On January 24, 2025, the Sejm passed the so-called Incidental Law, which established a special procedure by which the Supreme Court can rule on the validity of the presidential election scheduled for May 18, 2025. On February 12, 2025, the Senate passed the bill without amendments.
This law, which violates the Supreme Court Act, forbids the Extraordinary Control and Public Affairs Chamber from ruling on an election’s validity and replaces it with a panel of 15 of the longest-serving Supreme Court judges. The vast majority of these judges were appointed under communist rule during the time of the Polish People’s Republic. Additionally, this law constitutes an unprecedented form of legislative interference in the judiciary by assigning specific judges to adjudicate a particular case. It also violates the Constitutional Court’s jurisprudential principle prohibiting major changes from being made to the election laws within six months prior to an election.
On March 10, 2025, the President vetoed the law and referred it back to the Sejm for reconsideration.
