Poland suspends Constitutional Tribunal president after two nights of protests

Prime Minister Donald Tusk stated on Saturday that his government will continue its effort to restore the independence of Poland’s Constitutional Tribunal. This announcement came after hundreds of demonstrators gathered outside the court for a second consecutive night to oppose the recent suspension of the tribunal’s president.

The pro-European administration argues that the suspension is necessary to fix a long-standing judicial problem. Critics from the opposition, however, describe the action as a coup d’etat. The dispute threatens to deepen political division in Poland one year before the next parliamentary election.

The suspension was formally announced on the Constitutional Tribunal’s website on Friday evening. It removed Bogdan Święczkowski from his role as court president. Święczkowski assumed the position under the previous Law and Justice government, which governed from 2015 to 2023.

Tusk’s coalition took power in 2023 with a mandate to make the judiciary independent. For several years, that goal was blocked by presidential vetoes. Karol Nawrocki, the current president, opposes the government and previously served as a rival to Tusk’s administration. On Friday evening, Nawrocki cancelled a trip to Senegal and returned to Warsaw to assist Święczkowski in entering the tribunal building.

Police detained three protesters on Friday night. Officers reported that some demonstrators threw objects and attempted to force their way through the security fence around the court. Jarosław Kaczyński, the leader of the opposition Law and Justice party, joined the rally outside the building.

Marcin Przydacz, a senior aide to President Nawrocki, told the Associated Press that Poland is facing a massive constitutional crisis. He described the government’s actions as an illegal and forceful attempt to seize control of a key institution. Przydacz said the president invited all parliamentary parties to talks on Saturday to find a solution.

Representatives from Poland 2050 and the Polish People’s Party met with Nawrocki on Saturday. Tusk did not attend the meeting. The government states that Święczkowski repeatedly broke the law and blocked judges elected by the parliamentary majority from taking their posts. The European Union’s top court had earlier ruled that the tribunal was no longer impartial due to previous political appointments.

Tusk wrote on X on Friday evening that restoring the rule of law is an obligation. He noted that the process is difficult and requires decisive action after years of lawlessness. On Saturday night, he compared the opposition’s reaction to a thief claiming to be a victim when police return a stolen purse. The president’s camp hopes the crisis will weaken Tusk’s parliamentary majority.