The Prerogative of the President of the Republic of Poland to Appoint Judges

To define the nature of the Polish President’s prerogative to appoint judges requires the analysis of the abundant case-law of courts and tribunals, including those enjoying international status. If the constitutionality of the National Council of the Judiciary and its competence are questioned, the role of the President of the Republic of Poland in the procedure of nominating a person as judge should never be perceived as a merely formal one. In this situation, the President of the Republic of Poland must independently carry out a substantive assessment of candidates because he is no longer bound by the conclusions from the formal request of the National Council of the Judiciary in this respect. Examination of the validity or effectiveness of the constitutional act of appointment of a judge by the President of the Republic of Poland, and the resulting constitutional relationship between the judge and the Republic of Poland, continues to be inadmissible in any proceedings before a court or other state body.