Poland is in the midst of a constitutional crisis, with a fight over the future of the country’s highest court sparking a new standoff between the president and prime minister.
The crisis came to a head on Friday when centre-left Prime Minister Donald Tusk moved to rebuild Poland’s Constitutional Court. The court’s president was appointed by the previous government, the far-right Law and Justice Party (PiS).
Judge Bogdan Święczkowski was suspended after he refused to seat a new court member nominated by Tusk and approved by the Polish parliament. His deputy was also suspended.
The current crisis is the latest and perhaps most serious chapter in a long-running conflict over the rule of law in Poland.
Mr Tusk’s pro-European Citizens Union was elected in 2023 after a campaign promising to restore the independence of the courts. President Karol Nawrocki, who belongs to PiS, was elected alone last year. Poland’s president has little executive power but plays an important constitutional role.
Since then, the impasse has become a crisis.
Navrocki called Święczkowski’s removal as chief justice a “forced takeover of a constitutional institution.” Upon hearing the news, he abandoned his trip to Africa, ordered the plane to turn around, and went straight to court.
Nawrocki has been a vocal supporter of President Donald Trump, saying in September, “I supported him, and now he’s doing a great job being president.” Mr. Nawrocki suggested that a new U.S. military base in Poland be named “Fort Trump.”
During its eight years in power until 2023, PiS appointed several judges to fill court seats that had already been filled by the previous government.
In 2021, the European Union warned that PiS’ actions posed a “systemic risk to the rule of law in Poland” that undermined the court’s independence. The European Commission has frozen $137 billion in EU funding for Poland, citing concerns about the independence of Polish judges.
PiS-appointed judges remained in place after Tusk’s election and have obstructed his efforts to appoint new judges. Mr. Nawrocki refused to swear in three of the six judges nominated by parliament, and Mr. Świszkowski refused to seat the judges chosen by parliament.
Last week, Maciej Belek, the latest judge to be confirmed by parliament, was prevented from taking his seat amid a scuffle outside the Warsaw court.
On Saturday, riot police increased security around the courtroom in central Warsaw.
Mr Tusk, who has spent much of his time as prime minister undoing PiS reforms to the justice system, said his government aimed to restore the rule of law.
“This process is difficult and sometimes painful and requires decisive action. There is no other way,” he said on Saturday.
“Screaming, lying and fighting are not and never will be grounds for law in Poland,” Tusk said in a televised address.
He insisted the court “functions as it is supposed to function. And it functions independently of me and consistent with the Constitution.”
Analysts say the crisis deepened after parliament approved the nomination of Belek, a close ally of Tusk.
This “contradicts the government’s commitment to depoliticize the courts,” writes Alberto Alemano, a law professor at HEC Paris Business School.
“Friday’s suspension of the court’s president and deputy president, ordered by a single judge and accompanied by police presence outside the building, is not a ‘coup’ in itself. The stated objective is to restore legally functioning courts. But the restoration of the rule of law itself must be done legally,” Alemano wrote to X.
At the same time, he added, “If the Polish government is trying to restore facilities occupied under PiS, its opponents are trying to maintain some degree of control through illegal means.”
Tom Rhodes, the US ambassador to Poland, warned on Friday night: “Thousands of people gathered outside the courtroom will make an already dangerous situation even more combustible. The last thing Poland needs is a confrontation that escalates into an even worse situation.”
“We hope that all involved, including government officials, law enforcement and protesters, take a deep breath and do not take any action that could lead to violence or further escalation,” Rose told X.
However, it is unclear how the conflict between Tusk and Nawrocki will be resolved. Neither country appears ready to compromise at a time when Poland faces increasing security threats, including a cross-border war in Ukraine and sabotage inside Poland that Mr. Tusk blames on Russia.
“It is no coincidence that we have the support of pro-Russian forces all over the world,” Tusk said of the opposition on Saturday.
With new elections scheduled for next year, Poland’s constitutional order and its political direction – towards or away from deeper integration with Europe – are high on the agenda.
