Poland's Supreme Administrative Court upholds freeze on PiS subsidies, closing legal path for opposition
Poland's Supreme Administrative Court on Wednesday dismissed a cassation appeal by the Law and Justice (PiS) party, upholding the finance ministry's withholding of millions in state subsidies after the 2023 election campaign spending irregularities.
Court ruling
On 5 August 2026, the Supreme Administrative Court (NSA) dismissed a cassation appeal by Law and Justice (PiS), upholding a June 2025 ruling by the Warsaw Provincial Administrative Court (WSA). The lower court had found that Finance Minister Andrzej Domański did not act unlawfully when he withheld the third quarterly instalment of PiS's 2024 state subsidy, worth PLN 6,483,343.76 (EUR 1,507,604). The WSA stated that the minister "does not remain in inaction if he acts on the basis of a PKW decision reducing the subsidy due to the rejection of the election report, even in the case of a later ineffective ruling of the Supreme Court." The NSA's decision closes this legal avenue for PiS to reclaim the withheld funds.
Background of the dispute
The conflict began in August 2024, when the National Electoral Commission (PKW) rejected PiS's financial report from the 2023 parliamentary elections, identifying PLN 3.6 million in unauthorized campaign spending. The irregularities included military picnics in Uniejów and Zawichost, reports on PiS's credibility prepared by NASK, and a spot by former justice minister Zbigniew Ziobro promoting penal code changes. As a result, the PKW reduced PiS's annual subsidy from PLN 25.9 million to about PLN 15 million, a cut of PLN 10.8 million. PiS appealed to the Supreme Court's Chamber of Extraordinary Control and Public Affairs, which sided with the party. The PKW then accepted the financial report but stressed it did not resolve the chamber's legal status, which has been questioned by the Court of Justice of the European Union and the European Court of Human Rights. Minister Domański asked the PKW for an interpretation of its resolution, calling it internally contradictory, and withheld payments until doubts were clarified.
- PKW rejects PiS's 2023 election financial report, citing PLN 3.6 million in unauthorized campaign spending.
- PKW votes 4:3 to maintain the reduced subsidy, informing the finance minister that PiS will receive about PLN 15 million annually.
- Warsaw WSA rules that the finance minister's withholding of the subsidy is not inaction, as it follows the PKW decision.
- District Court for Warsaw-Śródmieście upholds refusal to open an investigation, stating the non-payment was lawful.
- NSA dismisses PiS's cassation appeal, upholding the WSA ruling and closing this legal avenue.
Political reactions
Finance Minister Domański celebrated the ruling on X, writing:
A devastating court ruling against PiS regarding subsidies and grants has been upheld! Cassation dismissed. No doubts. Another PiS lie exposed.
Prime Minister Donald Tusk added:
Just as we said, there is and will be no money for fraudsters.
PiS MP Michał Wójcik responded to Tusk's post, writing:
Theft is what you are hiding. That is the truth.
Waldemar Żurek, a commentator on Polsat News, said he welcomed the decision, calling it the work of an independent court.
Financial impact
The PKW's decision meant PiS would receive approximately PLN 15 million annually for the next three years, paid in monthly instalments, instead of the PLN 25.9 million it would have been entitled to based on its 2023 election result. The party had already received two full quarterly payments for 2024 before the third was withheld and the fourth reduced. In total, PiS received about PLN 15 million for 2024, over PLN 10 million less than the projected annual subsidy. The PKW also ordered PiS to return three times the questioned amount (PLN 10.8 million) to the state budget from its election grant.
- Original annual subsidy
- 25.9 mln zł
- Reduced annual subsidy
- 15 mln zł
What happens next
The NSA's ruling is final, and PiS has no further appeal in this specific case. Earlier, on 25 September 2025, the District Court for Warsaw-Śródmieście upheld a decision not to open an investigation into the non-payment, with the prosecutor's office stating that "non-payment of the subsidy does not constitute a crime." The court found that the actions of the finance minister and ministry officials were within the law and could not be attributed to intentional harm to the party. With the legal path exhausted, PiS will have to rely on other funding sources, as its leader Jarosław Kaczyński has already appealed for donations.
