Chaos at Polish Constitutional Court as government-backed judges seek to oust chief justice

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This is breaking news and may be updated as it develops.

Poland’s Constitutional Court (TK) was thrown into chaos on Friday evening when a group of judges, backed by the government, decided to take control of the court from the chief justice, aligned with the right-wing opposition and President Karol Nawrocki.

One of the government-backed judges said she had suspended Chief Justice Bogdan Święczkowski from office. Police surrounded the court and were seen preventing Święczkowski from entering the pitch after his supporters broke through the fence with a power tool.

Święczkowski and the opposition claim an illegal “coup” is underway. Nawrocki, who was traveling to Senegal for a state visit, ordered his plane to turn around and return to Warsaw.

These dramatic events follow a several-year crisis surrounding traditional knowledge. Since the current government – ​​a left-to-center-right coalition led by Prime Minister Donald Tusk – came to power in 2023, it has refused to recognize the legitimacy of the Court.

Indeed, three of its judges were illegally appointed under the former national-conservative Law and Justice (PiS) government, which was widely seen as having brought the court under political control.

As a result, Tusk’s government ignored the TK’s decisions and, until this year, even refused to appoint new judges to fill vacancies among the court’s 15 judges.

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That changed in March, when the ruling coalition began filling vacant seats. So far this year, Parliament has chosen eight new judges, meaning its nominees now theoretically have a majority on the court.

However, according to Polish law, although new TK judges are chosen by Parliament, they must take the oath “before the president”. Nawrocki, who is aligned with PiS, refused to swear in five of these eight new judges, citing concerns about how they were chosen or their qualifications.

These five judges held their own inauguration ceremonies in Parliament and took the oath of office at the President’s office. However, Święczkowski, who before being appointed TK judge had served in the former PiS government, refused to accept these five judges on the court.

In doing so, he ignored an order from the European Court of Human Rights that judges be allowed to take office. Święczkowski argued that the ECHR did not have the power to make such a decision.

There have long been rumors that the government would force these judges into court. PiS supporters have been camping outside the TK grounds for weeks in an attempt to prevent this from happening.

On Friday evening, numerous riot police were deployed around the TK. On the court’s website, a brief statement was published stating that an “interruption of activities” of Święczkowski and his vice-president, Bartłomiej Sochański, had been ordered.

The statement did not specify who ordered the suspension, but it cited Article 130 of the Common Courts Act, under which the president of a court or the minister of justice can order the immediate suspension of a judge’s official duties if he is caught committing an offense.

However, Marcin Matczak, a prominent constitutional law scholar and also a critic of PiS’s judicial reforms, wrote on social media that while the Justice Minister exercises control over ordinary courts, he cannot do so over TKs.

“I consider Bogdan Święczkowski the worst person to occupy the position of TK president,” Matczak wrote. “I never thought I would end up defending him, but this legal basis (for suspending Święczkowski) is non-existent for a million reasons.”

Meanwhile, Minister of Justice and Attorney General Waldemar Żurek issued a statement announcing that he had submitted requests to the TK to lift the immunity from prosecution against Świeczkowski and Sochański.

He specified that the documents had been “given to the most senior judge of the Constitutional Court”.

This was a reference to Anna Korwin-Piotrowska, one of the TK judges Nawrocki refused to swear into. She told public broadcaster TVP that she was the one who ordered Święczkowski’s suspension from office.

She justified her action by accusing Święczkowski of preventing judges from taking office and overseeing irregularities in the assignment of judges to cases, Polskie Radio reports.

Korwin-Piotrowska’s claim to have the longest tenure among TK judges is not related to her service on the court itself, but to the fact that she began her judicial career in 1995.

While the TK website now appears to be under Korwin-Piotrowska’s control, the court account on social network

“All persons participating in these actions commit the crime of coup d’état,” the text adds.

Court spokesperson Weronika Ścibor told the Kanał Zero channel that “seven people elected as judges (TK) this year” were escorted into the building by court officials. State Protection Service (SOP), an agency responsible for protecting state officials. SOP is subordinate to the Minister of Interior.

She explained that they entered the court grounds through a gate that leads to the prime minister’s chancellery, rather than the main entrance from the street where protesters are gathered.

Korwin-Piotrowska also confirmed to TVP that she was one of seven judges present inside TK on Friday evening.

The events in court sparked outrage among the opposition. PiS leader Jarosław Kaczyński told the court that “from today Poland has become a police state, and from there it is a straight path to authoritarianism, then to totalitarianism.”

Kaczyński called on Nawrocki to return to Poland after his state visit to Senegal and defend the court. The president himself quickly confirmed that he had done so, with flight trackers showing his plane turning around mid-flight and heading back to Poland.

Meanwhile, Zbigniew Kapiński, president of the Supreme Court – a separate entity from the Constitutional Tribunal – told Kanał Zero that he was “appalled” by what was happening, which was “without a doubt a coup”.

Tusk, however, released a statement on social media defending what was happening at TK.

“Restoring the rule of law is our duty,” he wrote. “After years of PiS-led anarchy, this is a difficult, sometimes painful process that requires decisive action. There is no other way out.”

Notes from Poland is run by a small editorial team and published by an independent, non-profit foundation funded by donations from our readers. We can’t do what we do without your support.

Main image credit: Michal Borowczyk / Agencja Wyborcza.pl

Daniel Tilles is editor-in-chief of Notes from Poland. He has written on Polish affairs for a wide range of publications, including Foreign policy, POLITICS Europe, European Union observer And Dziennik Gazeta Prawna.