Warsaw, October 31: Police secured Poland’s Constitutional Tribunal in Warsaw on Friday after protests erupted over the suspension of its president, Bogdan Święczkowski, by judges aligned with the current pro-European government.
Dozens of protesters gathered outside the Tribunal to oppose what they described as the wrongful suspension of its chief. Police said three people were detained after some demonstrators breached the Tribunal’s fence and others threw objects at officers.
The protests followed the suspension of Tribunal President Święczkowski and Vice-President Bartłomiej Sochański. Judge Anna Korwin-Piotrowska announced the move and said she would take charge of the institution.
President returns from Senegal
Polish President Karol Nawrocki cut short his trip to Senegal and turned his flight back to Poland amid the escalating situation.
In a post on X, Nawrocki said the President needed to be in the country at such a moment.
The Constitutional Tribunal has been at the centre of a prolonged political dispute between Prime Minister Donald Tusk’s government and the opposition Law and Justice (PiS) party.
Critics in Poland and the European Union have accused the PiS government, which ruled from 2015 to 2023, of exerting political influence over judicial institutions. Tusk’s government, which came to power in 2023, has pledged to restore judicial independence.
Government defends action, opposition alleges attack on constitutional order
Prime Minister Donald Tusk accused Święczkowski, who was appointed during the PiS government, of obstructing judges elected by the current parliamentary majority from taking up their positions at the Tribunal.
Tusk defended the move, saying restoring the rule of law was the government’s responsibility and required decisive action.
PiS politicians, however, condemned the suspension. Former Justice Minister Zbigniew Ziobro described it as a criminal attack on the constitutional order and called for resistance.
The Tribunal’s website published information about Święczkowski’s suspension around 6 pm local time but went offline shortly afterwards. The Associated Press said it could not independently verify the official reasons given for the suspension.
The confrontation has intensified the debate over judicial independence, constitutional authority and the limits of government power in Poland.
