Poland's conservative president Karol Nawrocki turned his plane around and cancelled a trip to Senegal to return to Warsaw amid what is being called a ‘constitutional crisis’ in the country.
On Friday night, riot police were deployed outside Poland‘s constitutional court as supporters of the opposition surrounded it to protest after its top judge, Bogdan Święczkowski, was suspended by a group of government-appointed judges.
The suspension is the latest escalation in a decade-long dispute over the court’s legal status and the bench's legitimacy.
The country’s opposition, the right-wing Law and Justice (PiS) party, with its leader, Jarosław Kaczyński, condemned what they called an ‘assault’ on the court.
The court’s legitimacy had been long questioned after it was observed that it frequently ruled in favour of Polish legislation over European Union law.
The European Union had accused the Polish court of being too close to the nationalist political power.
The conservative president Nawrocki appeared outside the court on Saturday and was seen forcing his way between security and other judges to enter the building,
In a video clip online, Nawrocki was heard saying the government appointees “were not judges of the constitutional court”.
Critics in Poland and the European Union accused the PiS of imposing control over judicial institutions, including the constitutional tribunal, during their term from 2015 to 2023.
The reforms introduced by the party led the EU to impose fines on Poland.
Donald Tusk’s pro-European government came to power in 2023. The party promised to restore the independence of the judiciary.
However, the government’s efforts have been blocked by vetoes from two successive PiS-aligned presidents, including Nawrocki.
Święczkowski, the now-suspended top judge, became head of the Constitutional Tribunal during the PiS term.
On Friday, Prime Minister Tusk took to X to say, “Restoring the rule of law is our obligation.” “After years of lawlessness under PiS, this is a difficult process, sometimes painful, and it requires decisive action. There is no other way," he added.
In August, Tusk said that his government had a plan to ensure that the tribunal would be staffed with lawfully appointed judges.
Judge Anna Korwin-Piotrowska, who is the longest-serving judge on the tribunal, has been appointed interim president of the court according to the Court’s website.
