Police forces were deployed Friday evening at the entrance to Poland's Constitutional Tribunal in Warsaw following reports that the court's president, Bogdan Święczkowski, had been suspended. Protests erupted near the court immediately after the announcement of Święczkowski's suspension.
He was also filmed attempting to reenter the grounds but was blocked by police officers. Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, who supports the move, wrote on X: "Restoring the rule of law is a complex, sometimes painful process that requires decisive action. There is no other way."
Footage of the protests in Poland
Large numbers of police officers deployed at the scene
(Photo: Wojtek RADWANSKI / AFP)
Footage from Warsaw showed protesters attempting to saw through the court's fences to allow Święczkowski to enter. Local police said they arrested three people who threw objects at officers. Polish media reported that "the crowd is attacking the police," while former Polish Justice Minister Zbigniew Ziobro called on demonstrators to mount "loud, firm, united and fearless resistance."
The long-running political dispute began in the previous decade, when Poland's right-wing conservative Law and Justice party introduced sweeping judicial reforms that the opposition at the time described as effectively "a takeover of the courts." The Court of Justice of the European Union ruled that the reforms violated EU law. In the elections held on October 15, 2023, Law and Justice failed to secure a parliamentary majority despite remaining the largest party. Then-opposition leader Donald Tusk formed a liberal coalition that won a confidence vote in parliament, promising to reverse the judicial reforms introduced by his predecessors.
Since then, Poland's current parliament, whose majority belongs to the center-left camp, has appointed new judges who were sworn in during private ceremonies in parliament. Polish President Karol Nawrocki and the suspended tribunal president Święczkowski, both aligned with Law and Justice, refused to swear in three of the judges appointed by parliament. Święczkowski also refused to recognize their authority or allow them to begin serving.
Now, the tribunal has announced a decision to remove Święczkowski, who has become one of the symbols of Poland's judicial reforms. To do so, the other judges took advantage of President Nawrocki's absence while he was on his way to an official visit to Senegal and publicly announced the suspension. Following the announcement, Nawrocki said he was canceling his visit and ordered his plane to turn back toward Poland. "At a moment like this, the president must be in Poland," he wrote on X. "I am cutting short my flight. I am returning."