Polish Supreme Court judges boycott General Assembly meeting

A group of 28 Supreme Court judges has announced they will not participate in an extraordinary General Assembly meeting called by First President Zbigniew Kapiński. The boycott includes 15 judges from the criminal chamber and 13 judges from the civil and public affairs chambers.

The dissenting judges issued statements claiming the assembly was convened by an individual appointed to the office of First President in violation of the Constitution and the Supreme Court Act of 2017. They further argued that the inclusion of judges appointed under the 2017 National Council of the Judiciary regulations, which they claim violated constitutional procedures, would invalidate the assembly's legitimacy.

First President Kapiński convened the meeting to address threats to the constitutional order following recent developments involving the Constitutional Tribunal. While the 55 judges in attendance supported the proposed resolution, the assembly failed to reach a quorum. Under Supreme Court regulations, a quorum requires the presence of at least two-thirds of the judges from each chamber, excluding the Professional Responsibility Chamber.