Poland’s judicial council elects Dariusz Zawistowski as chair, ending eight-year period of an illegally constituted body

A new beginning for the council

On 11 June 2026 the National Council of the Judiciary (KRS) convened for the first time in a composition elected by the Sejm on 15 May. The previous body, widely described as the neo-KRS, had been appointed in early 2018 in a manner that critics said violated the constitution and for eight years was accused of politicising judicial appointments. Its last chair, Dagmara Pawełczyk-Woicka, resigned on 18 May, clearing the way for a reset.

The initial session was called by Zbigniew Kapiński, the newly installed first president of the Supreme Court, who waited almost the full 30-day statutory deadline before summoning the council. When he did so on Thursday, he expressed hope that the first meeting would mark “the beginning of an exit from the crisis in the justice system.”

Leadership elections

Judge Dariusz Zawistowski, a member of the Supreme Court’s Civil Chamber who had already chaired the KRS from 2015 to 2018, was elected chairman with 18 votes in favour, three against and two abstentions. After the ballot he thanked colleagues and pledged to “do my utmost so that the National Council of the Judiciary works as well as possible.”

“I will make every effort to ensure that the National Council of the Judiciary performs its duties to the highest standard.”

Two deputy chairs were also chosen: Warsaw judge Wojciech Buchajczuk and Supreme Administrative Court judge Aleksandra Wrzesińska-Nowacka. The council’s presidium was completed by Monika Frąckowiak, Bartłomiej Starosta and Agnieszka Kobylińska-Bortkiewicz. Jarosław Łuczaj was named spokesperson, with Starosta as his deputy.

Opposition figures fail to gain posts

Two judges nominated by opposition parties sat on the council: former deputy justice minister Łukasz Piebiak (put forward by Law and Justice) and Łukasz Zawadzki (endorsed by Confederation). Piebiak appealed for at least one representative of “the other side” to join the presidium, pointing to Grzegorz Ksepko, the presidential representative. Ksepko stood for the deputy chair position but was not elected.

President Karol Nawrocki had earlier signalled doubts about the legality of the council’s membership. Asked about those reservations, Zawistowski replied that “from a purely legal standpoint there is no justified reason to question the method of selecting the KRS” and added that the council would strive to make nomination proceedings “fully transparent.”

Immediate tasks

Justice minister Waldemar Żurek said before the session that he hoped the new KRS would fill the first 50 vacant judicial posts by the end of this week, though he cautioned against hasty decisions. Zawistowski stressed that roughly 1,000 judicial positions remained unfilled and that the council needed urgently to tackle nomination procedures and applications from judges seeking to continue serving past the age of 65.

The council also adopted a programmatic resolution on rebuilding public confidence in the judiciary and strengthening the independence of courts. In a separate vote it declared that disciplinary spokespersons Piotr Schab, Przemysław Radzik and Michał Lasota had been effectively dismissed. Acknowledging the efforts of civil society and part of the judiciary during the 2015–2023 period, the resolution formally thanked them for defending judicial independence.