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Notes from Poland is run by a small editorial team and is published by an independent, non-profit foundation that is funded through donations from our readers. We cannot do what we do without your support.
Poland’s president, Andrzej Duda, has vetoed two government bills in one of his final acts before leaving office tomorrow. He also blocked the introduction of a third bill by sending it to the Constitutional Tribunal (TK) for assessment.
One of the vetoed bills would have closed down two higher education and research institutions established under the former national-conservative Law and Justice (PiS) government, with which Duda was aligned. The other would have overhauled an academy for justice system officials, also set up under PiS.
The bill sent to the TK for assessment would allow anyone aged 13 or above to obtain psychological healthcare without the consent of their legal guardians. Duda says he fears this threatens the constitutional rights of parents.
Dwa weta i skierowanie ustawy do TK! Mocna końcówka prezydentury @AndrzejDuda. Padło "nie" dla szkodliwego projektu ws. nieletnichhttps://t.co/aDOyVc9vac
— wPolityce.pl (@wPolityce_pl) August 5, 2025
In May, the government approved plans to abolish the Copernican Academy and the Nicolaus Copernicus Superior School (SGMK), which both opened in 2023 amid celebrations of the 550th anniversary of the birth of the Polish-born astronomer.
The government argued that “both entities are inefficient”, with the academy “largely duplicating tasks already implemented by other institutions” and the school “not fulfilling the core mission of a university”. In July, the ruling coalition’s majority in parliament approved the bill to shut them both down.
The same month, parliament also passed a government bill that would have overhauled the Academy of Justice (AWS), another institution established under PiS, initially to train officers of the prison service but later also members of other branches of the justice system and security services.
The justice ministry argues that, in reality, the AWS was used by PiS as part of its efforts to “forge a political justice system”. Its bill would have renamed the academy and shifted its focus onto solely training officers for the prison service, as had originally been intended.
On Tuesday evening, in an interview with broadcaster Republika, Duda announced that he had vetoed both bills.
“I will not agree to universities being targeted in Poland – whether by closing them down altogether or, as in the case of the Academy of Justice, not so much being closed down as to a large extent compromising its autonomy,” he explained. “This is…a typical power grab.”
The third bill was one proposed by MPs from the centrist Civic Coalition (KO), Poland’s main ruling group, late last year and eventually approved by parliament in June this year.
It would have allowed children aged 13 or above to receive psychiatric care without parental consent. However, their legal guardians would have to be notified within seven days of the visit, unless doing so threatened the patient’s wellbeing.
A survey of 185,000 school pupils in Poland found 28% saying they have no will to live and 9% that they have attempted suicide.
Though the study did not use random sampling, its authors say it points to a mental health crisis among young Poles https://t.co/RtyvrxfJd9
— Notes from Poland 🇵🇱 (@notesfrompoland) April 17, 2023
One of the bill’s authors, KO MP Marta Globik, said in June that the measures were necessary to ensure that, even when “parents refuse to hear a young person’s cries for help”, they are able to receive mental health support.
However, speaking to Republika today, Duda said that he had referred the legislation to the TK for assessment as to whether it conforms with Poland’s constitution.
“The reason is very simple: it’s about children’s safety, because someone who has only turned 13 is a child,” he said. “In my opinion, this [bill] is very questionable from a constitutional perspective when it comes to parents’ rights.”
The president has vetoed a bill restoring over-the-counter access to the morning-after pill. He made the decision to "protect the health of children".
Poland therefore remains one of only two EU states requiring a prescription for emergency contraception https://t.co/FJ3eBc9J4L
— Notes from Poland 🇵🇱 (@notesfrompoland) March 29, 2024
Duda’s decision means that the bill will not come into force until and unless the TK – a court that is stacked with PiS appointees and widely seen as being under the influence of the former ruling party – approves it.
Since PiS lost power in December 2023, Duda has been a vocal opponent of the new government – a more liberal coalition led by Prime Minister Donald Tusk – that replaced it. He has vetoed a number of its proposed laws and sent others to the TK for assessment.
On Wednesday, Duda leaves office after completing his second and constitutionally final five-year term as president. He will be replaced by Karol Nawrocki, who was supported by PiS and by Duda himself during his campaign and is likely to continue opposing much of the government’s agenda.
Andrzej Duda steps down next week after a decade as Poland's president.
Though derided by critics as Jarosław Kaczyński's "pen", he leaves office as the country's most-trusted politician.@danieltilles1 and @stanleysbill explore Duda's divisive legacy https://t.co/UEHyfSDcGm
— Notes from Poland 🇵🇱 (@notesfrompoland) July 31, 2025
Notes from Poland is run by a small editorial team and published by an independent, non-profit foundation that is funded through donations from our readers. We cannot do what we do without your support.
Main image credit: Łukasz Błasikiewicz/KPRP
Daniel Tilles is editor-in-chief of Notes from Poland. He has written on Polish affairs for a wide range of publications, including Foreign Policy, POLITICO Europe, EUobserver and Dziennik Gazeta Prawna.
