Unconstitutionality of the statutory provision determining the minimum number of Constitutional Tribunal judges whose participation is necessary for the Tribunal to take decisions in full composition

he author of the position of the Sejm on the application of the President of the Council of Ministers concerning the assessed provision of the Act on the Organisation and Procedure before the Constitutional Tribunal states that the provision in question is inconsistent primarily with the principle of efficiency and reliability of the operation of public institutions expressed in the Preamble to the Constitution. The challenged provision determines the minimum number of Constitutional Tribunal judges whose participation is necessary when the Tribunal takes decisions in full session. This provision has been challenged by the applicant to the extent that it prevents the Constitutional Tribunal from adjudicating when a minority of the constitutional composition refuses to adjudicate. The statutory establishment of a relatively high, rigid quorum may block the exercise of the constitutional powers of the Polish constitutional court. The provision under review may result in the fact that citizens and state bodies – due to the inability of the Tribunal to meet in full composition – will in fact be deprived of the constitutional guarantee of the Tribunal’s rendering of a judgment in cases in which adjudication by such a composition is required