Warsaw: Poland witnessed an escalating political and judicial confrontation on Friday after two senior judges of the country’s Constitutional Tribunal were suspended, triggering protests outside the court and prompting President Karol Nawrocki to cut short his official trip to Senegal and return home.
Police were deployed in large numbers outside the Constitutional Tribunal in Warsaw as hundreds of demonstrators gathered to oppose the suspension of its president, Bogdan Święczkowski.
The protesters accused Prime Minister Donald Tusk’s pro-European government of interfering with the judiciary and undermining the country’s constitutional order.
The situation turned tense after some demonstrators breached the tribunal’s perimeter fence and others allegedly threw objects at police officers. Police said they detained three people after the incidents.
The confrontation followed Judge Anna Korwin-Piotrowska’s announcement of the suspension of Święczkowski and Vice-President Bartłomiej Sochański.
She also assumed temporary responsibility for the tribunal, intensifying an already bitter dispute over the institution’s leadership and functioning.
Justice Minister Waldemar Żurek said he had requested that the legal immunity of the two senior judges be lifted to allow criminal proceedings against them.
The minister accused the tribunal’s leadership of obstructing judges elected by the current parliamentary majority from assuming their responsibilities.
The government maintains that the measures are necessary to restore the functioning and independence of the country’s highest constitutional court.
Poland President returns from Senegal amid escalating tensions
The developments prompted President Nawrocki to abandon his scheduled visit to Senegal while already traveling to the African nation.
Announcing his decision on X, Nawrocki said the situation at home required his presence in Poland.
‘At a moment like this, the President must be in Poland. I am cutting short my flight to Senegal. I am returning,’ he wrote.
Nawrocki, politically aligned with the opposition Law and Justice (PiS) party, has clashed with Tusk’s government over its attempts to restructure the judiciary.
According to reports, the president later returned to Warsaw and became directly involved in the tribunal’s unfolding developments.
Opposition politicians, including PiS leader Jarosław Kaczyński, also joined the demonstrations outside the court. They accused the government of attempting to seize control of the institution and described the suspension of its leadership as a coup against the constitutional order.
Former Justice Minister Zbigniew Ziobro also criticized the move, calling it an attack on Poland’s constitutional framework and urging supporters to resist.
Why is Poland witnessing a judicial crisis?
The latest confrontation is part of a prolonged dispute over the independence and composition of Poland’s Constitutional Tribunal.
The conflict dates back to 2015, when the Law and Justice party came to power and introduced changes to the country’s judicial system.
Its reforms and appointments to key judicial institutions drew criticism from opposition groups and European Union authorities, who raised concerns about political influence over the judiciary.
The European Union later imposed financial penalties on Poland over concerns about judicial independence.
Donald Tusk’s pro-European coalition took office in 2023, promising to reverse the changes and restore the rule of law. However, its attempts to reform the judicial system have repeatedly encountered resistance from presidents aligned with PiS.
Nawrocki has also refused to swear in several judges elected by parliament, adding to the disagreement over who has the authority to determine the tribunal’s composition. Tusk’s government has accused
Święczkowski, who became the tribunal’s president under the previous PiS administration, of preventing newly elected judges from taking up their positions.
Tusk defended his government’s latest actions, saying restoring the rule of law was an obligation and that the process required decisive measures.
The opposition, however, maintains that suspending the tribunal’s leadership violates the constitutional order.
With both sides refusing to back down, the latest confrontation has deepened uncertainty over how Poland’s Constitutional Tribunal will function in the future.