Thousands of Polish citizens who believed they had legally divorced may discover that, in reality, they are still married.
The situation arises against the backdrop of the political and legal conflict triggered by the attempt of the Donald Tusk government to overturn the controversial judicial reforms imposed by the former nationalist administration, as reported by Politico.
The issue reveals unexpected effects of the struggle for the rule of law, which is now directly affecting the personal lives of citizens.
The case that triggered the alarm
In January, in a court in the city of Giżycko, a divorced couple appeared for a routine procedure regarding the division of assets. However, the judge informed them that their divorce did not legally exist because the initial decision had been signed by a so-called "neo-judge."
The magistrate deemed the divorce decision "non-existent," as the judge who pronounced it had been appointed during the judicial reforms promoted by the former Minister of Justice Zbigniew Ziobro, later considered incompatible with EU standards.
Where the legal deadlock comes from
The reforms during the Law and Justice (PiS) government changed the rules for appointing judges, granting Parliament control over the National Council of the Judiciary. Hundreds of magistrates were thus appointed or promoted, even in routine cases - divorces, inheritances, loans.
Subsequently, European courts ruled that these changes undermined the independence of the judiciary, leaving the current government facing a dilemma: how to fix the system without jeopardizing legal security.
How many cases could be affected
There is no clear estimate, but Poland records approximately 57,000 divorces annually. Tens of thousands of decisions could have been issued by judges whose legitimacy is now being contested.
Lawyers warn that, although the decision in Giżycko could be overturned on appeal, the precedent is dangerous. "A system that begins to question its own decisions ceases to be a system," said lawyer Bartosz Stasik.
The government acknowledges the seriousness of the situation
The Minister of Justice, Waldemar Żurek, described the decision as "very worrying," warning that the dispute over neo-judges has now come to affect "the most sensitive areas of citizens' lives."
He attributed the situation to the reforms during the PiS era and criticized the legislative blockages caused by President Karol Nawrocki, an ally of the nationalist opposition.
Justice, once again an electoral weapon
The PiS opposition uses the case as evidence of "institutional chaos" under the Tusk government, while former Minister Ziobro, currently in Hungary, accuses the current administration of destroying people's lives to impose its political agenda.
With parliamentary elections scheduled for next year, the legal dispute quickly becomes a major electoral stake: who will be held responsible for the judicial chaos - the authors of the reforms or those trying to dismantle them.