Poland is currently experiencing its most intense political crisis in recent years as riot police surrounded the Constitutional Tribunal in Warsaw on Friday night following the suspension of the Polish Court’s head. President Karol Nawrocki cut short his foreign trip to return home.
By Saturday morning the protest outside escalated into an open battle with many shouting outside.
Tribunal President Suspended
Around 6pm on Friday, October 30, the official site of the court published that the president, Bogdan Swieczkowski had been suspended. His deputy, Bartlomiej Sochanski, was suspended too. A judge named Anna Korwin-Piotrowska said she issued the order and took over the top job, citing her long experience on the bench.
Korwin-Piotrowska, one of those the president has refused to swear in, said she suspended Bodgan Swieczkowski herself. Donald Tusk quickly commented on the situation online.
Police then moved in. Officers blocked the entrance and stopped Swieczkowski from entering the grounds, after his supporters reportedly cut through a fence with a power tool. Police also arrested three people who tried to get inside.
President Nawrocki was flying to Senegal for a state visit when the news broke. He turned his plane around mid-flight. “At such a moment, the President must be in Poland,” he wrote on X.
After landing, he went straight to the court early on Saturday. Nawrocki said he helped the suspended court president enter the building too. By morning, the president had declared that a “breach of Poland’s constitutional order” had taken place.
Protests Outside Court
Most of those protesting outside were supporters of the opposition party Law and Justice (PiS). They waved the Polish flag and shouted “Tusk traitor” at Prime Minister Donald Tusk.
Many had come to support the president and were angry with what the government had done. Only a small number of protesters attended on Friday however, but numbers increased greatly on Saturday. Police lined up outside with riot gear and three protesters were arrested.
Demonstrator Tomasz Zaleski told AFP that Tusk was “trampling on our constitutional rights.” The court’s own social media page said there had been a “coup d’etat”.
However, some legal experts are extremely divided on the issue. One legal scholar wrote “I think that Bogdan Swieczkowski is not a great choice but the legality of suspending him is weak.” Matczak.
Police added one more detail. An order sent to regional commanders, asking for officers to be brought to Warsaw, was real, according to the police headquarters. It said the step was about threats of sabotage and subversion, not about the political crisis.
What the Polish Leaders are Saying
Tusk defended the government’s decision saying “Restoring the rule of law is our duty.” His side argues that Swieczkowski broke the law and kept judges elected by parliament from starting work. The justice minister, Waldemar Zurek, has asked for both suspended judges to lose their immunity so they can face prosecution.
Opposition voices see it very differently. Former prime minister Mateusz Morawiecki condemned “the forceful takeover of the Constitutional Tribunal.” He also said a judge whom the president never swore in had declared herself head of the court.
Nawrocki called party leaders in parliament to an urgent Saturday meeting on “stabilizing the political situation.” Whether that meeting will calm things is still unclear.” Tusk’s side argue that Swieczkowski violated the law and has prevented judges who were elected by parliament from working. The justice minister Waldemar Zurek has requested that the two judges have their immunity removed.
Why this matters
This conflict has not happened overnight. From 2015 to 2023 PiS government was in power and caused the country to be fined by the European Union due to their court changes. However Tusk came back to power in 2023 and promised to bring back independence to the judiciary.
The problem is that the Tribunal’s judges were mostly picked under PiS. Swieczkowski himself served as a deputy justice minister under that government before becoming the court’s president. Since taking office in August 2025, Nawrocki, a PiS-backed historian, has refused to swear in several judges chosen by the current parliament. He won the presidency in 2025 with 50.9% of the vote, so he has real public support.
These two men have had issues in the past. In March, Nawrocki vetoed a nearly 44 billion euro EU backed defence loan scheme saying it threatened national sovereignty. The government wanted the money so this adds to the tension.
Both sides claim to be protecting the constitution. One argues that rebuilding independence needs firm action. The other says the government is bending rules to take control of the courts. The government’s side calls it a painful but needed process after years of what it describes as lawlessness under PiS.
Three things are worth watching. First, the outcome of the president’s urgent meeting with parliamentary leaders. Second, whether the request to strip the two judges of immunity moves forward. Third, how quickly the crowds outside the court grow or fade. Each could push the crisis toward a deal or a deeper split.
It is difficult to know what will happen next in Poland. If the court cannot agree on a leader it may cause issues carrying out their duties. For Poland being a key member of the European Union and NATO it may cause delays to major decisions within the country and abroad.
