Polish president halts Africa trip amid court power struggle
Polish President Karol Nawrocki cut short his official visit to Senegal on Friday and returned to Warsaw as a major power struggle erupted over control of the country’s Constitutional Tribunal.
The confrontation prompted a police deployment outside the court amid concerns over possible threats to judges and staff and the risk of public disorder.
Warsaw police said they had not entered the tribunal building, rejecting claims that officers had stormed the premises. Three people were detained after allegedly climbing over the surrounding fence, while officers also reported that objects had been thrown at them.
The crisis intensified after orders appeared on the tribunal’s website temporarily removing its president, Bogdan Swieczkowski, and vice president, Bartlomiej Sochanski, from their duties.
However, the tribunal’s official account on X rejected the move as illegal, insisting that both officials remained in office and describing the attempted removal as a “coup”.
Nawrocki announced his decision to abandon the Senegal trip while his aircraft was flying over southern Spain.
“In such a moment the president must be in Poland. I am interrupting the flight to Senegal. I am returning,” he wrote on X.
Government defends move as part of judicial reform
Prime Minister Donald Tusk defended the government’s actions, arguing that restoring the rule of law required decisive measures following years of controversy over the judiciary under the former Law and Justice (PiS) government.
“Restoring the rule of law is our duty,” Tusk wrote on X, adding that the process was difficult and sometimes painful.
The dispute has deepened the political confrontation between Tusk’s governing coalition and Nawrocki, who is aligned with the conservative PiS party, now in opposition.
PiS leader Jaroslaw Kaczynski and other opposition politicians gathered outside the tribunal, accusing the government of attempting to take control of the institution. Kaczynski described the developments as a “coup against the Constitutional Tribunal” and urged Nawrocki to intervene.
At the centre of the confrontation is Judge Anna Korwin-Piotrowska, who said she had ordered Swieczkowski and Sochanski to suspend their duties.
Speaking to public broadcaster TVP Info, she said seven judges were inside the building and confirmed that police had not entered the tribunal.
Dispute over judicial appointments deepens
The latest confrontation reflects a wider constitutional dispute over the appointment and legal status of judges at Poland’s highest constitutional court.
Parliament elected Korwin-Piotrowska and several other judges earlier this year. However, Nawrocki refused to formally receive the oaths of some of the appointees.
The president’s office maintains that the judges cannot legally take office without the formal procedure. The judges and the governing coalition reject that position.
The crisis also coincided with a move by Justice Minister and Prosecutor General Waldemar Zurek to seek the lifting of judicial immunity for Swieczkowski and Sochanski.
Zurek said he had submitted five applications to the tribunal, four concerning Swieczkowski and one concerning Sochanski, describing the cases as serious criminal matters.
Long-running rule-of-law conflict
The Constitutional Tribunal has been at the centre of Poland’s prolonged dispute over judicial independence and the rule of law.
After coming to power in 2015, the PiS government introduced major changes to the court, drawing criticism from opposition parties and European institutions over concerns about judicial independence.
Since taking office in late 2023, Tusk’s coalition has sought to reverse parts of those changes and restore what it describes as constitutional order.
PiS and Nawrocki, however, accuse the government of using its judicial reform programme to remove political opponents from key state institutions.
The standoff remained unresolved on Friday, with Nawrocki expected to return to Warsaw later in the evening as tensions continued around the tribunal.
Polish president declares constitutional order violated, calls emergency talks after court standoff
Karol Nawrocki claims Constitutional Tribunal was forcibly taken over, warns of threat to Poland's internal security amid confrontation with government.
Polish President Karol Nawrocki called emergency talks with parliamentary parties Saturday, declaring that Poland's constitutional order had been violated following an overnight confrontation at the Constitutional Tribunal in Warsaw.
"Tonight, there was a violation of the constitutional order of the Republic of Poland and a forcible takeover of a constitutional state body," Nawrocki said.
The president made the statement after spending several hours inside the disputed court building. He cut short an official visit to Senegal and returned to Warsaw late Friday as tensions over control of the tribunal escalated.
He warned that the confrontation posed a threat to Poland's internal security.
"In connection with the threat to the internal security of the Republic of Poland, I am convening urgent consultations today with representatives of parliamentary forces in order to stabilize the political situation and restore constitutional order," he said.
After returning to Warsaw, Nawrocki met with First President of the Supreme Court Zbigniew Kapinski before traveling to the Constitutional Tribunal around 1 am.
Inside the building, he confronted Anna Korwin-Piotrowska and other judges whose status he and the tribunal's previous leadership reject.
"We are judges of the Constitutional Tribunal," Korwin-Piotrowska told him.
"You are not judges of the Constitutional Tribunal," Nawrocki replied, according to video recorded inside the building.
The president remained at the tribunal until shortly before 5 am.
He later called for police to leave the court grounds and said he has enabled Bartlomiej Sochanski, whom he recognizes as the tribunal's lawful vice president, to enter the building.
Dispute over control of Constitutional Tribunal
The confrontation marked an escalation in the dispute between Nawrocki and Prime Minister Donald Tusk's government over the legitimacy and control of Poland's Constitutional Tribunal.
The standoff erupted Friday after Korwin-Piotrowska announced the temporary suspension of Tribunal President Bogdan Swieczkowski and Sochanski.
The tribunal's official account on US social media platform X, controlled by the previous leadership, rejected the move and claimed its website had been unlawfully taken over.
It also accused those involved of committing a "coup d'état."
Police were deployed around the tribunal but said they did not enter the building.
Tusk defended efforts to change institutions shaped during the eight years of government by the Law and Justice party, saying restoring the rule of law required "decisive action."
Justice Minister and Prosecutor General Waldemar Zurek, meanwhile, criticized Nawrocki's conduct inside the tribunal and called for prosecutors to examine the incident.
Source:AA
