warsaw, polandAP —
Prime Minister Donald Tusk said on Saturday that his government would move ahead with efforts to restore the independence of Poland’s Constitutional Court, as hundreds of demonstrators gathered for a second night to protest the suspension of its head.
The pro-European government says the suspension is necessary to restore judicial independence, while opposition critics liken it to a “coup.”
President Karol Naworocki, who opposes the pro-European government, turned back and returned home Friday night during a flight to Senegal. On Friday night, he headed to the Constitutional Court despite the chaos and said he helped the suspended court president enter the building.
Police said Friday night that three people were detained after some protesters threw objects at officers and tried to break through the security fence surrounding the courtroom.
The long-pending dispute over the Constitutional Court is likely to further deepen political polarization in Poland a year before parliamentary elections, potentially further escalating the conflict between the pro-European government and the national conservative opposition Law and Justice (PiS).
Critics in Poland and the European Union accuse PiS, which led the country from 2015 to 2023, of imposing political control over key judicial institutions. Reforms introduced under the PiS government led to the EU imposing fines on Poland.
Mr. Tusk’s pro-European government came to power in 2023, pledging to restore judicial independence. Since then, the effort has been blocked by vetoes from two PiS-aligned presidents, including Nawrocki.
“It is our duty to restore the rule of law,” Tusk wrote in X on Friday night. “After years of lawlessness under PiS, this is a difficult and sometimes painful process and requires decisive action. There is no other way.”
Mr Tusk has previously promised that the government will ensure the courts are again filled with legally appointed judges, although he acknowledged his approach may not be to everyone’s taste.
The functioning of the Constitutional Court had been impaired for many years. The EU’s highest court, the Court of Justice of the European Union, said it was no longer an impartial court after PiS’s appointment. Even after Mr. Tusk took power, efforts to balance the court were thwarted by Mr. Navrocki and the court’s president, Bogdan Święszkowski.
On Friday night, the Constitutional Court’s website announced Święczkowski’s suspension. Immediately afterwards, protesters including PiS leader Jarosław Kaczynski and far-right politicians began rallying outside the building.
The government alleges that Święczkowski repeatedly violated the law and jeopardized the work of the court. Święczkowski became court president under the former PiS government. Mr. Tusk accused him of preventing judges elected by parliamentary majorities from holding positions on the court.
“Since last night, we are dealing with a major constitutional crisis in Poland as a result of an illegal and forceful attempt to take over important institutions,” Marcin Przydacz, a close aide to the Polish president, told The Associated Press.
Przydachi said the president had invited all political parties to Saturday’s talks to ease tensions and find a solution to the crisis.
Anti-government demonstrations continue in Poland, as police and demonstrators continue to clash
Anti-government demonstrations continue in Poland, with clashes between police and demonstrators
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The government is a broad coalition made up of Tusk’s centrist Civic Union and the left, as well as two conservative groups, Poland 2050 and the Polish People’s Party (PSL). Representatives of Poland 2050 and the PSL, along with several opposition parties, met with Navrocki on Saturday, but Tusk did not attend.
The president’s camp hopes the crisis over the Constitutional Court will erode Tusk’s parliamentary majority.
“It all depends on the parties that have supported Donald Tusk so far,” Pujdach said.
Speaking on Saturday night, Tusk likened PiS to a man who steals an elderly woman’s wallet and then claims to be the victim when police catch him and get it back.
Tusk said PiS’s response to Święczkowski’s suspension, including Friday’s attempt to force his way into court, represented “a new stage in the process of destroying the rule of law in Poland” by PiS and the president.
