31.10.2026 09:41
The protests and police blockade that began with the announcement that Bogdan Swieczkowski, President of the Constitutional Tribunal in Poland, and his deputy Bartlomiej Sochanski had been suspended from duty are continuing. A scuffle broke out between President Karol Nawrocki, who cut short his visit to Senegal, and Judge Anna Korwin-Piotrowska, who took over the court. The root of the crisis lies in an 11-year dispute over judicial appointments that began in 2015 and effectively paralyzed the court.
Poland’s judicial tension between Prime Minister Donald Tusk’s government and President Karol Nawrocki, who is close to the opposition Law and Justice Party (PiS), spilled onto the streets in front of the Constitutional Tribunal building. While the government defends the steps taken as an effort to restore the rule of law, the opposition describes what is happening as a “coup.” Behind today’s picture, however, is a fight that began 11 years ago.
THE ROOT OF THE CRISIS GOES BACK TO 2015 In October 2015, the Sejm (Parliament), whose term was about to expire, elected 5 judges to the Constitutional Tribunal. Of these judges, 3 were elected to replace judges whose terms would end in November, and 2 to replace judges whose terms would end at the beginning of December. Then-President Andrzej Duda did not accept the oath of these judges. PiS, which won the election, elected new judges to the seats regarded as filled.
In its ruling of 3 December 2015, the Constitutional Tribunal found unconstitutional the provision on which the election of only 2 of the 5 judges elected by the previous Parliament was based. In subsequent years, appointments were made to replace judges who retired, and PiS filled all the seats on the court with names close to it. At the end of this process, Julia Przylebska, one of the judges elected by PiS, was appointed president of the court by the President.
SUCCESSIVE RULINGS FROM EUROPEAN COURTS The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR), in its Xero Flor ruling of 7 May 2021, held that the 2015 judge election was irregular and that the applicant’s right to a “tribunal established by law” had been violated. Poland’s Constitutional Tribunal, however, ruled in November 2021 that the ECtHR’s interpretation in that ruling conflicted with the Polish Constitution.
In a ruling in 2022, Poland’s Supreme Administrative Court also found that the Constitutional Tribunal included judges who had been appointed unconstitutionally and had replaced properly elected judges. The Court of Justice of the European Union also ruled in December 2025 that serious irregularities in the appointment of 3 judges of the court and its president undermined the institution’s independence and impartiality.
TUSK’S PROMISE, NAWROCKI’S OBSTACLE Tusk’s pro-European government came to power in 2023 with the promise of restoring judicial independence. However, Nawrocki, close to PiS, took steps to block these efforts after being elected President in 2025. Attempts to regulate the court were blocked by vetoes from two PiS-aligned Presidents, one of them Nawrocki.
Swieczkowski, meanwhile, was elected as a judge of the Constitutional Tribunal in February 2022 during the PiS government. On 9 December 2024, he was appointed president of the court by then-President Duda. Swieczkowski had previously served as Deputy Minister of Justice in the PiS government.
MARCH 2026: 6 JUDGES ELECTED, OATH CRISIS BEGINS On 13 March 2026, the current Sejm elected Krystian Markiewicz, Anna Korwin-Piotrowska, Maciej Taborowski, Magdalena Bentkowska, Marcin Dziurda and Dariusz Szostek to the 15-member court. A law passed in 2016 requires an elected judge to take an oath before the President. The ruling coalition, however, argues that the oath is ceremonial and that the Sejm’s election is binding.
Nawrocki, claiming that there were irregularities in the election process, did not accept the oath of judges including Korwin-Piotrowska. Swieczkowski also refused to admit these names to the court, arguing that judges can take office only after taking an oath before the President. The judges, who took their oaths before a notary, went to the court after submitting their documents to the Presidency, but encountered heavy police precautions and protests in front of the building.
The Constitutional Tribunal ruled that the President is not obliged to administer the oath to judges elected by Parliament. The ECtHR, in an interim ruling in May, asked that 4 judges be allowed to take office.
“TUSK’S RIGHT-HAND MAN” ALSO ELECTED TO THE COURT Tension gained a new dimension in September. Parliament elected Maciej Berek, Tusk’s close associate, to the court. Critics argued that this step conflicted with the government’s goal of re-establishing checks and balances. Nawrocki also reacted to this election, saying that the last thing the court needed was a politician, especially one who was the Prime Minister’s close associate.
When no invitation came from Nawrocki, Berek took the oath on 14 October at a ceremony held in Parliament. Prosecutors filed charges against 2 officials for preventing the new judges from taking office. Swieczkowski initiated proceedings against 3 judges.
EYES ON NOVEMBER 3 The dispute over judicial appointments has effectively brought the work of the Constitutional Tribunal to a standstill. The government and the President do not recognize each other’s proposed names. According to reports in the press, the judges elected by the current Parliament plan to convene the court’s General Assembly on 3 November, mainly to approve the budget.
WHAT HAPPENED IN POLAND On the Constitutional Tribunal’s website, around 18:00 local time, an announcement was published stating that Court President Swieczkowski and Vice President Sochanski had been suspended from their duties. The decision was issued by Anna Korwin-Piotrowska, one of the judges elected to the court by the current Sejm. Swieczkowski and Sochanski’s duties were suspended for 1 month.
On the same day, Justice Minister and Prosecutor General Waldemar Zurek also announced that he had filed 5 applications with the court for the lifting of judicial immunity of Swieczkowski and Sochanski. Four of the applications concern Swieczkowski and 1 concerns Sochanski. Zurek argued that the two individuals did not fulfill their obligations by preventing judges from carrying out their duties.
DEMONSTRATION IN FRONT OF THE BUILDING, 3 DETAINED According to the Polish press, following the developments, a large number of people gathered in front of the courthouse, including PiS leader Jaroslaw Kaczynski, former Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki, and former Constitutional Tribunal President Julia Przylebska. The courthouse was placed under police blockade.
According to the police statement, teams were dispatched to the area at the request of Korwin-Piotrowska, who reported a possible threat to the safety of judges and staff. Warsaw police denied claims that the building was raided, stating that they did not enter the courthouse. Three people alleged to have climbed the fences were detained, and various objects were also thrown at police.
“COUP” STATEMENT FROM THE COURT The court administration affiliated with Swieczkowski did not recognize the decision. The administration argued that its website had been unlawfully seized and that Korwin-Piotrowska was not a judge of the court. In a post on the court’s official X account, the events were described as a “coup,” and it was claimed that everyone involved in the process had committed a crime.
PiS politicians, led by Kaczynski, claimed that the Tusk government had staged a coup against the court. Former Prime Minister Morawiecki argued that a judge whose oath was not accepted by the President declared himself court president and removed the administration from duty, and that the police had secured the building.
NAWROCKI TURNED HIS PLANE BACK IN MID-AIR President Karol Nawrocki said in a post on his X account, “At a time like this, the President needs to be in Poland. I am interrupting my flight to Senegal. I am returning.” The plane of Nawrocki, who took off for Senegal, entered a return route to Poland over Spain. According to Flightradar24 data, more than 1 million people followed the return flight.
Nawrocki met with Swieczkowski and Supreme Court First President Zbigniew Kapinski at the Presidential Palace.
CLASH BETWEEN PRESIDENT AND JUDGE After the meeting, Korwin-Piotrowska tried to stop Nawrocki, who came to the Constitutional Court building with Kapinski, at the entrance. In footage captured by cameras, Nawrocki was seen telling her, “Please step aside,” while Korwin-Piotrowska said, while physically holding the President, that he could not enter.
After a brief scuffle, Nawrocki entered the building. He was accompanied by Kapinski and Deputy President Sochanski, who was announced to have been removed from duty. The parties accused each other of the physical intervention. Nawrocki later left the area. It was learned that Korwin-Piotrowska had invited the President to the court only on condition that he come alone, without the two individuals removed from duty.
TUSK: “THERE IS NO OTHER WAY” Prime Minister Donald Tusk said on his X account, “Restoring the rule of law is our duty. After years of lawlessness under the PiS government, this is a difficult, at times painful process and requires decisive steps. There is no other way.”
Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski, who was in Atlanta, USA, for the G20 Foreign Ministers’ Meeting, also defended the police intervention. Sikorski argued that the intervention was carried out so that duly elected judges could restart the court’s work.
Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski US CALLS FOR CALM, 2 AMBASSADORS RESIGN US Ambassador to Warsaw Tom Rose expressed concern over the developments and called for political tension not to turn into violence and for the parties to show restraint. Rose noted that the US cares about Poland’s stability, security, and democratic future.
Poland’s Ambassador to Beijing Jakub Kumoch and Ambassador to Bucharest Pawel Soloch resigned due to the events. In the UK, Reform UK leader Nigel Farage also said the situation was very serious, describing the detentions and the intervention in the court as an attempt to defend the EU.
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