Politics
The dispute over Poland’s Constitutional Tribunal in the capital, Warsaw, escalated into an extraordinary situation after the tribunal’s president and vice-president were suspended from their posts,
The dispute over Poland’s Constitutional Tribunal in the capital, Warsaw, escalated into an extraordinary situation after the tribunal’s president and vice-president were suspended from their posts, prompting hundreds of people to take to the streets. Supporters of the government and opposition confronted each other outside the court. As tensions threatened to spiral out of control, riot police were called in. Following clashes between demonstrators and police, three people were taken into custody.
The political and judicial crisis in Poland intensified after the head of the Constitutional Tribunal was suspended. President Karol Nawrocki made an emergency return to the country while en route to Senegal, while tensions between police and protesters were also reported during anti-government demonstrations outside the court. Police subsequently detained three people. According to reports by the British broadcaster BBC and Reuters, demonstrators gathered outside the Constitutional Tribunal in Warsaw on Friday night. Some protesters threw objects at police officers and attempted to cross the security barriers erected around the court.
Meanwhile, President Karol Nawrocki had departed for Senegal on Friday evening. However, amid growing tensions in the country, he decided during the flight to turn his plane around and return to Poland. In a post on the social media platform X, Nawrocki said it was important for the president to be in the country at such a time, adding that he was cutting short his visit and returning home. On Saturday, Nawrocki also visited the Constitutional Tribunal and expressed support for its suspended president, describing the move against him as a violation of the country’s constitutional order.
On Friday, senior judge Anna Korwin-Piotrowska of Poland’s Constitutional Tribunal ordered the suspension of the tribunal’s president, Bogdan Święczkowski, and its vice-president, Bartłomiej Sochański, from their respective posts. Judge Korwin-Piotrowska argued that the tribunal’s current leadership had prevented judges elected by a parliamentary majority from carrying out their duties, disrupting the court’s work.
However, the tribunal’s president and his supporters rejected the decision, describing it as unlawful. The tribunal’s official account called the move an illegal takeover of the institution, likening it to a coup. Justice Minister Waldemar Żurek had also filed applications seeking the removal of legal immunity from the tribunal’s president and vice-president to allow criminal proceedings against them. However, the suspension order was issued not by the justice minister but by senior judge Anna Korwin-Piotrowska.
Poland is currently governed by a pro-European Union coalition led by Prime Minister Donald Tusk, while President Karol Nawrocki is backed by the former ruling Law and Justice Party (PiS). The two sides have long been at odds over the composition of the judiciary, the appointment of judges and the powers of the Constitutional Tribunal. Tusk’s government maintains that the previous ruling party introduced changes to the judicial system that undermined judicial independence and increased political influence over key judicial institutions. The current government is seeking to reverse those changes and restore the independence of the judiciary.
President Nawrocki and the opposition Law and Justice Party, on the other hand, accuse the government of using judicial reforms as a pretext to remove its political opponents from important state institutions. Responding to the latest developments, Prime Minister Donald Tusk said restoring the rule of law was the government’s responsibility. He added that reforming the judicial system after violations of the law under the previous administration was a difficult and, at times, painful process, but required decisive action.
The dispute over judicial independence and political interference in Poland began in 2015, when the Law and Justice Party came to power. Its government introduced several changes to the appointment of Constitutional Tribunal judges and the procedures governing the judicial system. The changes drew criticism from the European Union and other legal circles, which accused the government of seeking to expand its influence over the judiciary. European courts also raised serious legal concerns about certain judicial appointments in Poland and the independence of the Constitutional Tribunal.
When a new government led by Donald Tusk took office in 2023, it pledged to free the judicial system from political influence and reverse the previous administration’s reforms. However, the process faced opposition from the president, including the use of presidential veto powers. Following Karol Nawrocki’s election as president in 2025, tensions between the government and the presidency escalated further. The president refused to administer the oath of office to three of the six judges nominated by parliament, while suspended tribunal president Bogdan Święczkowski also prevented judges elected by the current parliamentary majority from taking up their duties. As a result, Poland’s Constitutional Tribunal has remained at the centre of a prolonged political and legal dispute. The latest suspensions and the protests against them mark a new phase in this ongoing confrontation.
