Coup’ Claims Rock Poland As President Cuts Senegal Trip Short, Police Raid Constitutional Tribunal
‘Coup’ Claims Rock Poland As President Cuts Senegal Trip Short, Police Raid Constitutional Tribunal
The Constitutional Tribunal said Święczkowski and its vice-president, Bartłomiej Sochański, had been ordered to take a break from their official duties, according to The Mercian.
Poland’s political and constitutional crisis escalated dramatically on Friday, after police raided the premises of the country’s Constitutional Tribunal in Warsaw, while the court announced that its president, Bogdan Święczkowski, has been removed from his official duties.Explore History
The development prompted Polish President Karol Nawrocki to abruptly cut short his trip to Senegal and turn his plane back toward Poland, saying he needed to be in the country amid the unfolding crisis.
The Constitutional Tribunal said Święczkowski and its vice-president, Bartłomiej Sochański, had been ordered to take a break from their official duties, according to The Mercian.Find Legal Help
Judge Anna Korwin-Piotrowska, described as the longest-serving judge among those currently recognised by the court’s leadership, was subsequently placed in charge of the tribunal./
The move has deepened an already bitter dispute over the composition and authority of Poland’s highest constitutional court, pitting institutions aligned with Prime Minister Donald Tusk’s governing coalition against judges and politicians associated with the country’s previous nationalist administration.
Police said their intervention was connected to security concerns around the tribunal.Find Legal Help
According to police, officers were responding to incidents outside the court, including the throwing of dangerous objects at police officers, and were acting to protect people at the scene and prevent further escalation.
Polish authorities also said the police presence followed information provided by Judge Korwin-Piotrowska warning of potential threats to the lives and health of judges and tribunal employees, as well as possible disturbances of public order.Explore History
Polish media reported that police were carrying out statutory activities on the tribunal premises, although officials disputed some reports about the extent of the intervention inside the building.
Nawrocki, who is politically aligned with Poland’s former nationalist government, announced that he was abandoning his Senegal trip as the confrontation intensified.
“At a moment like this, the President must be in Poland. I am cutting short my flight to Senegal. I am returning,” Nawrocki reportedly said.
The action against Święczkowski has triggered fierce accusations from Poland’s opposition.
Law and Justice (PiS) leader Jarosław Kaczyński described the events as an attack on the Constitutional Tribunal and accused services operating under Tusk’s government of attempting to seize control of the institution.
Other opposition figures have similarly characterised the development as a coup or an assault on Poland’s constitutional order
The tribunal itself also disputed the legitimacy of the changes, with statements appearing on its online platforms claiming that its website had been unlawfully taken over and insisting that Święczkowski remained the court’s president.
The confrontation is the latest episode in a prolonged battle over Poland’s Constitutional Tribunal, which has become one of the central flashpoints in the country’s wider political struggle over the rule of law.
The dispute intensified after the current parliamentary majority sought to install judges in the tribunal, while Nawrocki refused to swear in some of the nominees.
Święczkowski, meanwhile, had refused to allow judges elected by the current parliamentary majority to take up their duties, according to Reuters.
The Constitutional Tribunal is responsible for determining whether laws and other state actions comply with Poland’s Constitution.
The continuing institutional conflict has effectively paralysed parts of its work and raised fresh questions about the separation of powers under Tusk’s government.
Friday’s events have therefore transformed the long-running legal dispute into an acute political confrontation, with the Polish president rushing home, police deployed around the tribunal and rival factions accusing each other of undermining the country’s constitutional order.
