The Polish constitutional crisis, also known as the Polish rule-of-law crisis, is a political conflict ongoing since 2015 in which the
Polish government
The government of Poland takes the form of a Unitary state, unitary semi-presidential republic, semi-presidential Representative democracy, representative democratic republic, whereby the President of Poland, president is the head of state and t ...
has been accused of failing to comply with
European and
Polish constitutional law. The
2015 elections
Africa
* 2015 Beninese parliamentary election 26 April 2015
* 2015 Burkinabé general election 29 November 2015
* 2015 Burundian legislative election 29 June 2015
* 2015 Burundian presidential election 21 July 2015
* 2015-16 Central African gene ...
resulted in the
Law and Justice
Law and Justice ( , PiS) is a Right-wing populism, right-wing populist and National conservatism, national-conservative List of political parties in Poland, political party in Poland. The party is a member of European Conservatives and Refo ...
party (, PiS) winning control of both the presidency and the parliament. With this
government trifecta
A government trifecta is a political situation in which the same political party controls the Executive (government), executive branch and both chambers of the legislative branch in countries that have a Bicameralism, bicameral legislature and a ...
(as a result of its participation in the
United Right), PiS used its power to appoint judges to the
Constitutional Tribunal in 2015, leading to the
2015 Polish Constitutional Court crisis. The
government of Poland
The government of Poland takes the form of a unitary semi-presidential representative democratic republic, whereby the president is the head of state and the prime minister is the head of government.
Executive power is exercised, within the ...
continued to expand its hold on
the judiciary resulting in the
2017 Supreme Court crisis, and the 2019
Polish judicial disciplinary panel law. These events allowed the legislature and executive of the Polish government to have ''de facto'' control over judges and their appointments.
These moves have been condemned by the
European Union
The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...
which initiated an
Article 7 process against Poland. The
European Commission
The European Commission (EC) is the primary Executive (government), executive arm of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with a number of European Commissioner, members of the Commission (directorial system, informall ...
referred Poland to the
European Court of Justice
The European Court of Justice (ECJ), officially the Court of Justice (), is the supreme court of the European Union in matters of European Union law. As a part of the Court of Justice of the European Union, it is tasked with interpreting ...
(ECJ), stating in 2017, "the executive and legislative branches have been systematically enabled to politically interfere in the composition, powers, administration and functioning of the judicial branch."
In 2019 and 2020, the ECJ ruled against Poland in ''
Commission v Poland'', ordering it to suspend several laws which interfere with the independence of the judiciary, but these rulings have been largely ignored in Poland.
The crisis briefly jeopardised the
EU coronavirus budget which allowed funds to be made available to EU member states on the condition of "rule of law", a clause which both the Polish government and
Hungarian government threatened to veto in 2020.
Since the
changes to the judiciary, a
number of protests took place as a result of either the changes themselves, rulings by the new judiciary, or other legislative action deemed to break
European or international
human rights
Human rights are universally recognized Morality, moral principles or Social norm, norms that establish standards of human behavior and are often protected by both Municipal law, national and international laws. These rights are considered ...
legislation. This includes the
Black Protest and
Women's Strike against restrictions to women's rights (especially with regards to abortion), the
Polish Sejm Crisis against restrictions of press freedoms, and the
2020 LGBT protests in Poland against restrictions to LGBT rights, and the
2023 Polish protests in response to the oppression committed by the government by these actions. These rulings and legislative actions with the corresponding protest action have exacerbated the crisis in Poland.
After the
2023 Polish parliamentary election
Parliamentary elections were held in Poland on 15 October 2023 to elect members of the Sejm and Senate of Poland, Senate. A 2023 Polish referendum, referendum containing four questions concerning economic and immigration policy of the government ...
, the installation of the
Donald Tusk
Donald Franciszek Tusk (born 22 April 1957) is a Polish politician and historian who has served as the prime minister of Poland since 2023, previously holding the office from 2007 to 2014. Tusk served as the president of the European Council (20 ...
-led coalition government has started to reverse the PiS reforms. This is opposed by
Andrzej Duda
Andrzej Sebastian Duda (born 16 May 1972) is a Polish lawyer and politician who has served as the sixth president of Poland since 2015. Before becoming president, he served as a Member of the Sejm from 2011 to 2014 and before becoming Member of ...
, who remains
President of Poland
The president of Poland ( ), officially the president of the Republic of Poland (), is the head of state of Poland. His or her prerogatives and duties are determined in the Constitution of Poland. The president jointly exercises the executive ...
.
Background
Constitutional Tribunal
The Constitutional Tribunal (TC) of Poland was founded in 1982 by the government of the
Polish People's Republic
The Polish People's Republic (1952–1989), formerly the Republic of Poland (1947–1952), and also often simply known as Poland, was a country in Central Europe that existed as the predecessor of the modern-day democratic Republic of Poland. ...
. It oversees the actions of government, including legislative action, to ensure compliance with the
Constitution of Poland
The Constitution of the Republic of Poland ( or ''Konstytucja RP'' for short) is the supreme law of the Republic of Poland, which is also commonly called the Third Polish Republic ( or ''III RP'' for short) in contrast with the preceding syste ...
. Judges are elected to the court by the
Sejm
The Sejm (), officially known as the Sejm of the Republic of Poland (), is the lower house of the bicameralism, bicameral parliament of Poland.
The Sejm has been the highest governing body of the Third Polish Republic since the Polish People' ...
and approved by the
President
President most commonly refers to:
*President (corporate title)
* President (education), a leader of a college or university
*President (government title)
President may also refer to:
Arts and entertainment Film and television
*'' Præsident ...
. The court is made up of 15 judges who serve single nine-year terms and which point they are replaced through agreement of the Sejm and President. In 2015, before the crisis, the court was made up of ten justices nominated by the
centre-right
Centre-right politics is the set of right-wing politics, right-wing political ideologies that lean closer to the political centre. It is commonly associated with conservatism, Christian democracy, liberal conservatism, and conservative liberalis ...
Civic Platform
The Civic Platform (, PO)The party is officially the Civic Platform of the Republic of Poland (''Platforma Obywatelska Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej''). is a Centre-right politics, centre-right liberal conservative political party in Poland. Since ...
(PO) and five justices nominated by the
right-wing
Right-wing politics is the range of political ideologies that view certain social orders and hierarchies as inevitable, natural, normal, or desirable, typically supporting this position based on natural law, economics, authority, property ...
nationalist
Nationalism is an idea or movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the State (polity), state. As a movement, it presupposes the existence and tends to promote the interests of a particular nation,Anthony D. Smith, Smith, A ...
Law and Justice
Law and Justice ( , PiS) is a Right-wing populism, right-wing populist and National conservatism, national-conservative List of political parties in Poland, political party in Poland. The party is a member of European Conservatives and Refo ...
Party (PiS).
Abortion law in Poland
In Poland it was illegal to have an abortion except where the mother's life was at risk, the pregnancy was a result of rape or if the foetus had "severe and irreparable" impairment. The largely Christian conservative base of PiS follow the
Catholic Church teaching on abortion. In 2017, a
Pew Research Center
The Pew Research Center (also simply known as Pew) is a nonpartisan American think tank based in Washington, D.C. It provides information on social issues, public opinion, and demographic trends shaping the United States and the world. It ...
poll showed 51% of Poles thought abortion should be illegal in all or most cases.
2015 Polish presidential election
In May 2015
Andrzej Duda
Andrzej Sebastian Duda (born 16 May 1972) is a Polish lawyer and politician who has served as the sixth president of Poland since 2015. Before becoming president, he served as a Member of the Sejm from 2011 to 2014 and before becoming Member of ...
was elected as
President of Poland
The president of Poland ( ), officially the president of the Republic of Poland (), is the head of state of Poland. His or her prerogatives and duties are determined in the Constitution of Poland. The president jointly exercises the executive ...
with a radical right-wing platform, defeating incumbent
Bronisław Komorowski
Bronisław Maria Komorowski (; born 4 June 1952) is a Polish politician and historian who was the fifth president of Poland from 2010 to 2015. Komorowski previously served as Ministry of National Defence (Poland), Minister of National Defence ...
of the Civic Platform. Prior to the election, Komorowski was believed to be the favourite to win. Duda promised to block the Constitutional Tribunal nominations of the Civic Platform-controlled Sejm until after the
2015 Polish parliamentary election
Parliamentary elections were held in Poland on 25 October 2015. All 460 members of the Sejm and 100 senators of the Senate of Poland, Senate were elected. The election was won by the largest opposition party, the right-wing Law and Justice (Pola ...
. The outcome has been described as a shock in many media, as observers feared a potential conflict between Poland and the European Union as well as Duda's authoritarian tendency.
European migrant crisis
Following the election of Duda, relations between the European Union and Poland soured, especially in relation to the ongoing
European migrant crisis
The 2015 European migrant crisis was a period of significantly increased movement of refugees and Human migration, migrants into Europe, mostly from the Middle East. An estimated 1.3 million people came to the continent to request Right of asyl ...
, where Duda refused to be part of the European migrant quota plan managed by the
European Asylum Support Office
The European Union Agency for Asylum (EUAA) is an agency created by European Union Regulation 439/2010 within the area of freedom, security and justice framework to increase the cooperation of EU member states on asylum, improve the implemen ...
, causing the EU to initiate sanctions procedures against Poland and other
Visegrád Group
The Visegrád Group (also known as the Visegrád Four or the V4) is a cultural and political alliance of four Central European countries: the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, and Slovakia. The alliance aims to advance co-operation in military, e ...
member states.
First Duda term
2015 Constitutional Court crisis
Between the election of Duda and the start of the
8th Sejm on 12 November 2015, 5 seats on the TC were due to expire. The
7th Sejm, controlled by PO and its allies completed its election process for replacement judges. However, Duda refused to swear in these nominees until after the sitting of the 8th Sejm.
Following the
2015 Polish parliamentary election
Parliamentary elections were held in Poland on 25 October 2015. All 460 members of the Sejm and 100 senators of the Senate of Poland, Senate were elected. The election was won by the largest opposition party, the right-wing Law and Justice (Pola ...
in October 2015, PiS took control of the Sejm and elected its own five replacement judges, who were elected on 2 December and sworn in on 3 December by Duda.
PO claimed this was unlawful,
whereas PiS claimed that the initial election of judges by 7th Sejm was unlawful. On 3 December the TC ruled that 3 of the judges nominated by the 7th Sejm were legally elected; 2 were not. Despite the ruling, Duda did not swear in the legally elected judges. The President of the Constitutional Tribunal dictated that the new five judges should not hear cases until the situation was settled; in order to combat this, PiS passed a series of laws through the Sejm and Senate which compelled the TC to allow the judges to hear new cases. The new legislation was signed into law on 28 December. In January 2016, the TC ruled the five new judges elected by the 8th Sejm were legally appointed, but in March 2016 ruled the new legislation unconstitutional. The latter ruling was ignored by the Polish government, which considered the ruling "advisory".
The crisis provoked outrage in the European Union which began an investigation into Poland under
Article 7 of the Treaty on European Union, describing the situation as threatening the
rule of law
The essence of the rule of law is that all people and institutions within a Body politic, political body are subject to the same laws. This concept is sometimes stated simply as "no one is above the law" or "all are equal before the law". Acco ...
.
Protests both for and against the government of Poland occurred in
Warsaw
Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...
and other major Polish cities.
On 13 January 2016, the European Commission launched a formal rule-of-law assessment to determine a serious threat of a breach of Union law based on rules set out in 2014 and the provisions of
Article 7 of the Treaty on European Union, regarding the amendments of the constitutional court and the public media law in Poland. A recommendation, the second step in the rule-of-law assessment, was issued on 1 June 2016. Iverna McGowan, director of
Amnesty International
Amnesty International (also referred to as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. The organization says that it has more than ten million members a ...
's European Institutes office in Brussels, commented: "The willingness of the commission to use the rule-of-law framework is a positive step towards a more serious approach by the EU to speak out and hold its own member states to account on their human rights records." Hungary declared that it will oppose any sanctions against Poland.
On 11 March 2016 the
Council of Europe's Venice Commission
The Venice Commission, officially European Commission for Democracy through Law, is an advisory body of the Council of Europe, composed of independent experts in the field of constitutional law. It was created in 1990 after the fall of the Berlin ...
, who had been asked for an opinion by the Polish government in December 2015, assessed the amendments as crippling the Court's effectiveness and undermining democracy, human rights and the rule of law. On 13 April 2016 the European Parliament, by 513 votes to 142 and with 30 abstentions, passed a resolution declaring that the Parliament "is seriously concerned that the effective paralysis of the Constitutional Tribunal in Poland endangers democracy, human rights and the rule of law".
In July 2016, the
European Commission
The European Commission (EC) is the primary Executive (government), executive arm of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with a number of European Commissioner, members of the Commission (directorial system, informall ...
issued a statement outlining its recommendations regarding "the rule of law in Poland", including the swearing-in of the three judges elected by the 7th Sejm and the adherence to the March 2016 TC ruling declaring that changes to the structure and functioning of the TC were unconstitutional.
2016 protests
Sejm crisis

In 2016, the government passed legislation which only allowed a small number of journalists and TV stations to report from parliament. This was seen as a continuation of PiS anti-journalistic policy, and resulted in protests. Inside the parliament building, opposition MPs staged a sit-in, forcing government legislators to pass bills elsewhere, and protestors outside the building gathered, shouting "freedom, equality, democracy".
Black Protest
The 8th Sejm held debates on reforming abortion law in Poland, in order to make them more restrictive. The votes on the new restrictive abortion legislation took place on 6 October and were voted down due to domestic and international pressure. Despite a lack of legislative changes, PiS MPs began ligation in order to see abortion become more restrictive.
2017 Supreme Court crisis
In 2017 the Sejm and Senate passed a law mandating retirement for all judges aged over 70, unless given an exemption by the
Minister of Justice
A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice, is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a ...
. Following widespread protests this law was vetoed by Duda. A revised bill, mandating retirement at aged 65 was eventually passed and signed by Duda, giving significant control to the government over judges and their livelihoods.
In December 2017 the European Commission warned that "over a period of two years the Polish authorities have adopted more than 13 laws affecting the entire structure of the justice system in Poland", stating that "Article 7(1) of the
Treaty on European Union
The Treaty on the European Union (2007) is one of the primary Treaties of the European Union, alongside the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU). The TEU forms the basis of EU law, by setting out general principles of the EU's ...
provides for
the Council, acting by a majority of four fifths of its members, to determine that there is a clear risk of a serious breach by a Member State of the common values referred to in Article 2 of the Treaty ... The Commission can trigger this process by a reasoned proposal."
In December 2018, a new law was signed by Duda, reinstating all judges who had been removed from their posts by the 2017 law; despite this, concerns in the European Union remained. In April 2020, the ECJ ruled that Poland had still "failed to fulfil its obligations" under the
Treaties of the European Union
The Treaties of the European Union are a set of international treaties between the European Union (EU) member states which sets out the EU's constitutional basis. They establish the various EU institutions together with their remit, procedure ...
.
Deforestation
Białowieża Forest
Białowieża Forest is a large forest complex on the border between Poland and Belarus. It is one of the last and the largest remaining part of the immense primeval forest that once stretched across the European Plain. The forest is home to more ...
, an
ancient woodland
In the United Kingdom, ancient woodland is that which has existed continuously since 1600 in England, Wales and Northern Ireland (or 1750 in Scotland). The practice of planting woodland was uncommon before those dates, so a wood present in 1600 i ...
and
World Heritage Site
World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...
, has been subjected to large-scale logging since 2017. 190,000 cubic metres (160,000–180,000 trees) of wood were felled in 2017 alone. The European Commission sued Poland at the European Court of Justice, which ruled that logging must be immediately halted as Poland had failed to fulfil its obligations under the
Habitats Directive
The Habitats Directive (more formally known as Council Directive 92/43/EEC on the Conservation of natural habitats and of wild fauna and flora) is a directive adopted by the European Community in 1992 as a response to the Berne Convention. The ...
and the
Birds Directive
The Birds Directive (formally known as Council Directive 2009/147/EC on the conservation of wild birds) is the oldest piece of EU legislation on the environment and one of its cornerstones which was unanimously adopted in April 1979 as the Dir ...
,
and threatened to
fine
Fine may refer to:
Characters
* Fran Fine, the title character of ''The Nanny''
* Sylvia Fine (''The Nanny''), Fran's mother on ''The Nanny''
* Officer Fine, a character in ''Tales from the Crypt'', played by Vincent Spano
Legal terms
* Fine (p ...
the Polish state.
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...
also requested that the Polish government halt logging in the area. Despite this, the Polish government has continued to allow logging in Białowieża Forest, although at "lower intensity" according to
Greenpeace Poland, under the pretext of a
bark beetle
A bark beetle is the common name for the subfamily of beetles Scolytinae. Previously, this was considered a distinct family (Scolytidae), but is now understood to be a specialized clade of the "true weevil" family (Curculionidae). Although th ...
infestation, a pretext which has been twice rejected by the ECJ.
However, several years later it turns out that the
bark beetle
A bark beetle is the common name for the subfamily of beetles Scolytinae. Previously, this was considered a distinct family (Scolytidae), but is now understood to be a specialized clade of the "true weevil" family (Curculionidae). Although th ...
infestation got out of control, causing many more trees to die than would have been necessary, if the infestation had been controlled, by removing all infested and dead trees. Additionally, bordering private forests were lost to the infestation. The owners sued the government for not containing the infestation in time, claiming that the damage could have been prevented, had the expertise of their rangers and forest officials not been overruled by activists and foreign political entities.
LGBT-free zones

In 2019 and 2020, LGBT-free zones were declared across many local authorities in Poland, with over 100 municipalities voting to declare themselves "LGBT-free", meaning free of the popular ideology in their public education programs. Whilst without legal backing, such declaration were found by the
European Commissioner for Human Rights
The Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights is an independent and impartial non-judicial institution established in 1999 by the Strasbourg-based Council of Europe, to promote awareness of and respect for human rights in the council's 46 ...
as "stigmatisation" which "directly impact" LGBT citizens, contrary to the
European Convention on Human Rights
The European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR; formally the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms) is a Supranational law, supranational convention to protect human rights and political freedoms in Europe. Draf ...
and likely prohibited by Article 34 of
Constitution of Poland
The Constitution of the Republic of Poland ( or ''Konstytucja RP'' for short) is the supreme law of the Republic of Poland, which is also commonly called the Third Polish Republic ( or ''III RP'' for short) in contrast with the preceding syste ...
. The European Union broadly denounced these declarations, with the
European Parliament
The European Parliament (EP) is one of the two legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it ...
voting overwhelming to condemn such declarations.
An LGBT activist placed "LGBT-Free Zone" road signs in front of the towns, creating the impression that they were officially placed by the towns and photographed them. These pictures were then used by media outlets all around the world. The misleading presentation made the story go viral, so the young activist's success was recognized by a Obama foundation scholarship. Polish opposition politicians, such as
Robert Biedroń
Robert Biedroń (; born 13 April 1976) is a Polish politician, former mayor of Słupsk, and LGBT activist who has been serving as a Member of the European Parliament since 2019. He is the Chair of the Committee on Women's Rights and Gender Equal ...
, have compared the declaration to the zones created by the
Nazis
Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...
in Poland. Due to the breach of Article 2 of the
Maastricht Treaty
The Treaty on European Union, commonly known as the Maastricht Treaty, is the foundation treaty of the European Union (EU). Concluded in 1992 between the then-twelve Member state of the European Union, member states of the European Communities, ...
, the European Union's
Structural Funds and Cohesion Fund
The European Structural and Investment Funds (ESI Funds, ESIFs) are financial tools governed by a common rulebook, set up to implement the regional policy of the European Union, as well as the structural policy pillars of the Common Agricultura ...
can no longer be used in these areas. However, the Polish government pledged to fill the gap in funding to affected areas, in opposition to the EU but supported by the
Catholic Church
The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
.
President
Ursula von der Leyen
Ursula Gertrud von der Leyen (; ; born 8 October 1958) is a German politician, serving as president of the European Commission since 2019. She served in the Cabinet of Germany, German federal government between 2005 and 2019, holding position ...
said "LGBTQI-free zones are humanity free zones. And they have no place in our Union" during her
State of the Union
The State of the Union Address (sometimes abbreviated to SOTU) is an annual message delivered by the president of the United States to a Joint session of the United States Congress, joint session of the United States Congress near the beginning ...
speech in September 2020, indicating the strength of opposition in the European Union.
2019 judicial disciplinary panel law
On 20 December 2019 the Sejm voted to allow
Disciplinary Chamber of the Supreme Court of Poland to remove judges deemed to be partaking in "political activity". This gave the government ''de facto'' control of entire judicial arm of the state. The law also gave government greater control over appointment to the position of head judge of the Supreme Court of Poland. The law was criticised by the
UN Human Rights Commission
The United Nations Commission on Human Rights (UNCHR) was a functional commission within the United Nations System, overall framework of the United Nations from 1946 until it was replaced by the United Nations Human Rights Council in 2006. It was a ...
which stated the law "risks further undermining" the Polish judiciary.
The European Union also criticised the bill, with Poland risking further sanctions under Article 7 and by the European Court of Justice.
The EU urged Poland not to pass the bill, and to consult the
Venice Commission
The Venice Commission, officially European Commission for Democracy through Law, is an advisory body of the Council of Europe, composed of independent experts in the field of constitutional law. It was created in 1990 after the fall of the Berlin ...
, yet it passed.
The Association of Judges of Ireland condemned the Polish legislation.
Koen Lenaerts,
President of the Court of Justice of the European Union, warned that "You can't be a member of the European Union if you don't have independent, impartial courts operating in accordance with fair trial rule, upholding union law".
The Polish Supreme Court stated that the bill was a "
continuation of the lawlessness of the 1980s". According to the court: "Everything is there: a ban on the freedom of speech by judges, the establishment of a surveillance mechanism and a drastic reduction of their right to have profiles on social networks". The Polish Supreme Court, prior to the bill passing, said that Poland overruling the primacy of EU law may force it out of the bloc.
Donald Tusk
Donald Franciszek Tusk (born 22 April 1957) is a Polish politician and historian who has served as the prime minister of Poland since 2023, previously holding the office from 2007 to 2014. Tusk served as the president of the European Council (20 ...
, former
European Council
The European Council (informally EUCO) is a collegiate body (directorial system) and a symbolic collective head of state, that defines the overall political direction and general priorities of the European Union (EU). It is composed of the he ...
president, warned the bill might force Poland out of the EU. Ombudsman
Adam Bodnar
Adam Piotr Bodnar (born 6 January 1977) is a Polish lawyer of Ukrainian descent, educator, Human rights activists, human rights activist and politician who currently serves as Minister of Justice (Poland), Minister of Justice. He was the 7th Poli ...
said the law "violates the Constitution and the ground rules of the rule of law" and "would definitively put Polish courts and judges under the control of the legislative and executive branches of government". Special Rapporteur of the United Nations on the Independence of Judges and Lawyers
Diego García Sayán
Diego is a Spanish masculine given name. The Portuguese equivalent is Diogo. The etymology of Diego is disputed, with two major origin hypotheses: ''Tiago'' and ''Didacus''.
The name also has several patronymic derivations, listed below.
...
and President of the European Association of Judges José Igreja Matos warned the legislation "runs contrary to judicial independence".
COVID-19 reporting

On 20 March 2020, the secretary of state of the Ministry of Health,
Józefa Szczurek-Żelazko, sent a written statement ordering voivodeship medical consultants to not make statements about SARS-CoV-2, the epidemiological situation, the risks for medical staff or methods of protection from infection, unless they had first consulted with the Ministry of Health or . Szczurek-Żelazko motivated the order by the need to provide correct, unified information and to avoid unjustified unrest in the medical community.
A surgeons' group, , described the order as
blackmail
Blackmail is a criminal act of coercion using a threat.
As a criminal offense, blackmail is defined in various ways in common law jurisdictions. In the United States, blackmail is generally defined as a crime of information, involving a thr ...
and said that it risked catastrophe. The group stated that the COVID-19 pandemic showed Poland as "not at all prepared for crisis situations" with a "lack of equipment, basic personal protective gear and disinfectant materials and a lack of standards and procedures".
On 25 March 2020, the
Polish Ombudsman
The Commissioner for Human Rights (, RPO) is a Polish ombudsman, an official appointed for a five year term by the Sejm with an approval of the Senate of Poland, Senate (respectively lower and upper houses of Parliament of Poland, Polish legisla ...
Adam Bodnar
Adam Piotr Bodnar (born 6 January 1977) is a Polish lawyer of Ukrainian descent, educator, Human rights activists, human rights activist and politician who currently serves as Minister of Justice (Poland), Minister of Justice. He was the 7th Poli ...
sent a letter to the Minister of Health, Szumowski, stating that medical staff's freedom of speech and is guaranteed under
Articles 2 and
54 of the Polish Constitution and the right of the public to information is guaranteed under
Article 61 of the constitution. Bodnar stated that firing or punishing doctors for informing the public during the pandemic could be a violation of the "obligatory standards". Bodnar asked if Szumowski was aware of the situation and requested a clarification of policy.
2019–2020 elections
In 2019 and 2020 PiS and the United Right retained control of the parliament and presidency of Poland. In the
2019 Polish parliamentary election
Parliamentary elections were held in Poland on 13 October 2019. All 460 members of the Sejm and 100 senators of the Senate of Poland, Senate were elected. The ruling right-wing Law and Justice (Poland), Law and Justice (PiS) won re-election to a ...
, which had the highest turnout since the fall of
communism in Poland
Communism in Poland can trace its origins to the late 19th century: the Marxist First Proletariat party was founded in 1882. Rosa Luxemburg (1871–1919) of the Social Democracy of the Kingdom of Poland and Lithuania (''Socjaldemokracja Króle ...
, PiS retained 43.59% of the popular vote for the Sejm and 44.56% of the vote for the Senate, marking a positive
swing in these elections.
In 2020, the
2020 Polish presidential election
Presidential elections were held in Poland on 28 June 2020. As no candidate received a majority of the vote, a second round was held on 12 July, in which incumbent president Andrzej Duda, running with the support of the incumbent government of t ...
took place, with Duda winning with 51.03% of the vote. Independent observers from the
Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe
The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) is a regional security-oriented intergovernmental organization comprising member states in Europe, North America, and Asia. Its mandate includes issues such as arms control, the p ...
found that
Telewizja Polska
Telewizja Polska S.A. (; TVP), also known in English as Polish Television, is a Public broadcasting, public service broadcaster in Poland, founded in 1952. It is the oldest and largest Polish television network.
After 2015, when the right-wing po ...
, the Polish
public broadcasting
Public broadcasting (or public service broadcasting) is radio, television, and other electronic media outlets whose primary mission is public service with a commitment to avoiding political and commercial influence. Public broadcasters receive f ...
service, was inappropriately and "clearly biased" towards Duda and PiS in both elections.
Second Duda term
LGBT rights
In August 2020, following the arrest of
Margot Margot ( , ) is a feminine given name, a French language, French diminutive of Marguerite (given name), Marguerite that has long been used as an independent name. Variant spellings in use include Margo (given name), Margo and Margaux (name), Margaux ...
, an LGBT activist, several mass demonstrations took place across Poland. In central Warsaw, this protest degenerated and led to a violent police response, in turn resulting in further protest action. These protested against the "
LGBT-free zones", police violence and human rights rollbacks by the government.
It has been described by some media outlets as "Poland's Stonewall".
In January 2021, the trial of three Polish activists began, charged with
offending religious feelings after creating and posting posters of the
Black Madonna of Częstochowa
The Black Madonna of Częstochowa (; ), also known as Our Lady of Częstochowa () is a venerated icon of the Blessed Virgin Mary enshrined at the Jasna Góra Monastery in Częstochowa, Poland.
Pope Clement XI issued a Pontifical decree of canon ...
with the
rainbow flag
A rainbow flag is a multicolored flag consisting of the colors of the rainbow. The designs differ, but many of the colors are based on the seven spectral colors of the visible light spectrum.
History
In the 18th century, American Revolutionary ...
, popularly known as the
Rainbow Madonna
The Rainbow Madonna is an adaptation of the icon of Black Madonna of Częstochowa, with the halos colored in Rainbow flag, rainbow colors of the LGBT movement. This modification of the painting, created by a civil rights activist Elżbieta Podleś ...
.
Abortion rights
On 22 October 2020, the Constitutional Tribunal, with
disputed judges, ruled that abortion in cases of disability or life-limiting illness were unconstitutional, further limiting abortion rights in Poland. The decision was nearly unanimous, with judges ruling 11–2 in favour of limiting abortion. The court found it violated the right to
human dignity
Dignity is a human's contentment attained by satisfying physiological needs and a need in development. The content of contemporary dignity is derived in the new natural law theory as a distinct human good.
As an extension of the Age of Enlighten ...
enshrined in the Polish constitution.
This precipitated significant protests and civil unrest. Protests began on the day of the ruling, but have continued, especially in major cities such as
Warsaw
Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...
, which saw an estimated 100,000 people protest on 30 October. Protests continued throughout November and December 2020. On 27 January 2021, the ruling was formally published in ''
Dziennik Ustaw
''Dziennik Ustaw'' () or ''Dziennik Ustaw Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej'' (, abbreviated Dz. U.) is the most important Polish publication of legal acts. It is the only official source of law for promulgation of Polish laws. The publication of this j ...
'' and enforcement of the ruling began across Poland, precipitating further waves of unrest. Poland now has one of the most restrictive
abortion law
Abortion laws vary widely among countries and territories, and have changed over time. Such laws range from abortion being freely available on request, to regulation or restrictions of various kinds, to outright prohibition in all circumstances ...
s in Europe, described as a "near-total ban" by the BBC as 98% of previous abortions in Poland took place under the laws now deemed unconstitutional.
Third Cabinet of Donald Tusk
In 2023, the
Civic Coalition, a coalition led by
Donald Tusk
Donald Franciszek Tusk (born 22 April 1957) is a Polish politician and historian who has served as the prime minister of Poland since 2023, previously holding the office from 2007 to 2014. Tusk served as the president of the European Council (20 ...
, won the
2023 Polish parliamentary election
Parliamentary elections were held in Poland on 15 October 2023 to elect members of the Sejm and Senate of Poland, Senate. A 2023 Polish referendum, referendum containing four questions concerning economic and immigration policy of the government ...
, and the Tusk government began a series of measures to roll back Duda's reforms and to restore the rule of law to Poland, opposed by Duda, who remained President.
In January 2024, two members of parliament whose conviction was disputed on the basis on disputed presidential pardons were arrested in the
Polish presidential palace, where Duda had given them refuge.
In March 2024, the Sejm voted on a
non-binding resolution
A non-binding resolution is a motion adopted by a deliberative body that does not enact a law or a substantive rule, and is simply used to make known what the opinions of that body are in relation to a certain fact or event.
This type of resoluti ...
that declared the 2015 nomination of several of the
Constitutional Tribunal justices were invalid. The resolution also stated that the President of the Constitutional Tribunal,
Julia Przyłębska, was invalidly appointed.
Opposition groups
Domestic
Parliamentary parties
*
Civic Coalition, the main opposition
**
Civic Platform
The Civic Platform (, PO)The party is officially the Civic Platform of the Republic of Poland (''Platforma Obywatelska Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej''). is a Centre-right politics, centre-right liberal conservative political party in Poland. Since ...
, the second largest party in the Sejm
*
The Left, political alliance of left-wing parties
Other
*
All-Poland Women's Strike, social movement for women's rights
**
Consultative Council, strategy council for the All-Poland Women's Strike
*
Campaign Against Homophobia
Campaign Against Homophobia (, KPH) is a Polish LGBTQ rights organisation, which aims to promote legal and social equality for people outside of heteronormativity, heteronormality. It was founded in Warsaw in September 2001.
It has local branche ...
, gay rights organisation
*
Citizens of Poland, pro-democracy civic movement
*
Committee for the Defence of Democracy
The Committee for the Defence of Democracy, CDD (, ''KOD'') is a Polish-born civic organization and NGO with goals that includes promoting the European values, especially democracy, rule of law, and human rights. It was founded in November 201 ...
,
NGO
A non-governmental organization (NGO) is an independent, typically nonprofit organization that operates outside government control, though it may get a significant percentage of its funding from government or corporate sources. NGOs often focus ...
promoting "European values"
*
Polish Judges Association
International
*
Amnesty International
Amnesty International (also referred to as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. The organization says that it has more than ten million members a ...
*
European Union
The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...
*
Greenpeace
Greenpeace is an independent global campaigning network, founded in Canada in 1971 by a group of Environmental movement, environmental activists. Greenpeace states its goal is to "ensure the ability of the Earth to nurture life in all its biod ...
*
Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights
The Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights is the name of non-governmental organizations in a number of countries established under the now defunct International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights.
The organizations include:
*
* Turkmen Helsinki ...
*
Women on Web
A woman is an adult female human. Before adulthood, a female child or Adolescence, adolescent is referred to as a girl.
Typically, women are of the female sex and inherit a pair of X chromosomes, one from each parent, and women with functi ...
Role of the European Union
Under
European Union law
European Union law is a system of Supranational union, supranational Law, laws operating within the 27 member states of the European Union (EU). It has grown over time since the 1952 founding of the European Coal and Steel Community, to promote ...
, the European Court of Justice may strike down
member state
A member state is a state that is a member of an international organization or of a federation or confederation.
Since the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) include some members that are not sovereign states ...
law if the laws are incompatible with
Treaties of the European Union
The Treaties of the European Union are a set of international treaties between the European Union (EU) member states which sets out the EU's constitutional basis. They establish the various EU institutions together with their remit, procedure ...
, or if they concern one of the shared competences.
Examples of the former include
judicial independence
Judicial independence is the concept that the judiciary should be independent from the other branches of government. That is, courts should not be subject to improper influence from the other branches of government or from private or partisan inte ...
,
human rights
Human rights are universally recognized Morality, moral principles or Social norm, norms that establish standards of human behavior and are often protected by both Municipal law, national and international laws. These rights are considered ...
(including
women's rights
Women's rights are the rights and Entitlement (fair division), entitlements claimed for women and girls worldwide. They formed the basis for the women's rights movement in the 19th century and the feminist movements during the 20th and 21st c ...
and
LGBT rights
Rights affecting lesbian, Gay men, gay, Bisexuality, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) people vary greatly by country or jurisdiction—encompassing everything from the legal recognition of same-sex marriage to the Capital punishmen ...
) and
freedom of the press
Freedom of the press or freedom of the media is the fundamental principle that communication and expression through various media, including printed and electronic Media (communication), media, especially publication, published materials, shoul ...
. Thus, several times from 2016 to 2020, the European Commission referred to a lack of
rule of law
The essence of the rule of law is that all people and institutions within a Body politic, political body are subject to the same laws. This concept is sometimes stated simply as "no one is above the law" or "all are equal before the law". Acco ...
in Poland, as Union law was not being applied.
Article 7 of the Treaty on European Union allows the Union to suspend the rights of membership if a nation breaches the vaguely formulated Article 2, namely "respect for human dignity, freedom, democracy, equality, the rule of law and respect for human rights, including the rights of persons belonging to minorities". This would be subject to a veto by any other member state, with
Hungary
Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...
indicating it would veto such action. Despite this, attempts were made to introduce sanctions or
make funding conditional on the rule-of-law, such as in the
Next Generation EU
Next Generation EU (NGEU) is a European Commission economic recovery package to support the EU member states to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, in particular those that have been particularly hard hit. It is sometimes styled NextGenerationEU ...
budget,
Structural Funds and Cohesion Fund
The European Structural and Investment Funds (ESI Funds, ESIFs) are financial tools governed by a common rulebook, set up to implement the regional policy of the European Union, as well as the structural policy pillars of the Common Agricultura ...
.
See also
*
Poland in the European Union
*
Polexit
*
Anti-LGBT rhetoric
Anti-LGBTQ rhetoric comprises themes, catchphrases, and slogans that have been used in order to demean lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) people. Anti-LGBTQ rhetoric is widely considered a form of hate speech, which is ille ...
*
Democratic backsliding
Democratic backsliding or autocratization is a process of regime change toward autocracy in which the exercise of political power becomes more arbitrary and repressive. The process typically restricts the space for public contest and politi ...
*
European Charter of Fundamental Rights
*
European Convention on Human Rights
The European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR; formally the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms) is a Supranational law, supranational convention to protect human rights and political freedoms in Europe. Draf ...
*
Polish Ombudsman
The Commissioner for Human Rights (, RPO) is a Polish ombudsman, an official appointed for a five year term by the Sejm with an approval of the Senate of Poland, Senate (respectively lower and upper houses of Parliament of Poland, Polish legisla ...
Notes
References
{{Polish constitutional crisis
Germany–Poland relations
Judiciary of Poland
Political controversies in Poland
Legal history of Poland
LGBTQ rights in Poland
Abortion in Poland
Freedom of expression in Poland
Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...
2010s in Poland
2020s in Poland
2010s protests
2020s protests
Democratic backsliding in Poland