Polish President Karol Nawrocki has held crisis consultations with political leaders over the deepening dispute over the independence of the Constitutional Tribunal - the country's highest judicial institution on constitutional law issues. Representatives of nationalist, far-right and some parties from the ruling coalition participated in the talks, but Prime Minister Donald Tusk's Civic Coalition did not send any representatives.
Nawrocki said he had called the “urgent” consultations because of the “threat to Poland's internal security” posed by the sudden removal of the chairman of the Constitutional Tribunal, Bogdan Świnczkowski. No breakthrough had been achieved in the talks by Saturday afternoon.
Tusk accuses opposition of attack on democracy
In a televised address on Saturday evening, Donald Tusk accused conservative nationalist opposition leaders of wanting to destroy democracy and the rule of law.
Supporters of the right-wing Law and Justice party gathered outside the Constitutional Tribunal building in Warsaw. Protests in support of judges close to the party have been ongoing for weeks.
The dispute is part of a long-running judicial crisis
The Constitutional Tribunal has been at the center of a years-long political conflict over accusations of politicizing the Polish judiciary. According to Tusk, the problems began during the government of “PiS“ between 2015 and 2023.
Bogdan Świnczkowski, appointed during that government, was accused of using his powers as president of the court to block the election of new judges by parliament. Tusk said that the judges of the court are not politically neutral and described the removal of Świnczkowski as "painful" but necessary to restore the rule of law.
The official profile of the Constitutional Tribunal on the social network X described the government's actions as a "coup d'état". Nawrocki himself, a right-wing politician, has also blocked the appointment of judges to the court.
European Commission and US call for de-escalation
The European Commission has called on the Polish president to accept the nominations of new judges who are at the center of the constitutional crisis, Agence France-Presse reported, quoted by “Al Jazeera“. One of the main disputes between Tusk's government and the court is related to decisions by judges considered close to the "PiS" party, who often put Polish law above European Union law.
The US ambassador to Poland, Tom Rose, has urged all sides to remain calm.
“The last thing Poland needs is a confrontation that escalates into something much worse,“ Rose wrote.The talks with the president did not lead to an immediate agreement, and the standoff between the government, the president and the court continues.
Sources: aljazeera.com