“Bad whisper”
Poland’s president refuses to appoint judges
Updated 11/13/2025 – 04:18Reading time: 1 minute.
In Poland there is a dispute between the government and the president. Karol Nawrocki does not want to appoint 46 judges.
Poland’s right-wing conservative President Karol Nawrocki refused to appoint 46 new judges. In a post on
“If the appointment is the president’s prerogative, he can also reject the appointment,” he wrote in Warsaw. Nawrocki threatened not to appoint new judges during his five-year term, Polish news agency PAP reported.
The promotions and replacements were carried out under the auspices of the liberal Minister of Justice, Waldemar Zurek. It aims to remove restrictions on Poland’s legal system under the right-wing PiS government. PiS is in constant conflict with the European Union until 2023 as Brussels sees the independence of the judiciary as being in danger. EU critic Nawrocki is not a member of PiS, but is independent, but rejects Zureck’s reforms.
For the government, spokesman Adam Szłapka said that by refusing, Nawrocki had exceeded his authority. Former Chairman of the Polish Constitutional Court Andrzej Zoll also explained that the appointment of judges by the head of state was just a formality. Zoll told the “Onet” portal that he did not have the right to check the nominations. Justice Minister Zurek asked the president to provide reasons for his refusal. Such a decision should be an administrative action that can be challenged in court, he said, according to the PAP.
