Riot Police Surround Polish Constitutional Court
Polish riot police surrounded the Constitutional Tribunal Saturday after government-aligned judges suspended Chief Justice Bogdan Święczkowski, sparking a constitutional standoff in Warsaw. President Karol Nawrocki aborted a state trip to Africa mid-flight to oppose the move, accusing Prime Minister Donald Tusk of staging an illegal coup against the judiciary.
Tusk is bypassing the presidency to forcibly purge the top court — trading strict legal procedure for control over Poland's fractured judiciary.
Background Poland's Constitutional Tribunal resolves conflicts between national legislation and the constitution, serving as the ultimate arbiter of legislative power. The bench has remained paralyzed since 2015, when the previous nationalist government installed loyalist judges whom Prime Minister Donald Tusk's pro-European coalition is now attempting to remove.
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President Karol Nawrocki turned his official flight around mid-air from Senegal and called emergency consultations in Warsaw, warning that the suspension of the chief justice constitutes a dangerous breach of legal order.
Senior judge Anna Korwin-Piotrowska assumed leadership of the tribunal Friday evening after suspending Święczkowski, moving to break a nine-year nationalist majority despite lacking presidential confirmation.
Justice Minister Waldemar Żurek petitioned parliament to strip Święczkowski and his deputy of judicial immunity, preparing criminal charges for obstructing duly elected judges from taking office.
Riot police established cordons around the court building as hundreds of Law and Justice supporters protested the ouster, detaining three demonstrators who attempted to breach security barricades.
Prime Minister Donald Tusk defended the court intervention as an essential step to restore the rule of law, while opposition leader Jarosław Kaczyński condemned the operation as a judicial coup d'état.
Timeline
Today · Sat Oct 31
Justice Minister Waldemar Żurek requested parliament strip suspended Chief Justice Bogdan Święczkowski of judicial immunity to face criminal prosecution for obstructing the tribunal.
Polish President Karol Nawrocki canceled his state visit to Senegal mid-flight Saturday and returned to Warsaw to oppose what he termed a forcible government takeover of the judiciary.
A faction of Polish Constitutional Tribunal judges suspended Chief Justice Bogdan Święczkowski Friday evening, triggering protests outside the Warsaw court building.
Watch Parliamentary immunity vote: if lawmakers strip Święczkowski of immunity, prosecutors will arrest him at the court gates — forcing President Nawrocki to challenge the cabinet's authority in state tribunals.
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