Prime Minister Donald Tusk’s pro-European coalition had passed a bill that would ensure judges on the National Council of the Judiciary (KRS) were nominated not by politicians but only by other judges.

The government’s bill aimed to roll back a reform introduced by the conservative Law and Justice (PiS) party, which ruled Poland from 2015 and 2023.

Under PiS’s changes, the 15 members of the KRS, which nominates judges, were for the first time chosen exclusively by politicians, drawing criticism from the European courts.

Nawrocki said in a video message on X that he was vetoing the latest bill.

He said it “is clearly unconstitutional and could be used as a tool to remove judges whom the current government fears”, adding that it would cause “chaos”.

Justice Minister Waldemar Zurek branded the veto “political in nature”.

“What the president wanted was to attack the reforms that are essential for the functioning of the courts,” he was quoted as saying by Polish news website Onet.

Nawrocki has vetoed a record number of laws passed by parliament, prompting the ruling coalition to accuse him of “legislative sabotage”.

He has also refused appointments and promotions for judges, ambassadors and secret service agents.

Tusk’s parliamentary majority falls short of the 60 percent of the vote required to override a presidential veto.