The dispute over the politicization of the Polish Constitutional Court is intensifying, with neither side appearing to back down.
Published on November 1, 2026
Poland’s president held crisis talks with political leaders as the dispute over the independence of the country’s highest constitutional court deepens.
Representatives of nationalist, far-right and some government coalition parties attended President Karol Nawrocki’s talks at the presidential palace on Saturday, while Prime Minister Donald Tusk’s ruling centrist party, the Civic Coalition, stayed away.
Recommended Stories
list of 3 itemsend of list
Nawrocki said in a statement that he had called the “urgent” consultations “due to the threat to Poland’s internal security” posed by Friday’s sudden suspension of the Constitutional Court’s chief judge, Bogdan Swieczkowski.
No progress had been noted on Saturday afternoon.
Meanwhile, in a speech Saturday evening on the current crisis, Tusk accused leaders of the conservative nationalist opposition of wanting to “destroy democracy and the rule of law.”
“Let’s call things what they are,” he said. “For years there have been organizations and politicians in Poland who want to destroy democracy and the rule of law.”
Supporters of the right-wing opposition Law and Justice (PiS) party gathered outside the court on Saturday, continuing weeks-long protests in support of pro-PiS judges.
Constitutional crisis
The Constitutional Court is the highest court in Poland responsible for deciding constitutional questions. This has been at the center of a years-long political saga linked to the politicization of Polish courts, which Tusk says began under the right-wing PiS government.
Swieczkowski, whom PiS appointed during its 2015-2023 government, was accused of using his powers as court president to prevent parliament from electing new judges.
Tusk argued that the court’s judges were not politically neutral and that Swieczkowski’s dismissal was a “painful” but necessary decision to restore the rule of law in Poland after years of erosion under PiS rule.
The court’s official X account on Friday called the government’s decision a “coup.”
Nawrocki, himself a right-wing figure, also blocked court appointments during his administration.
One of the main complaints lodged by Tusk and his pro-European party was that the court’s judges, aligned with PiS, frequently ruled in favor of Polish legislation rather than European law.
The European Commission on Saturday urged Nawrocki to accept the appointment of new judges, at the center of the country’s constitutional crisis, the AFP news agency reported.
The US Ambassador to Poland, Tom Rose, called for calm from all parties.
“The last thing Poland needs is a confrontation that escalates into something much worse,” Rose wrote in an article on X.
Gn headline
