Polish Supreme Court President Zbigniew Kapiński Calls for Judicial Normalisation After Tribunal Ruling

President of the Polish Supreme Court, Zbigniew Kapiński, was appointed as the first president of the court amid sharp criticism from right‑wing circles, partly due to his involvement in a 1990‑era ruling on Lech Wałęsa’s lustration statement. In a televised interview, Kapiński proposed solutions to the longstanding dispute over the status of "neo‑judges," arguing that political actors, not the courts, must resolve the conflict.

Following a Constitutional Tribunal decision that eliminated the requirement for the prime minister’s countersignature on certain presidential acts related to the judiciary, Kapiński issued a statement saying the ruling “opens the road to normalisation” of the Supreme Court. He highlighted that the decision could fill several vacant seats in the Court’s disciplinary and employment chambers, which have been empty since 2024. Judges Bohdan Bieniek and other commentators noted that the previous countersignature rule had caused procedural paralysis and that its removal may help restore the court’s functioning.

The discussion also touched on broader reforms, including the limited use of mediation in Polish litigation and the potential impact of artificial intelligence on junior lawyers, though these issues were presented as ancillary to the core judicial reform debate.