By Fatma Younis
Polish President Karol Nawrocki cut short a trip to Senegal and returned to Warsaw on Friday after the Constitutional Tribunal's longest-serving judge suspended the court's president, escalating a power struggle with Prime Minister Donald Tusk's government.
Tribunal leadership suspended
Anna Korwin-Piotrowska, the tribunal's longest-serving judge, announced the suspension of tribunal president Bogdan Swieczkowski — an appointee of Tusk's far-right predecessor — and assumed leadership of the court.
Protests and accusations
Hundreds of protesters gathered outside the tribunal headquarters in Warsaw late Friday amid a heavy police presence. Right-wing politicians, including former Prime Minister Jaroslaw Kaczynski, addressed the crowd and accused Tusk's government of staging a coup against the judiciary.
Tusk defends rule-of-law drive
Writing on X, Tusk said his government was seeking to restore the rule of law, which the European Union had accused the previous Law and Justice administration of subverting. "This process is difficult, at times even painful, and requires decisive action. There is no other way," he stated.
Long-running dispute
The conflict dates back to 2015, when the nationalist Law and Justice party appointed judges to seats already filled by the previous government, giving its nominees a majority on the tribunal. Critics at home and abroad said the court no longer met standards of independence. After Tusk's coalition took office in 2023, it pledged to reform the court, but President Nawrocki, elected in 2025, has acted to thwart those efforts.
Recent developments
Earlier this year, Nawrocki refused to swear in three of six judges nominated by parliament, while Swieczkowski declined to seat judges elected by the current parliamentary majority. Last month, parliament appointed Tusk ally Maciej Berek to the tribunal, a move critics said undermined the government's stated goal of restoring checks and balances.
