt at establishing a new model of the functioning of a constitutional court by the Law and Justice party. The third issue seemed the most important and is still the object of an ongoing systemic argument transgressing the events from the years 2015–2016, which has so far not been satisfactorily solved. The problem of electing judges was resolved by two rulings of the Constitutional Tribunal: judgment of 3 December 2015 (K 34/15) and the decision of 7 January 2016 (U 8/15). The effect of the Tribunal’s decision was in fact giving the Sejm carte blanche as regards electing judges on 8 October 2015.

  • Issue Year: 2020
  • Issue No: 3
  • Page Range: 275-285
  • Page Count: 11
  • Language: English, Polish