Poland's Supreme Court in Turmoil: Presidential Appointment of Kapiński Sparks Legal and Political Firestorm
President Karol Nawrocki's appointment of Zbigniew Kapiński as First President of the Supreme Court has triggered a constitutional crisis, with the court's Lay Judges' Council declaring him a 'usurper' and a bitter dispute erupting within Poland's right-wing coalition.
A contested appointment
President Karol Nawrocki selected Zbigniew Kapiński, the current head of the Supreme Court's Criminal Chamber, to succeed Małgorzata Manowska as First President of the Supreme Court. Kapiński was one of five candidates presented by the General Assembly of Supreme Court Judges. His term officially begins on 27 May 2026. The decision immediately drew sharp criticism from within the ruling right-wing camp and from the judiciary itself.
The Lay Judges' Council declares him a 'usurper'
The Supreme Court's Lay Judges' Council adopted a resolution on Tuesday stating that Kapiński 'was not and is not a legal judge of the Supreme Court' and therefore cannot be recognized as its legally elected First President. The Council argued that Kapiński was appointed through a 'defective and illegal procedure involving the unconstitutional so-called National Council of the Judiciary.' It further accused President Nawrocki of committing an 'open, deliberate constitutional tort' and called for him to face the State Tribunal. The Council also declared that outgoing First President Małgorzata Manowska 'was never legally elected a judge of the Supreme Court' and had 'usurped' the role from 2020 to 2026.
Legal judges of the Supreme Court refused to take part in the General Assembly that selected candidates for First President.
A right-wing family feud
Prezes PiS Jarosław Kaczyński had signaled his opposition before the appointment, writing on X that he 'cannot imagine' a judge who participated in a 2000 lustration ruling on Lech Wałęsa becoming First President. Former National Security Bureau chief Sławomir Cenckiewicz went further after the announcement, addressing the president by his first name on social media: 'Karol, you have made a terrible mistake.' The backlash prompted a defense from PiS MEP Mariusz Kamiński, who argued that 'crossing out Judge Kapiński, especially after his recent courageous verdicts, only because of a case from 26 years ago when he had incomplete evidence in the Wałęsa case, is in my opinion inappropriate.'
Karol, you have made a terrible mistake and even who and how persuaded you to do it does not excuse this mistake.
The Wałęsa lustration shadow
The core of the right-wing objection centers on a 2000 court ruling in which Kapiński was part of a panel that found Lech Wałęsa's lustration statement—denying collaboration with the communist secret police—to be true. Critics like Cenckiewicz and Kaczyński view this as a historic betrayal of decommunization efforts. The presidential chancellery pushed back, with chief of staff Zbigniew Bogucki arguing that 'historical research, even in-depth, is one thing, and the rigors of a criminal trial under which the court including Kapiński ruled are another.'
We live in a free country, everyone has the right to express an opinion, as Sławomir Cenckiewicz did, and from tomorrow Zbigniew Kapiński will be the president of the Supreme Court, because that is the president's decision.
Political fallout and the State Tribunal
Konfederacja MP Przemysław Wipler warned that the appointment carries implications beyond the judiciary, as the First President also chairs the State Tribunal—the body that could try current government officials, including Prime Minister Donald Tusk. Wipler stated he has filed notifications of crimes committed by Tusk and expressed concern over whether Kapiński would effectively lead such proceedings. Meanwhile, Minister of Family, Labour and Social Policy Agnieszka Dziemianowicz-Bąk described the situation as a 'long-running quarrel in the right-wing family of Law and Justice,' adding that 'it's boiling over there.'
A deepening judicial crisis
The dispute reflects the unresolved legacy of the 2018 judicial reforms introduced by the PiS government, which created a lasting schism between 'old' and 'new' judges. The Lay Judges' Council's resolution explicitly frames Kapiński's appointment as deepening the 'crisis of the judiciary in Poland' and calls on lawyers and citizens to defend the Supreme Court against 'total illegality.' Bogucki, however, dismissed suggestions of a permanent rift between the president and PiS leadership, insisting that 'all those who want to drive a wedge between President Karol Nawrocki and Chairman Jarosław Kaczyński will fail.'
- Court ruling in which Zbigniew Kapiński participates finds Lech Wałęsa's lustration statement true.
- PiS government introduces judicial reforms, creating a lasting schism between 'old' and 'new' Supreme Court judges.
- Małgorzata Manowska begins her term as First President of the Supreme Court, later declared illegitimate by the Lay Judges' Council.
- President Karol Nawrocki announces the selection of Zbigniew Kapiński as the new First President of the Supreme Court.
- The Supreme Court's Lay Judges' Council adopts a resolution declaring Kapiński a 'usurper' and accusing the president of a constitutional tort.
- Zbigniew Kapiński's term as First President of the Supreme Court officially begins.
