The right-wing conservative Polish President Karol Nawrocki sees the country's internal security threatened in the dispute with the center-left government over the Constitutional Court. He was convening urgent consultations with all parties represented in parliament "to stabilize the political situation and restore constitutional order," he said after a night-time visit to the court's headquarters in Warsaw. Previously, he had physically forced his way into the courthouse to consult with judges.
Justice Minister Waldemar Żurek opposed the president and described the fact that Nawrocki had broken into the Constitutional Court building as disturbing behavior. "It is unacceptable that someone who is protected by presidential immunity behaves in this way," Żurek told TVN 24. "For me, this is scandalous behavior - using the situation to inflame emotions on the street."
Nawrocki also spoke to demonstrators who had been waiting for hours in front of the building, which was cordoned off by police. He called for "the restoration of the legal order and the withdrawal of the security forces sent by the government from the court premises."
The crisis was triggered by an announcement on the Constitutional Court website. It said that the previous President Bogdan Święczkowski and his deputy, who owe their positions to the right-wing conservative PiS party, which ruled until 2023 and was then relegated to the opposition, had been temporarily relieved of their functions. Instead, judge Anna Korwin-Piotrowska will lead the court. Shortly afterwards, a post from the Constitutional Court appeared on X denying this information and stating that the website had been attacked by hackers.
Previous court president speaks of a “coup d’etat”
Behind the chaos lies a bitter dispute between the two largest political camps over the Constitutional Court. The right-wing conservative PiS, which ruled the country from 2015 to 2023, had filled the court with judges who were politically close to it. The European Court of Justice found at the time that the Polish Constitutional Court could not be considered independent and impartial due to serious deficiencies in the appointment of its judges and its then-President.
After Prime Minister Donald Tusk's center-left alliance took over the reins of office following the 2023 parliamentary election, it announced that it would reverse the PiS government's controversial innovations in the judiciary.
But this process is making slow progress. This is also due to President Nawrocki, who is close to the PiS and repeatedly puts obstacles in the way of Tusk's government. In recent months, Nawrocki has refused to swear in five constitutional judges nominated by parliament. When these judges took their oath of office in front of parliament instead, the court president, who was nominated during the PiS era, refused them access to the building.
The president used physical effort to force his way into court
Nawrocki had canceled a trip to Senegal because of the sudden escalation of the situation and immediately returned to Warsaw. The former amateur boxer made his way to the Constitutional Court that night with brutal physical exertion.
After Nawrocki's short speech, Święczkowski said that the Constitutional Court consists of "lawfully appointed judges, not usurpers who, accompanied by government security forces, gained access through the back entrance." Święczkowski spoke of a "coup d'etat" and said: "We are dealing here with an attack on a constitutional organ of the state."
According to Nawrocki's spokesman, talks have now begun in the presidential palace between the president and representatives of the parliamentary groups.
Ambassadors withdraw
In view of the escalation, two of the country's ambassadors close to PiS have also announced their resignation. "In view of the attempt to illegally take over the Constitutional Tribunal, I no longer see any possibility of continuing to fulfill my role as Ambassador of the Republic of Poland to Romania," wrote Paweł Soloch, Poland's ambassador in Bucharest, on the X platform.
A few hours earlier, his counterpart in China, Jakub Kumoch, had said that because of the events in Poland, he had realized that he could no longer work as ambassador.
Nobel Peace Prize winner and former President Lech Wałęsa, however, assured Tusk of his support. “The fatherland is in need!” Wałęsa wrote on his Facebook page. "I stand at your side in the front row - no matter what the circumstances are." He also calls on his fellow campaigners "from our common struggle to support our aspirations," wrote Wałęsa.
