Polish Constitutional Tribunal violated European law, rules EU court

Dec 18, 2025 | Featured, Law, Politics

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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.

The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) has ruled that Poland’s Constitutional Tribunal (TK) violated European law when it declared that parts of the EU treaties are incompatible with the Polish constitution, rejected the primacy of EU law, and questioned the validity of the CJEU’s judgements.

In its ruling today, the CJEU also found that the TK itself is not a court under the meaning of EU law, given that it contains judges unlawfully appointed under the former Law and Justice (PiS) government.

The EU court’s judgement was condemned by a former PiS prime minister, who called it a “usurpation” of power by the CJEU aimed at “depriving Poland of its sovereignty”.

The case in question was brought against Poland by the European Commission in 2023 and concerns two rulings issued by the TK in 2021 that disputed the compatibility of EU law and CJEU judgements with Poland’s constitution.

At that time, Poland was ruled by the national-conservative PiS, which regularly clashed with Brussels. The TK was (and remains) stacked with PiS-appointed judges and is widely regarded as being under the political influence of the party, which is now in opposition.

In July 2021, the TK found that an interim order against Poland issued by the CJEU was “inconsistent with the constitution”. In October of the same year, it ruled – following a request from the PiS prime minister – that parts of European law are inconsistent with the Polish constitution, which takes precedence over them.

That prompted the European Commission to launch proceedings against Poland at the CJEU, saying that the TK had “violated EU law”. It also argued that three of the TK’s judges and its then-chief justice were unlawfully appointed under PiS, rendering the tribunal itself illegitimate.

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In its ruling on the case, issued today, the CJEU upheld the European Commission’s complaint in its entirety, deeming that the actions of the TK meant Poland “had failed to fulfil its obligations”.

The EU court found that, in issuing its two rulings, the TK had “infringed the principle of effective judicial protection and disregarded the primacy, autonomy, effectiveness and uniform application of EU law, as well as the binding effect of the [CJEU’s] decisions”.

“Poland may not rely on its constitutional identity to avoid compliance with the shared values enshrined in [the Treaty on European Union], such as the rule of law, effective judicial protection and the independence of the judiciary,” wrote the CJEU.

“Those values form the very basis of the identity of the European Union, to which Poland freely acceded. After accession, those values are given concrete expression by legally binding obligations, which the member states may not escape.”

Moreover, “national courts cannot unilaterally determine the scope and limits of the powers conferred on the European Union”, added the European judges. Only the CJEU itself can do this.

Finally, the CJEU ruled that “serious irregularities” during the appointment of three TK judges and the tribunal’s chief justice in 2015 and 2016, when PiS was in power, resulted in the TK “not meeting the requirements of an independent and impartial tribunal established by law, within the meaning of EU law”.

Those three judges were appointed in the place of three legally nominated appointees who PiS-aligned President Andrzej Duda had refused to swear into office, in what became the first instalment in eight years of conflict over the rule of law during PiS’s time in power.

In December 2023, PiS was replaced in office by a new, more liberal and EU-friendly government, led by former European Council President Donald Tusk. It has pledged to restore the rule of law and respect EU rulings.

However, Tusk’s government has found progress on judicial reform stymied by both disagreement within his broad coalition, which ranges from left to centre right, and by opposition from Duda and his successor, current President Karol Nawrocki, who is also aligned with PiS.

Today’s CJEU ruling was welcomed by justice minister Waldemar Żurek, who called it “unequivocal” confirmation that the TK in its current form is unlawfully composed.

“This judgement obliges the state to take action,” said Żurek. “We must jointly rebuild a genuine, independent Constitutional Tribunal.”

However, the CJEU’s decision was condemned by PiS figures, including Beata Szydło, who served as prime minister from 2015 to 2017. She called the ruling “usurpation and lawlessness by the CJEU”.

“A few EU judges cannot place themselves above the Polish constitutional system,” wrote Szydło. “Those who demand that the CJEU stand above the Polish Constitution are seeking to deprive Poland of its sovereignty.”


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: Luxofluxo/Wikimedia Commons (under CC BY-SA 4.0)

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