President Nawrocki demands proof of legal practice before swearing in Maciej Berek

Presidential demand for documentation

Polish President Karol Nawrocki will not administer the oath of office to Constitutional Tribunal judge-elect Maciej Berek until he provides formal records proving ten years of professional legal practice. Presidential spokesperson Rafał Leśkiewicz announced the condition on 16 September 2026, the date Berek was scheduled to begin his judicial duties. The head of the presidential chancellery, Zbigniew Bogucki, previously sent an official inquiry to parliamentary leadership questioning whether Berek fulfilled statutory requirements. Under Polish law, candidates for the Constitutional Tribunal must satisfy the same professional criteria as Supreme Court judges, which requires active practice as a legal counsel rather than merely maintaining an entry on the professional roll. Leśkiewicz stated that the tribunal is facing political pressure and budget withholding from the government, emphasizing that sitting judges must meet strict legal criteria.

Until such a document reaches the desk of President Karol Nawrocki, there will be no invitation to take the oath at the Presidential Palace.

Parliamentary response and qualification records

The Sejm elected Berek to the judicial post on 4 September 2026 following his departure from the government, where he served as minister overseeing policy implementation and head of the Standing Committee of the Council of Ministers. Prime Minister Donald Tusk gave conditional approval in mid-August 2026 for Berek to leave the cabinet, asserting that Berek was not a party nominee. The head of the Sejm chancellery, Marek Siwiec, rejected the presidential doubts in a written reply to Nawrocki, asserting that challenging the validity of a parliamentary election has no legal grounding. Sejm Marshal Włodzimierz Czarzasty also called for the immediate administration of the oath. Prior to the parliamentary vote, Berek published a certificate from the Dean of the District Chamber of Legal Counsels confirming his admission to the bar in 2002, alongside registered practice periods spanning from 1 January 2006 to 31 July 2009, and from 1 August 2012 to the present.

Institutional deadlock over judicial appointments

Berek is the eighth person elected to the Constitutional Tribunal during the current parliamentary term. President Nawrocki has refused to swear in four of the earlier seven appointees elected in March 2026, citing procedural errors during their parliamentary selection. Those four candidates took an oath during a parliamentary ceremony using a formula directed toward the president, which the presidential palace rejected as invalid. Constitutional Tribunal President Bogdan Święczkowski has barred those four judges from taking up judicial duties, prompting them to lodge a complaint with the European Court of Human Rights. The National Prosecutor's Office is conducting an investigation into actions facilitating the non-swearing of those four judges.

Political reactions across parliamentary caucuses

The nomination has drawn divergent reactions across the Polish parliament. Parliamentary opposition members criticized the appointment as politicization, comparing it to earlier appointments such as Krystyna Pawłowicz and Stanisław Piotrowicz, while Civic Coalition lawmakers stated they followed statutory procedures. Krzysztof Bosak, a deputy marshal of the Sejm from Confederation who voted against Berek's appointment due to his direct transition from the executive branch, argued that the president must nonetheless carry out the swearing-in under the constitution.

According to the constitution, he should.

Deputy Marshal Piotr Zgorzelski of the Polish People's Party defended the appointment, stating that professional bar certificates provide sufficient confirmation of eligibility. Zgorzelski noted that earlier appointees, such as Sławomir Patyra, experienced multi-week delays before taking the oath, and stated that discussions continue with sitting tribunal judges.