The competent court’s determination of the existence or non-existence of a judge’s service relationship K 24/20
Rep. No. K 24/20
JUDGMENT
IN THE NAME OF THE REPUBLIC OF POLAND
Warsaw, 26 November 2025
The Constitutional Tribunal, composed of:
Wojciech Sych – Presiding Judge
Krystyna Pawłowicz
Justyn Piskorski – Judge Rapporteur
Bartłomiej Sochański
Michał Warciński,
having considered, at a sitting in camera on 26 November 2025 – in accordance with Article 92(1)(1) of the Act of 30 November 2016 on the Organisation of the Constitutional Tribunal and the Mode of Proceedings Before the Constitutional Tribunal (Journal of Laws – Dz. U. of 2019, item 2393) – the application by the First President of the Supreme Court, lodged with the Constitutional Tribunal for it to consider the conformity of:
Article 189 of the Civil Procedure Code of 17 November 1964 (Journal of Laws – Dz. U. of 2020, item 1575, as amended) in conjunction with Article 29(1) and Article 33(1) of the Supreme Court Act of 8 December 2017 (Journal of Laws – Dz. U. of 2019, item 825, as amended) as well as Article 55(1) and Article 65(1) of the Act of 27 July 2001 on the Organisational Structure of Courts (Journal of Laws – Dz. U. of 2020, 365, as amended), Article 5(1) of the Act on the Organisational Structure of Administrative Courts (Journal of Laws – Dz. U. of 2019, item 2167, as amended), and Article 23(1) of the Act of 21 August 1997 on the Organisational Structure of Military Courts (Journal of Laws – Dz. U. of 2020, item 1754) – insofar as it provides that the court’s determination of the existence or non-existence of a legal relationship or right comprises the commencement of a judge’s service relationship ensuing from the appointment of the judge by the President of the Republic of Poland upon the recommendation of the National Council of the Judiciary – to Article 179 and Article 180(1)-(4) of the Constitution,
adjudicates as follows:
Article 189 of the Civil Procedure Code of 17 November 1964 (Journal of Laws – Dz. U. of 2020, item 1575, as amended) – insofar as it provides that the court’s determination of the existence or non-existence of a legal relationship or right comprises the commencement of a judge’s service relationship ensuing from the appointment of the judge by the President of the Republic of Poland upon the recommendation of the National Council of the Judiciary – is inconsistent with Article 179 and Article 180(1)-(2) of the Constitution.
Moreover, the Tribunal decides:
to discontinue the proceedings as to the remainder.
The ruling was unanimous.
Wojciech Sych
Krystyna Pawłowicz
Justyn Piskorski
Bartłomiej Sochański
Michał Warciński