Poland is embroiled in a serious political and institutional crisis, centered on the Constitutional Court and the attempt by Prime Minister Donald Tusk's government to change its direction and composition. The clash has escalated to the suspension of the Court's leaders, the deployment of police around the institution, and accusations by the President of the Republic of forcibly seizing control of a constitutional body.
The crisis erupted on Friday, October 30, when Judge Anna Korwin-Piotrowska, elected by the current parliamentary majority, announced the one-month suspension of the president of the Constitutional Court, Bogdan Święczkowski, and his deputy, Bartłomiej Sochański. She declared that she had taken over the leadership of the institution, a decision that was immediately opposed by the two leaders and the country's president.
In this way, the Constitutional Court found itself faced with an unusual situation: two authorities claiming to run the same institution, while the legality of the suspension decision remains contested.
At the heart of the conflict lies control over the Constitutional Court, whose leaders and some of its judges were appointed during the previous conservative government of the Law and Justice (PiS) party. The Tusk government, which came to power in 2023, argues that it is trying to restore the independence of the judiciary, after previous reforms that were criticized even by the European Union.
But President Karol Nawrocki and the conservative opposition consider the current intervention an attempt by the ruling majority to take control of the Constitutional Court and remove leaders who do not belong to its political camp.
The standoff has been escalating for months over disagreements over the appointment of new judges. The president has refused to accept the oath of office of several judges elected by Parliament, while the existing heads of the Court have not allowed them to exercise their functions. The government considers this blockade illegal, while the other side disputes the validity of taking office without the oath before the president.
Friday's developments turned the legal dispute into an open state crisis. Heavy police forces were deployed around the Constitutional Court in Warsaw, while opposition supporters gathered to protest the suspension of its head. During the protests, tensions and clashes with the police occurred, who announced the detention of three people.
President Karol Nawrocki, who was traveling to Senegal for an official visit, ordered his plane to return to Poland and went to the Constitutional Court headquarters during the night. His arrival was accompanied by a tense confrontation with judges who support a change in the institution's leadership.
On Saturday, October 31, the president accused the Tusk government of forcibly seizing control of a constitutional institution, calling the situation a threat to the constitutional order and internal security of the country. He demanded the withdrawal of the police from the Court and summoned the leaders of the parliamentary groups for urgent consultations.
On the other hand, Prime Minister Donald Tusk has defended the actions taken, stating that the government is fulfilling its obligation to restore the rule of law. According to him, the leaders of the Constitutional Court have hindered the normal functioning of the institution and the assumption of office by legally elected judges.
The situation has also caused international concern. The US ambassador to Poland, Tom Rose, has called on the parties to avoid actions that could cause violence or further escalation.
Poland is already facing a conflict that goes beyond the names of the heads of the Constitutional Court. At issue is who has the authority to decide on the composition and direction of the institution that controls the constitutionality of laws and government decisions. While the government presents the intervention as a reform to restore legality, the president and the opposition accuse it of aiming to subordinate the Constitutional Court to the political majority.
So far, no judicial authority has definitively resolved the dispute over the direction of the Court, leaving Poland in an institutional crisis of unusual proportions for a European Union member state.
