Judges at Poland's Constitutional Tribunal convened Tuesday to decide the court's future, following the suspension of its president in a dispute with the government and a broader struggle over the rule of law. Protesters have gathered daily outside the court in Warsaw since the suspension of the tribunal's top judge, Bogdan Święczkowski, who was appointed during the previous nationalist-conservative Law and Justice (PiS) party's tenure.
The current pro-European government, led by Prime Minister Donald Tusk, accuses Poland's President Karol Nawrocki, who is aligned with PiS, of blocking newly elected judges from taking their positions on the tribunal. Święczkowski has characterized his suspension as a "coup d'etat." The situation escalated Friday when riot police surrounded the court building as newly elected judges announced Święczkowski's suspension from within.
This crisis is the latest development in an ongoing power struggle between Tusk's government, which aims to restore judicial independence, and the PiS party. Critics in Poland and the European Union have accused PiS of exerting political control over judicial institutions during its 2015-2023 rule, leading to EU fines against Poland for undermining the rule of law. Tusk's government has faced obstacles in its efforts to reform the judiciary, largely due to successive PiS-aligned presidential actions.
After previous attempts to regain control of the tribunal were unsuccessful, the government pursued a less conventional approach. In mid-October, Parliament elected a new judge intended to shift the majority away from PiS appointees, but President Nawrocki refused to swear in the new member. The newly elected judges took their oath during a parliamentary ceremony, a move recognized by the government but rejected by PiS. The government-aligned judges subsequently entered the tribunal premises, escorted by riot police.
One of the new judges, Anna Korwin-Piotrowska, posted the notice suspending Święczkowski on the court's website, asserting her authority as the most senior judge and citing alleged irregularities in his conduct. Legal experts and European Union bodies have previously deemed the justice system reforms implemented by PiS as problematic, with the EU Court of Justice ruling in 2023 that the Polish Constitutional Tribunal had lost its impartiality due to PiS appointments.
Both Tusk's camp and PiS have accused each other of violating Polish law and the Constitution. Tusk stated on X that restoring the rule of law is an obligation, describing the process as difficult and requiring decisive action. Conversely, former PiS Justice Minister Zbigniew Ziobro denounced the suspension as a "blatant, criminal attack on the constitutional order" and called for resistance.
While human rights organizations support the principle of reversing PiS's judicial changes, some have expressed concerns about the methods used. Maciej Nowicki of the Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights in Poland noted that the legal basis for the suspension is questionable and that police presence escalated political tensions, potentially hindering a resolution. Nowicki suggested a complete reset of the tribunal, with an entirely new bench appointed under revised rules, might be necessary.
Korwin-Piotrowska called a general assembly of the tribunal's judges for November 3 to address the court's future and potentially Święczkowski's immunity, which could lead to criminal prosecution. However, reaching universally accepted decisions is unlikely, given the disagreement over which judges are legitimate and what constitutes a quorum. The functioning of the Constitutional Tribunal has been impaired for years, eroding trust in judicial institutions. The current crisis is expected to intensify Poland's political polarization ahead of next year's general elections, making consensus on fixing the court more challenging.