Polish Constitutional Tribunal names new security advisor and chancellery head

Personnel appointments at the Constitutional Tribunal

Constitutional Tribunal President Bogdan Święczkowski announced two administrative appointments on 5 October 2026 following criminal measures taken by prosecutors against senior court staff. Former Central Anticorruption Bureau chief Andrzej Stróżny received the appointment as security advisor to the tribunal president. Beata Białowąs, an existing staff member of the tribunal and a Silesian regional councilor, assumed the duties of Chancellery director during the incumbent's absence. The Constitutional Tribunal published the personnel decisions on social media platform X. Święczkowski framed the appointments as a necessary response to actions taken against the tribunal by the National Public Prosecutor's Office.

In view of the unprecedented attack of the National Public Prosecutor's Office aimed at the Constitutional Tribunal, and in particular at the Director of the Chancellery and the Commander of the Tribunal Guard and their suspension from official duties, TK President Bogdan Święczkowski took personnel decisions.

Prosecution charges and suspension of court staff

The administrative appointments followed formal charges filed by the National Public Prosecutor's Office on 23 September 2026 against Chancellery Director Zofia H. and Tribunal Guard Commander Piotr P. Prosecutors charged both officials with abuse of power and failure to fulfill official duties. The investigation concerns allegations of malicious and persistent violations of employee rights by withholding appropriate working conditions, salaries, and formal employment contracts from four newly elected judges. Both Zofia H. and Piotr P. pleaded not guilty to the allegations and refused to provide formal explanations to investigators. Prosecutors placed both officials under official suspension, barred them from entering the Constitutional Tribunal building, and prohibited any contact with sitting judges or court staff.

Standoff over unadmitted Constitutional Tribunal judges

The criminal proceedings against the tribunal staff stem from a dispute regarding four judges elected by the Sejm in March 2026. Parliament selected Krystian Markiewicz, Maciej Taborowski, Marcin Dziurda, and Anna Korwin-Piotrowska to serve on the tribunal bench. On 9 April 2026, the four candidates took their oaths in the Columned Hall of the Sejm using a formula stating the oath was taken before the president. They subsequently deposited written oath documents at the intake office of the Chancellery of the President of the Republic of Poland. Święczkowski did not recognize their status, refused to allocate case files to them, and blocked them from entering active judicial service at the court.

Career backgrounds of newly assigned tribunal officials

The two newly appointed officials bring backgrounds in regional politics and national security agencies. Stróżny served as head of the Central Anticorruption Bureau from 2020 to 2023 and previously worked in the police and the Internal Security Agency, where he reached the rank of colonel. At the Internal Security Agency, he served as director of both the Department for Combating Organized Crime and the Department of Criminal Proceedings. Stróżny also recently faced charges brought by prosecutors. Białowąs is a Law and Justice councilor in the Silesian regional assembly and served on the Silesian Voivodeship board between 2019 and 2022 alongside deputy marshal Wojciech Kałuża. She also previously served as vice president of the energy company Tauron Ekoenergia and ran for local office in Katowice.