#LETSAGREE is a new international discussion series inspired by the book. Bringing together the authors, members of the Social Contract Incubator, and diverse voices from politics, academia, and civil society, it explores contractarian approaches to redesigning the democratic rules that shape our common future. The international discussion series, generously supported by ERSTE Stiftung, is hosted by dr. Magdalena M. Baran

Poland’s Fight over the Judiciary: Is Local Legitimacy a Way Out?

Panel

Vilnius University, Vilnius, Lithuania
30/03/2026
Moderator dr MAGDALENA M. BARAN  
Speaker JAROSŁAW GWIZDAK  
Speaker Prof. Agnė Juškevičiūtė-Vilienė
Speaker Prof. Šarūnas Liekis

For over a decade, Poland’s battles over the judiciary have been cast internationally as a moralized struggle between good and evil. Let’s Agree on Poland: A Case Study of Constitutional Design (Oxford University Press, 2025), a Polish constitutional bestseller now available in English, takes a different approach. Written by 28 expert co-authors drawn from the broader IUS community of 130 intellectuals, the book offers a contractarian set of judicial reforms that address deep ideological divisions. This panel will feature two authors of the judicial reform proposals — progressive former judge Jarosław Gwizdak and Kaunas’s own professor Arkadiusz Radwan — in dialogue with liberal philosopher Dr. Magdalena Baran. Together, they will present the most innovative element of the reform: requiring not only professional endorsement, but also the positive opinion of assemblies of directly elected mayors from the region where a judge would serve. The speakers will explore how this design seeks to build judicial legitimacy at both professional and civic levels, bridging the divide between progressive and conservative visions of judging in Poland and beyond.

“Let’s Agree on Poland” presents the results of the pro-bono work of the Social Contract Incubator. The #LetsAgree series and related discussions are generously supported by donors, including


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