Berek's stance on the oath

Maciej Berek was elected by the Sejm as a Constitutional Tribunal judge on 4 September and has not yet taken the oath, because he did not receive an invitation from President Karol Nawrocki. In an interview for Rzeczpospolita, published on Friday, 9 October, he said he would accept a different form of oath if he were required to take one. He did not rule out swearing the oath before the president in the Sejm or at the seat of the National Council of the Judiciary. He added that it would be much better if the president returned to the tradition of judges swearing the oath at a time he sets and in a place where he is physically present.

“If I am placed in a situation where I have to take the oath of a Constitutional Tribunal judge in a form other than the traditionally accepted one, I am ready for it, because it is my duty.”

Dispute over qualifications

The Chancellery of the President has questioned whether Berek meets the legal requirements for the post, in particular his length of practice as a legal adviser. Berek answered that the Sejm is the body entitled to examine whether he meets the constitutional requirement of distinguished legal knowledge, and that the Sejm has done so.

“The body that has the right to examine whether I meet the constitutional requirement of distinguished legal knowledge is the Sejm. And the Sejm examined it.”

Berek said that under the act on legal advisers, the only way to prove length of practice is an entry on the list of practising legal advisers. He said he had submitted certificates from the district chamber of legal advisers, which he described as publicly available. He also noted that Włodzimierz Chróścik, chairman of the National Council of Legal Advisers, had already commented on the matter.

Plans for the Tribunal

Asked whether he had a way to put the Constitutional Tribunal in order, the institution headed by Bogdan Święczkowski, Berek said he had no magic wand. He pointed to the judges elected by the Sejm in this term, eight of them including him after he takes the oath, and said they had a plan.

“I do not have a magic wand, but together we, the judges of the Constitutional Tribunal elected by the Sejm in this term, already eight of us with me after taking the oath, have a matter thought through and prepared for how, applying the binding provisions, including those passed in the previous term by the current opposition, to get the Constitutional Tribunal to start functioning.”

Berek did not say how this would be done. He stated that it would not be sensible to describe the details of the legal construction, which he called thought through and prepared.