The constitutional conflict in Poland began with an attempt by the new government to appoint judges to the Constitutional Tribunal. The President and the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court refused to allow the appointed judges to take up their duties. The government responded with coercive measures. Below are the key facts, a chronology of events, and the arguments of the parties.

General Framework: Constitutional Gridlock and Criticism of Left-Wing Governments

Ben Shapiro's flagship show argues that constitutional gridlock (gridlock) is characteristic of any constitutional system. Such systems are built to require broad consensus before policy can be changed. By this logic, systems of checks and balances and constitutionally enshrined rights are meant to limit frequent shifts in policy direction after every election.

According to the host, in a number of countries left-wing governments, when faced with the constraints of checks and balances, overcome them. He cites Brazil, Hungary, and Poland as examples. The host claims that the left side of the political spectrum approves of such actions as an expression of freedom.

The host also criticizes Barack Obama and suggests that Democrats, having gained control of Congress, the Senate, and the presidency, could take action against the U.S. Supreme Court if it obstructed them. These claims represent the host's assessment and are not substantiated in the material.

Key Figures and Institutions

Chronology of Events

According to the host, events unfolded as follows:

1. Thursday. A conservative Hungarian publication reported a leaked police order that put units in Poland on heightened alert.
2. Friday. The court ruled to suspend the powers of the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. The formal grounds: the need to restore the court's functions.
3. Police did not allow the Chief Justice into the building. He arrived at the building with supporters and used a power tool to cut through the fence.
4. The Chief Justice accused Donald Tusk of organizing a coup d'état.
5. The president, a member of PiS, turned around a plane bound for Senegal. According to the host, a judge physically blocked his entrance to the courthouse, and the president pushed her aside.

Position of the Government and the European Commission

Donald Tusk stated that after years of PiS's lawlessness, "there is no other way." In his view, protecting the law requires temporarily breaking the law.

The European Commission supported Tusk's position. The official statement reads: "The European Commission has confirmed that the Polish parliament must have the right to appoint new judges." The presenter notes that Tusk belongs to a pro-European party, while PiS opposes the EU.

Позиция Матеуша Моравецкого

Моравецкий осудил силовой захват Конституционного трибунала. Он заявил, что Европейская комиссия, которая ранее активно критиковала ситуацию в трибунале и состояние верховенства права, теперь молчит. По его словам, Туск и его партия «Гражданская коалиция» входят в Европейскую народную партию, правящую группу ЕС. Он утверждает, что эти силы поддерживают верховенство права только тогда, когда оно помогает их представителям получать места.

Моравецкий назвал заседание, созванное для утверждения захвата власти в трибунале, незаконным. По его словам, судей, которые не являются действующими, для кворума не хватает, и правительство придумывает новые правила по ходу процесса.

Предложения Моравецкого

• Заменить состав суда через конституционную поправку.
• Ввести 12 судей, избираемых парламентским большинством в три пятых голосов.
• Установить ротацию сроков полномочий судей.
• Ввести четырехлетний период ожидания для лиц, занимавших политические должности, перед назначением в суд.
• Обязать трибунал публиковать собственные решения и запретить правительству блокировать их публикацию.
• Заменить правительство через голосование в парламенте и сформировать временную администрацию.

Ведущий отметил, что неясно, будут ли эти предложения рассмотрены.

Moderator's Interpretation

The moderator acknowledges that the parties' positions are ambiguous. The President has the constitutional authority to refuse to appoint judges, although such a refusal on the grounds that a candidate belongs to an opposition party is not characteristic of presidential practice. In the moderator's view, exercising powers in an unusual form does not mean that the act itself violates the constitution.

Interview with Patryk Jaki

The Principle of Separation of Powers

Jaki argues that the separation of powers into executive, legislative, and judicial branches is a fundamental principle of Western civilization. According to him, Tusk's government, relying on 3,000 police officers, seized the Constitutional Tribunal, placed judges it had appointed there, and organized the protection of the building against judges recognized as legitimate. He compares the situation to a hypothetical seizure of the U.S. Supreme Court building on Donald Trump's order, with ministers appointed as judges.

The Procedure for Appointing Judges

According to Jaki, the appointment of a Constitutional Tribunal judge consists of two stages:

1. Election of the candidate by the Sejm.
2. Taking the oath before the President of Poland.

Tusk's candidate passed the first stage but did not pass the second. Jaki argues that the president, as the guarantor of the constitution, has the right to refuse a candidate who does not meet the requirements.

Requirements for Candidates

Jaki names two requirements for a Constitutional Tribunal judge:

• independence;
• at least 10 years of practice in law.

According to him, Maciej Bar is Tusk's right-hand man, held the post of minister, and moved to the court directly from a government position. Jaki claims that Bar cannot confirm 10 years of legal practice. Therefore, President Nawrocki applied to the court with a question about the legality of the appointment. In Jaki's view, without taking the oath before the president, candidates cannot be considered judges, and the government's actions constitute an abuse of power.

The Government's Motives

Jaki argues that the government seeks to change the constitutional interpretation on three issues:

1. The definition of family. The Polish Constitution defines marriage as a union of a man and a woman. According to Jaki, Tusk wants to change this norm through the Constitutional Tribunal.
2. Climate policy. The Tribunal ruled that the "green" ideology was introduced without legal grounds. According to Jaki, the government does not intend to publish this ruling and seeks to revise it, fearing the European Union.
3. The powers of the president. The government seeks to limit the powers of the president through the Tribunal, despite the elections held a year ago, in which, according to Jaki, the Polish people made their position unambiguously clear against transferring all power to Tusk's left-wing government.

Jaki also claims that Tusk is a "German and European puppet," and that Poland represents an alternative model of development within the EU. He cites EU data showing that Poland is the safest country in the Union and has had the highest GDP growth over the past decade among EU countries. According to him, these successes are causing concern in the EU.

Forecast

Asked about the further development of events, Jaki replied that the most likely scenario is the government's use of more severe violence. He also claims that, in his view, the EU supports these actions because left-wing forces in Europe are losing support. According to his account, shifting powers from the executive and legislative branches to the judicial branch will allow the government to retain power even if it loses elections.

Jaki called on the citizens of Poland to defend the independence of the judicial system. He noted that elections will be held in Spain, Poland, Italy, and France in 2026. In his assessment, the victory of conservatives in these four countries will change the face of the European Union.