Clashes Erupt as Poland's Government Moves Against Constitutional Tribunal
Warsaw sees protests and arrests amid government's push to reverse judicial reforms and suspend senior justices.
Sarah Connor
Police and protesters clashed outside the Constitutional Tribunal in Warsaw.
Justice Minister Waldemar Zurek demanded the lifting of immunities for Bogdan Swieczkowski and his deputy, Sochański. This action directly confronts the court's leadership.
Prime Minister Donald Tusk's government aims to dismantle reforms enacted by the previous Eurosceptic Law and Justice (PiS) party. The government intends to pursue criminal charges against Święczkowski and Sochański.
The conflict over the court's composition began in 2015 when the Law and Justice party (PiS) seized power. Both the European Court of Human Rights and the Court of Justice of the European Union previously ruled that the PiS majority improperly elected three judges to the Constitutional Tribunal.
President Karol Nawrocki, a PiS ally, cut short an international visit and returned to Poland. President Nawrocki has refused to swear in five Constitutional Tribunal judges elected by parliament since March.
The Tusk government stopped publishing the tribunal's rulings. Presidential vetoes have blocked efforts to reverse PiS-era judicial changes.
Protesters gathered outside the court, some chanting 'Tusk traitor.' Riot police deployed on Friday evening after demonstrators supporting the Law and Order (PiS) party reportedly threw objects at officers. Three people faced arrest after attempting to enter the court complex.
Tusk traitor.
Judge Anna Korwin-Piotrowska, now in temporary charge of the court, announced the suspension of court president Bogdan Swieczkowski. The Constitutional Tribunal, however, maintains the two men remain the legally appointed senior justices of the court.
The court's official X account denounced the intervention as a 'coup d'etat.' The Constitutional Tribunal accused Prime Minister Donald Tusk of launching a coup. MEP Arkadiusz Mularczyk claims a coup d’état is underway in Poland, with forces acting on behalf of the current government unlawfully entering the Constitutional Tribunal and preventing legally appointed judges from entering.
MEP Arkadiusz Mularczyk indicated that A coup d’état is underway in Poland, with forces acting on behalf of the current government unlawfully entering the Constitutional Tribunal and preventing legally appointed judges from entering.
The constitutional court's official website was not accessible on Friday evening. Parliamentary elections are scheduled for next year in Poland.