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Polish police were deployed outside the country’s top court on Friday after demonstrators gathered to protest the suspension of the Constitutional Tribunal’s head judge. Police stated they entered the premises of the court following incidents outside, which included objects being thrown at law enforcement officers.
Suspension and Legal Dispute
Demonstrators arrived at the Warsaw court after the announcement on Friday that its head, Bogdan Swieczkowski, had been suspended. The suspension stems from a long-running dispute that has essentially paralysed the tribunal. Over the preceding six months, Swieczkowski utilized his authority as the court leader to block judges elected by the current parliamentary majority from taking up their judicial duties.
Minister of Justice Waldemar Zurek informed reporters on Friday that he had requested the removal of immunity for both Swieczkowski and his deputy. The request was made due to their failure to fulfil official duties by preventing appointed judges from performing their work. Swieczkowski was originally appointed to the role by the former nationalist Law and Justice party (PiS) administration, which critics have frequently accused of politicising the national court system.
Government Reaction and Protests
Prime Minister Donald Tusk stated on X that restoring the rule of law is the responsibility of the government. Tusk remarked, “After years of lawlessness under PiS, this process is difficult, at times even painful, and requires decisive action. There is no other way.”
The news of the suspension drew crowds of PiS supporters to the gates of the Constitutional Tribunal. Police reported that they detained three individuals after certain members of the crowd launched dangerous projectiles. Simultaneously, PiS-allied Polish President Karol Nawrocki announced on Friday that he was turning his presidential plane around while travelling to a sporting event in Senegal, declaring that the president must remain in Poland during such a moment.
Judicial Independence and Opposition Response
Since taking office in mid-2025, Nawrocki has declined to swear in three of six judges nominated by the Polish parliament. Poland’s Constitutional Tribunal has remained a significant point of political friction, as both domestic critics and the European Union have accused the PiS party—which governed from 2015 to 2023—of exerting political control by placing friendly judges on the bench.
When the current pro-European administration assumed power, it pledged to reinstate judicial independence, though previous efforts were blocked by PiS-aligned presidents, including Nawrocki. Anna Korwin-Piotrowska, one of the judges previously refused by Nawrocki due to alleged selection flaws, has now been assigned to lead the tribunal. Meanwhile, politicians from the PiS opposition condemned the suspension, with former Justice Minister Zbigniew Ziobro writing on X that the move constituted a blatant and criminal attack on the constitutional order.
