In a decisive escalation of the rule-of-law conflict between the European Union and Poland, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) ruled on December 18, 2025, that the Polish Constitutional Tribunal (CT) is not an "independent and impartial tribunal established by law." The judgment in Case C-448/23 targets the judicial reforms instituted by the former Law and Justice (PiS) government, which had stacked the Tribunal with loyalists.
The CJEU identified specific irregularities, including the appointment of "stand-in judges" to seats that were already validly filled and the irregular election of the Tribunal’s President. More critically, the European Court condemned the CT’s controversial 2021 rulings, which had declared that parts of the EU treaties were unconstitutional in Poland. The CJEU branded these 2021 decisions as a "double ultra vires" act: the Polish Tribunal had not only exceeded its own jurisdiction but had also violated the foundational principle of the primacy of EU law.
The ruling invokes the "non-regression principle," which dictates that a Member State cannot lower its rule-of-law standards once admitted to the Union. Practically, this judgment empowers the current pro-EU Polish government to disregard the Constitutional Tribunal's rulings, effectively creating a dual legal reality where the executive recognizes the authority of the European Court over its own compromised constitutional court. While the Polish President continues to veto legislative attempts to reconstitute the Tribunal, the CJEU’s decision provides the legal cover necessary for the government to bypass the PiS-controlled institution.
Source: Verfassungsblog