Speaking to broadcaster Polsat News earlier this week, Bodnar said he had no trust in Święczkowski, calling any chance of agreement "nonexistent."
Święczkowski was appointed the new head of the constitutional court on Monday by President Andrzej Duda.
The following day, Święczkowski expressed a desire to hold talks with legislative and executive representatives to reach a compromise on the tribunal’s functioning.
This initiative, however, was met with skepticism by officials including the justice minister, who emphasized a lack of trust in "such overtures."
Święczkowski, who has served in various senior roles since 2015, including as national public prosecutor, was appointed as a judge to the Constitutional Tribunal in 2022.
His new role as tribunal president marks a contentious chapter in Poland’s ongoing debate over judicial independence and rule of law.
Critics, including Bodnar, who previously served as Poland’s ombudsman, have questioned Święczkowski’s political neutrality.
Bodnar on Tuesday highlighted Święczkowski’s past affiliations, saying: "We must remember how, when and thanks to whom Święczkowski entered the Constitutional Tribunal."
He pointed to Święczkowski’s previous roles, including serving as head of the Internal Security Agency (ABW) under the conservative Law and Justice (PiS) government, running as a PiS candidate in local and parliamentary elections, and later holding key positions in the prosecution service under PiS-era Justice Minister Zbigniew Ziobro.
Święczkowski has rejected accusations of politicization.
Speaking on Tuesday, he asserted that while he had run on PiS election lists, he was an independent candidate and never joined a political party.
He defended his work as a local councilor, saying that his focus was on public service, not politics.
Święczkowski’s term comes at a time when the Constitutional Tribunal is under scrutiny. Since 2015, it has faced accusations of politicization and legal controversies.
Earlier this year, Poland’s lower house of parliament, the Sejm, adopted a resolution to address what it described as the "constitutional crisis of 2015-2023."
The resolution declared that decisions by the Tribunal made in violation of the law could undermine the principle of legalism.
As a result, the tribunal's rulings are no longer being published in the Dziennik Ustaw Journal of Laws, further complicating its standing in Poland’s legal framework.
The journal is the sole official source for the publishing of Polish laws.
(rt/gs)
Source: PAP