Political crisis in Poland: Constitutional Court in chaos as Nawrocki accuses government of staging power grab

Protesters and riot police clashed outside Poland’s Constitutional Court on Friday evening following the suspension of the court’s president, the latest episode in an escalating confrontation between the government and the court’s top judges.

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Polish President Karol Nawrocki, who cut short his trip to Senegal and returned to Warsaw as the crisis developed, has since called for emergency talks with political leaders and accused the government of trying to take control by force of one of the country’s main constitutional institutions.

The dramatic overnight events deepened a long-standing crisis surrounding Poland’s Constitutional Court, whose judges – who were appointed under the previous PiS government – the Polish government has been trying for weeks to remove.

What was largely a political and legal dispute over the appointment of judges and the direction of the Tribunal has now turned into a direct confrontation at the Tribunal’s headquarters.

The latest episode began when seven people chosen by the Sejm to serve as judges of the Constitutional Court entered the building on Friday.

According to the Tribunal’s spokesperson, Weronika Ścibor, the Tribunal’s security officers were ordered to pack their belongings and leave the building.

At the same time, Bogdan Święczkowski, current president of the Tribunal, and Bartłomiej Sochański, vice-president, were reportedly refused entry.

Ścibor suggested that the timing of the operation was deliberate and that it took advantage of the absence of some staff members.

Judge Anna Korwin-Piotrowska then announced that she was taking over the leadership of the Tribunal and suspending Święczkowski from his duties.

The current leadership of the Tribunal has challenged the legality of these measures.

Nawrocki returns

In response to the evolving situation, Nawrocki cut short his visit to Senegal and returned to Poland.

At the Presidential Palace, he met with the first President of the Supreme Court, Zbigniew Kapiński, before heading to the headquarters of the Constitutional Court with Kapiński and a group of aides.

Footage published on X showed scuffles with a group of judges, including Korwin-Piotrowska, as Nawrocki attempted to enter.

Nawrocki accuses government of power grab

Early Saturday morning, Nawrocki’s chief of staff, Paweł Szefernaker, read a statement by the president before the Tribunal, in which he described the night’s events as a violation of the Polish constitutional order and a forcible takeover of a constitutional institution.

“Tonight there was a violation of the constitutional order of the Republic of Poland and a forcible seizure of power of a constitutional state body,” Szefernaker said.

“I call for the restoration of legal order and for the coercive forces sent there by the government to leave the Tribunal,” he added.

Nawrocki said he had consulted Kapiński and none of them recognized the actions of those who, in his view, are illegally claiming the Tribunal’s authority.

He said he planned to hold emergency talks with representatives of parliamentary political groups on Saturday, saying the move was necessary due to what he described as a threat to the state’s internal security and the need to stabilize the political situation.

Justice Minister Waldemar Żurek also spoke out about the incident, expressing concerns about the president’s behavior.

“The president’s behavior alarmed me greatly,” he said, adding that he hoped the prosecution would act and that it was unacceptable for someone protected by presidential immunity to behave in this way.

He argued that footage showed the president “forcibly entering and attacking the judges.”

Żurek also admitted that discussions had taken place about the situation at the Tribunal, including with Bartłomiej Sochański, but no compromise had been found.

He stressed that the Court should resume its normal work and deal with the pending cases of citizens.

Demonstration in front of the Court

Protests took place around the court building, involving PiS and Confederation politicians as well as right-wing supporters.

Among those present were party leader Jarosław Kaczyński, Mateusz Morawiecki, former President of the Tribunal Julia Przyłębska and Bogdan Święczkowski.

The PiS leader declared that these events constituted an attack on the Constitutional Court. He called for protests to continue, warning that Poland risks turning into a police state.

PiS MEP Patryk Jaki, for his part, estimated that the images of the Tribunal had already gone around the world and could harm the image of Donald Tusk’s government.