Polish Parliament Fails to Override President Karol Nawrocki's Veto on Legal Reform

The Polish Sejm failed on Friday to overturn President Karol Nawrocki's veto of a sweeping amendment to the Code of Criminal Procedure, leaving a major reform of Polish criminal law blocked. In the vote held on March 27, 2026, 244 (votes) — MPs voted to reject the veto, falling short of the required threshold against 180 opposed, with 16 abstentions among the 440 participating members of parliament. The ruling coalition needed a three-fifths majority of 264 votes to pass the bill again, meaning the motion fell short by exactly 20 votes. President Nawrocki had vetoed the amendment on March 13, 2026, citing concerns over citizen safety and the state's capacity to fight serious crime.

Two PiS MPs break ranks, abstain from vote The outcome turned in part on the behavior of opposition lawmakers, with two members of the Law and Justice party, Krzysztof Szczucki and Paweł Jabłoński, choosing to abstain rather than vote against overturning the veto alongside their colleagues. Szczucki explained his position in a statement to Polsat News, saying the pre-trial detention system needed reform but that the coalition's bill contained too many flaws. „The temporary arrest system needs to be reformed.” — Krzysztof Szczucki via Polsat News Both politicians voted differently from party chairman Jarosław Kaczyński, who opposed rejecting the veto. According to Polsat News, 11 PiS MPs did not participate in the vote at all, while all other members of the group present in the chamber voted uniformly against overturning the veto. The abstentions drew attention as a rare instance of internal dissent within the tightly disciplined opposition party.

In favor of rejecting veto: 244, Against rejecting veto: 180, Abstentions: 16, Did not vote: 20

Coalition and presidency clash over what the reform actually meant The debate over the veto exposed a sharp dispute between the government and the Presidential Palace over the substance of the amendment. Justice Minister and Prosecutor General Waldemar Żurek argued on Friday that the vetoed changes were not designed to protect anyone but to curb abuses of pre-trial detention and strengthen citizens' rights against the state. „The change vetoed by the president was not intended to protect anyone, but to limit the abuse of pre-trial detention, organize the regulations, and strengthen the guarantees of the citizen in the confrontation with the state.” — Waldemar Żurek via PAP Deputy Justice Minister Arkadiusz Myrcha described the veto as a political mistake, calling the blocked legislation the largest comprehensive reform of criminal procedure in nearly 30 years. The Presidential Palace, however, maintained that the bill contained provisions that would have excluded certain sexual offenses against children from the possibility of pre-trial detention. Head of the Presidential Chancellery Zbigniew Bogucki, speaking in the Sejm on Thursday, argued that while the president supported expanding the categories of crimes excluded from detention, he could not accept that sexual offenses against children or crimes against state security be included in that group. Presidential spokesperson Rafał Leśkiewicz stated the veto was motivated by concern for citizen safety and the state's effectiveness in fighting the most dangerous crime, adding that the justification also cited a lack of clarity and systemic coherence in some of the new provisions.

Football fans display stadium banners against Nawrocki The veto drew an unusual public response from Polish football supporters, who had backed the amendment's provisions on pre-trial detention rules for years. According to Polsat News, banners criticizing President Nawrocki appeared at stadiums across Poland during recent matches. Supporters of Motor Lublin displayed a banner reading: „K. Nawrocki — you quietly veto the law, you accept years-long detention without evidence.” — Motor Lublin fans via Polsat News Fans at Cracovia's stadium displayed a message accusing the president of betraying the voters who helped him win. The amendment to the Code of Criminal Procedure was the result of approximately two years of legislative work, including months of deliberation by the Codification Commission for Criminal Law, according to Deputy Minister Myrcha. The original Code of Criminal Procedure was enacted in 1997. According to Do Rzeczy, the Sejm had previously failed twice to overturn Nawrocki vetoes — once on a law concerning cryptoassets and once on the so-called chain law, both in December 2025. A presidential veto in Poland cannot be applied selectively to individual provisions; the president must either sign or reject the entire bill. Sejm Marshal Włodzimierz Czarzasty, who announced the vote, described the law as addressing pre-trial detention, the right to a defense counsel from the first moment of detention, and the prohibition on using illegally obtained evidence — the so-called fruit of the poisonous tree doctrine. With the veto now upheld, the reform will not enter into force unless the coalition can negotiate a revised version acceptable to the president or secure additional votes in a future attempt.