Poland is facing an acute institutional crisis after the removal of Constitutional Tribunal president Bogdan Święczkowski. The decision was announced on Friday evening, and police forces were deployed around the courthouse in Warsaw. Hundreds of protesters, including representatives of the “Law and Justice“ (PiS) party and far-right politicians, gathered in support of Święczkowski.
The Metropolitan Police said three people were detained after they jumped over the tribunal's fence. According to police, dangerous objects were thrown at officers. The security forces remained outside the building, with the official statement saying their task was to maintain public order and security around the institution.
President Karol Nawrocki cut short his flight to Senegal and returned to Poland. He visited the tribunal grounds and said he had helped Vice President Bartołomiej Sochanski enter the building. In a statement read by his adviser, Nawrocki said: “The constitutional order of the Republic of Poland was violated, and a constitutional state body was seized by force.“
The president called on the government to withdraw security forces from the court grounds and called for urgent consultations with the political forces represented in parliament. Representatives of the “Third Way“, the Polish Peasant Party and opposition parties took part in the meetings. Prime Minister Donald Tusk was not present. No agreement has been reached on the dispute so far.
Two opposing versions of the actions
The president's camp describes Świnczkowski's removal as an illegal seizure of an important state institution. Nawrocki's adviser, Marcin Przydzic, told the Associated Press that it was a "massive constitutional crisis" caused by an attempt to forcibly take control of the tribunal.
Tusk's government defends its actions as part of the process of restoring the rule of law and the independence of the judiciary. The prime minister wrote that restoring the rule of law is the duty of the government and that the process is difficult and painful, but requires decisive action.
Judge Maciej Berek, elected by parliament, accused the president of a physical confrontation with Judge Anna Korwin-Piotrowska and other magistrates. This claim is politically contested and has not been confirmed by an independent institution. Deputy Speaker of the Sejm Szymon Cholownia called on Nawrocki and Tusk to hold joint talks on “rebooting“ the tribunal.
The crisis is part of a dispute that began years ago
The conflict over the Constitutional Tribunal is a continuation of a dispute that began after PiS's judicial reforms in 2015. Critics in Poland and the European Union accused the then government of placing key judicial institutions under political influence. After Tusk's coalition came to power in 2023, the government promised to restore the independence of the judiciary.
However, the reforms faced vetoes from presidents close to PiS. This year, Nawrocki refused to confirm some of the judges elected by parliament, and Świnczkowski was accused by Tusk of blocking the entry of other new members of the tribunal. In parallel, the government itself was criticized for choosing its political allies as judges.
The Constitutional Tribunal thus found itself at the center of a dispute over which appointments were legal and who had the right to lead the institution. After the latest escalation, the president and the government presented incompatible versions of what happened, and political consultations were the first announced attempt to limit the conflict.
Sources: apnews.com, uk.marketscreener.com, polskieradio.pl