Police forces were sent to the steps of Poland’s Constitutional Court in Warsaw after a heated standoff between the new centre‑left government and the court’s top judges. The confrontation centers on Justice Minister Waldemar Żurek’s request to remove the court’s president, Bogdan Święczkowski, and vice‑president, Bartłomiej Sochański, from their immunity protections so that criminal charges can be filed against them.
Background of the judicial tug‑of‑war
When the Law and Justice (PiS) party came to power in 2015, it quickly filled the Constitutional Court with its own appointees, securing a majority that could decide the legality of legislation. Subsequent rulings by the European Court of Human Rights and the Court of Justice of the European Union found that three of those judges had been appointed improperly, concluding that the court was no longer an “independent and impartial tribunal.”
Prime Minister Donald Tusk, who took office in 2023, has pledged to depoliticise the judiciary. He argues that the PiS‑era reforms undermined the rule of law and that his actions—such as refusing to publish the tribunal’s rulings—are steps toward restoration.
Current flashpoint
On the day of the police deployment, PiS supporters gathered outside the court building, demanding that the two senior judges remain in their posts. Riot police were positioned to prevent demonstrators from entering the premises. In a social‑media post, the Constitutional Court asserted that Święczkowski and Sochański were still the legally appointed senior justices, and it accused anyone attempting to remove them of committing “the crime of a coup d’état.”
Prime Minister Tusk echoed a similar tone on social media, stating, “Restoring the rule of law is our duty. After years of Law and Justice's lawlessness, this is a difficult, sometimes painful process that requires decisive action. There is no other way.”
Political and institutional obstacles
President Karol Nawrocki, who is backed by PiS, has repeatedly blocked the swearing‑in of five judges elected by parliament since March, citing alleged flaws in their selection. One of those judges, Anna Korwin‑Piotrowska, has been placed in temporary charge of the court. The Venice Commission, an advisory body of the Council of Europe, has urged Nawrocki to allow the judges to take their seats, warning that the court’s functioning is being hampered.
Attempts by Tusk to reverse PiS‑era changes have also been stymied by presidential vetoes from Nawrocki and his predecessor, Andrzej Duda. Critics of the current government argue that Tusk’s recent move to nominate a former cabinet minister, Maciej Berek, as a judge candidate may be more about political optics ahead of next year’s parliamentary elections than about genuine reform.
Reactions from legal commentators
Legal scholar Marcin Matczak, a vocal critic of the PiS‑era reforms, warned that the police presence and the minister’s claim to remove the court’s president “by decree” could generate a lasting anti‑rule‑of‑law backlash. He described the suspension of Święczkowski as lacking any legal basis.
What the deployment signals
The deployment of riot police underscores how deeply the struggle over Poland’s highest court has become entangled with broader political battles. While the Tusk government frames its actions as a necessary correction of past abuses, PiS supporters view the move as an attack on a court they consider legitimate. The standoff illustrates the difficulty of restoring judicial independence in a system where appointments, presidential vetoes, and European court rulings intersect.
As Poland heads toward elections next year, the outcome of this confrontation may influence public perceptions of both the ruling coalition’s commitment to the rule of law and the opposition’s willingness to defend the status quo. For now, the presence of armed police outside the Constitutional Court remains a stark visual reminder of the ongoing contest for control of Poland’s legal destiny.