Riot police surrounded Poland's Constitutional Tribunal on Friday night after a disputed move to suspend its president, Bogdan Swieczkowski, drew dozens of protesters and prompted President Karol Nawrocki to turn back from a trip to Senegal.1,4,5,6
The confrontation centers on a statement that appeared on the court's website saying Swieczkowski and his deputy had been suspended for one month, with fellow judge Anna Korwin-Piotrowska to lead the institution during that period. The move was backed by Prime Minister Donald Tusk. The tribunal's official X account rejected her authority, insisted Swieczkowski remained in charge, and called the operation a "coup d'état."1,5
Police stepped up security around the court after protesters gathered outside to oppose the suspension. Warsaw police said officers responded after a judge alerted them to possible threats to the safety of judges and staff. Police said officers were securing the court grounds and had not entered the building, and that they had deployed at the request of Korwin-Piotrowska and Justice Minister Waldemar Zurek, citing potential threats to judges and staff.1,4,5
France 24 described dozens of protesters and said police reported that several people were detained after some demonstrators breached the court's perimeter fence. The Daily Wire, citing police, said three people were arrested after trying to enter the court complex and that demonstrators threw objects at officers.4,5
Notes from Poland, as cited by the Daily Wire, reported that supporters of Swieczkowski cut through the perimeter with a power tool while officers blocked him from entering. Some other protesters held rosaries and prayed, while some chanted "Tusk traitor" against the prime minister, AFP reported.5
"Restoring the rule of law is our duty," Tusk said in a post on X backing the move. "After years of PiS-led lawlessness, this is a difficult process, sometimes painful, and it requires decisive action. There is no other way," he added.1,5
Swieczkowski is among judges appointed by the right-wing Law and Justice Party, known as PiS, which governed Poland from 2015 to 2023. When Tusk's center-left alliance took over after the 2023 parliamentary election, it announced it would reverse PiS government reforms in the judiciary. Tusk says he is repairing institutions politicized by the previous Law and Justice government, according to The Associated Press.1,5
Korwin-Piotrowska, described as a government-backed judicial appointee whom Nawrocki has refused to swear in, said she had suspended Swieczkowski. She accused him of blocking newly selected judges from taking their seats and overseeing irregularities in assigning cases, Notes from Poland reported. The tribunal's official X account rejected her authority, insisted Swieczkowski remained in charge, and called the operation a "coup d'état."5
Conservatives say the government's efforts to remake the judiciary amount to an unlawful takeover, while Tusk, whose government wants closer ties with the European Union, defended the action, saying restoring the rule of law required decisive steps after years of abuses under Law and Justice. The legal objections extended beyond the conservative opposition. Constitutional law scholar Marcin Matczak, a critic of the previous government's judicial changes, disputed the legal basis for suspending Swieczkowski.5
The standoff follows Nawrocki's refusal to administer oaths to several judges selected by parliament. Those appointees held their own ceremonies and submitted their oaths to his office, and Swieczkowski refused to admit them to the court, setting up Friday's confrontation, according to Notes from Poland. Zurek also sought to lift the immunity from prosecution of Swieczkowski and his deputy, AFP reported. The Constitutional Tribunal reviews whether laws comply with Poland's constitution.5
Nawrocki was flying to Senegal when the confrontation erupted and announced his return. "At such a moment, the President must be in Poland," Nawrocki wrote on X, according to a translation. Al Jazeera reported that he joined protesters facing off with police.5,6
