New TK judge Patyra asks President Nawrocki to set swearing-in date, as Barski opinion row flares
Constitutional Tribunal judge-elect Sławomir Patyra has formally asked President Karol Nawrocki to schedule his oath of office, after the president failed to act following the end of his predecessor's term on 28 June.
The letter
On 3 July 2026, Sławomir Patyra submitted a written request to the President's Chancellery, asking for a date to take the judicial oath before President Karol Nawrocki. Patyra, elected by the Sejm on 11 June to replace the retiring Andrzej Zielonacki, said he had received no invitation or communication from the president's office since his term began on 29 June.
From the first day after my predecessor's term ended, I have been fully ready to appear at the time indicated by the president and take the oath.
Today I submitted a letter to the President's Chancellery, in which I request, in accordance with the relevant provision, that a date for the oath be set.
Patyra told TVN24 he would wait about a week for a reply and would not speculate on the reasons for the delay, suggesting it might be a matter of the president's calendar. President Nawrocki is expected to travel to a NATO summit in Ankara next week, which could push any ceremony to the second half of the week.
- Sejm elects Sławomir Patyra as Constitutional Tribunal judge
- Term of outgoing judge Andrzej Zielonacki ends
- Patyra submits letter to President Nawrocki requesting swearing-in date
- President Nawrocki travels to NATO summit in Ankara (week of 6 July)
Political controversy
Patyra's path to the Tribunal is entangled in a dispute over his 2024 legal opinion for the Ministry of Justice. The opinion was one of several used by then-minister Adam Bodnar to justify the removal of National Prosecutor Dariusz Barski in January 2024. A Warsaw district court recently ordered prosecutors to open an investigation into the Barski affair, and PiS-aligned lawyers argue the president should not swear in Patyra while that inquiry is pending.
He should prepare to testify about his role in an organized criminal group led by Tusk and Bodnar, which carried out an attack on National Prosecutor Dariusz Barski, unlawfully removing him from office.
Patyra's supporters note that writing a legal opinion is not a crime, and the decision to replace Barski was made by elected officials. No charges have been brought against any author of such opinions.
Broader TK standoff
The swearing-in delay is part of a larger pattern. In March, the Sejm elected six judges to fill vacancies, but President Nawrocki has administered the oath only to two: Magdalena Bentkowska and Dariusz Szostek. The other four (Marcin Dziurda, Anna Korwin-Piotrowska, Krystian Markiewicz, and Maciej Taborowski) took an oath in the Sejm on 9 April without the president present. TK president Bogdan Święczkowski refuses to let them adjudicate, insisting the oath must be taken before the head of state.
The president's chief of staff, Zbigniew Bogucki, said in June that the election of Patyra followed proper procedure, but the decision to accept the oath rests solely with the president. With Zielonacki's term now expired and no replacement sworn in, the argument that the Tribunal already has a full bench of 11 judges is no longer tenable.
What's next
Patyra said he would consider his options only if the president explicitly or implicitly refuses to hear his oath. For now, he is waiting. The president's office has not commented on the letter; spokesman Rafał Leśkiewicz did not answer calls or messages from Radio ZET.
