Tusk announced on Monday via the X social media platform, formerly known as Twitter, that he had revoked his approval of President Andrzej Duda’s decision to appoint Judge Krzysztof Wesołowski as the head of the Civil Chamber of Poland's Supreme Court.
This appointment would have made Wesołowski responsible for leading a gathering of judges to select candidates for the presidency of the chamber.
The assembly of Civil Chamber judges is expected to proceed on Tuesday to nominate candidates for the chamber’s presidency, a position with a three-year term that may be renewed twice under Polish law.
Judge Wesołowski had been appointed to lead this process by the president, but Tusk’s revocation of his approval, known as a countersignature, has thrown the situation into uncertainty.
Tusk's decision followed complaints from two judges within the Civil Chamber, Dariusz Zawistowski and Karol Weitz, who had filed a formal challenge with the Provincial Administrative Court in Warsaw.
The complaint targeted both the president’s appointment of Wesołowski and Tusk’s countersignature of the decision.
The controversy stems from Wesołowski’s nomination to the Supreme Court in March 2022, under a procedure revised during the rule of the Law and Justice Party (PiS).
Tusk had faced criticism, particularly from within legal circles, for his role in approving the appointment.
In late August, Tusk said that an official who was preparing the document for him to sign had overlooked its political implications.
The appointment of Wesołowski was significant because the judge was set to lead the selection of three candidates for the president of the Civil Chamber, from whom the president would be choosing a final appointee.
This selection process is scheduled to take place on Tuesday.
Poland’s Justice Minister Adam Bodnar confirmed the judges' complaint on Monday morning and argued that the prime minister could revise his decision.
According to Michał Jabłoński, a lawyer representing the judges, the legal basis for Tusk’s action lies in the Act on Proceedings Before Administrative Courts.
According to the provisions cited by Jabłoński, "the authority whose action, inaction or prolonged handling of the proceedings has been challenged may, within its jurisdiction, fully accept the complaint within 30 days of receiving it. In the case of a complaint against a decision, by fully accepting the complaint, the authority revokes the challenged decision and issues a new one."
The complaint was formally submitted via the offices of the president and prime minister, as they issued the contested decisions.
Jabłoński added that Tusk’s withdrawal of the countersignature renders the legal challenge unnecessary.
(rt/gs)
Source: IAR, PAP