The Minister of Justice’s Regulation amending the Regulation on the Rules of Procedure for Common Courts; departure from the statutory mechanism of allocating cases to judges by means of a draw U 4/25
Ref. No. U 4/25
JUDGMENT
IN THE NAME OF THE REPUBLIC OF POLAND
Warsaw, 12 November 2025
The Constitutional Tribunal, composed of:
Bartłomiej Sochański – Presiding Judge
Wojciech Sych
Michał Warciński – Judge Rapporteur,
Recording Clerk – Agnieszka Krawczyk,
having considered, at the hearing on 12 November 2025 – in the presence of the applicants – the following joined applications:
I. the application by the National Council of the Judiciary, lodged with the Constitutional Tribunal for it to consider the conformity of:
1) the Minister of Justice’s Regulation of 29 September 2025 amending the Regulation on the Rules of Procedure for Common Courts (Journal of Laws – Dz. U., item 1325; hereinafter: the Amending Regulation), in its entirety, i.e. § 1 to § 4 – due to the fact that the Minister of Justice issued the Amending Regulation refraining from compliance with the procedure, required by law, for the issuance thereof, i.e. without having consulted the National Council of the Judiciary – with Article 41(1) of the Act of 27 July 2001 on the Organisational Structure of Common Court (Journal of Laws – Dz. U. of 2024, item 334) as well as with Article 2, Article 7 in conjunction with Article 186 (1) and Article 92(1) of the Constitution;
2) the Amending Regulation referred to in point I.1, in its entirety, i.e. § 1 to § 4 – due to the fact that the Minister of Justice issued the Amending Regulation in violation of the Constitutional Tribunal’s judgment of 16 May 2024, ref. no. U 1/24, and its judgment of 6 March 2025, ref. no. U 16/24, which were [and are] universally binding and final – with Article 2, Article 7 in conjunction with Article 190(1) of the Constitution;
3) § 1(2), (3), (4), (6)(b) of the Amending Regulation referred to in point I.1 with Article 41(1) of the Act referred in point I.1 as well as with Article 92(1), Article 176(2), Article 178(1) and Article 45(1) of the Constitution;
II. the application by the President of the Republic of Poland, lodged with the Constitutional Tribunal for it to consider the conformity of § 1(2) and (3) as well as § 2 of the Amending Regulation referred to in point I.1 with Article 7 in conjunction with Article 10, Article 45(1), Article 92(1), Article 173, Article 176(2) as well as Article 178(1) of the Constitution,
adjudicates as follows:
1. § 1(5) and (7), § 2 and § 3 of the Minister of Justice’s Regulation of 29 September 2025 amending the Regulation on the Rules of Procedure for Common Courts (Journal of Laws – Dz. U., item 1325) are inconsistent with Article 41(1) of the Act of 27 July 2001 on the Organisational Structure of Common Courts (Journal of Laws – Dz. U. of 2024, item 334, as amended) in conjunction with Article 92(1) in conjunction with Article 7 of the Constitution of the Republic of Poland.
2. § 1(2) and (3) of the Regulation referred to in point 1 is inconsistent with Article 47a of the Act referred to in point 1 in conjunction with Article 92(1) of the Constitution.
3. § 1(6)(b) of the Regulation referred to in point 1 is inconsistent with Article 47b of the Act referred to in point 1 in conjunction with Article 92(1) of the Constitution.
Moreover, the Tribunal decides:
to discontinue the proceedings as to the remainder.
The ruling was unanimous.
Bartłomiej Sochański
Wojciech Sych
Michał Warciński