By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
WARSAW, Poland — Polish President Karol Nawrocki abruptly turned his aircraft around Friday, Oct. 30, abandoning a diplomatic trip to Senegal after police entered the grounds of the Constitutional Tribunal in Warsaw and the court announced the suspension of its president, Bogdan Święczkowski.
The confrontation intensified an ongoing dispute between Prime Minister Donald Tusk’s governing coalition and Poland’s conservative opposition over control of the country’s constitutional court, with opposition leaders accusing the government of attempting to take over the judiciary.
Police arrived at the tribunal’s headquarters on Szucha Avenue during the late afternoon. Video footage circulating on X showed officers at the premises as demonstrators and opposition politicians gathered outside.
The Warsaw Metropolitan Police confirmed that officers were operating on the tribunal’s grounds but disputed claims that they had forcibly entered the court building or removed its security personnel.
Police said the deployment followed information from Constitutional Tribunal Judge Anna Korwin-Piotrowska warning of possible threats to judges and court employees, as well as disturbances to public order. Authorities also reported that objects had been thrown at officers during confrontations outside the building.
According to Reuters, the tribunal announced Święczkowski’s suspension on its website as the police operation unfolded.
Polish media subsequently reported that Deputy Tribunal President Bartłomiej Sochański had also been suspended from his duties for one month, pending disciplinary proceedings. Korwin-Piotrowska was reported to have assumed responsibility for the court’s leadership, although the legal basis and validity of the changes remained disputed.
The developments prompted Nawrocki to terminate his flight to Senegal, where he had been traveling for an official visit.
“At such a moment, the President must be in Poland. I’m interrupting my flight to Senegal. I’m returning,” Nawrocki announced on X.
The president’s office subsequently confirmed that he had ordered his aircraft to return because of developments at the Constitutional Tribunal.
Tusk defended his government’s approach to the judiciary, arguing that decisive measures were necessary to reverse changes introduced during the previous Law and Justice government.
“Restoring the rule of law is our duty. After years of PiS-led lawlessness, this is a difficult process, sometimes painful, and it requires decisive action. There is no other way,” Tusk wrote on X.
The prime minister’s remarks reflected his administration’s longstanding position that judicial reforms enacted during Law and Justice’s years in power undermined judicial independence and violated constitutional principles.
Law and Justice, known by its Polish abbreviation PiS, governed Poland from 2015 until 2023. Its changes to judicial appointments and disciplinary procedures generated prolonged disputes with European Union institutions, which accused the government of weakening judicial independence.
Tusk’s government, which assumed office in December 2023, pledged to reverse those measures. Its efforts have encountered resistance from judges appointed under the previous administration and from presidents aligned with the conservative opposition.
Friday’s confrontation concerned the Constitutional Tribunal, which adjudicates disputes involving the Polish Constitution and the validity of legislation.
Święczkowski, a former national prosecutor associated with the previous PiS administration, has resisted attempts by the current parliamentary majority to reorganize the tribunal’s membership.
Earlier in 2026, Nawrocki refused to administer the oath of office to three of six judges selected by parliament. Święczkowski subsequently declined to allow judges chosen by the governing majority to assume their duties.
The resulting disagreements have significantly restricted the tribunal’s ability to function.
Tusk’s governing coalition maintains that the existing judicial leadership has perpetuated institutional problems inherited from the previous government. Opposition politicians argue that the coalition is attempting to bypass constitutional procedures to install judges more favorable to its policies.
Law and Justice leader Jarosław Kaczyński denounced Friday’s police operation, accusing the government of using law enforcement to take control of the tribunal.
In a statement posted on X, Kaczyński described the developments as an attack on the Constitutional Tribunal and claimed Poland was “becoming a police state.”
He urged citizens to continue demonstrating and called on Nawrocki to exercise his constitutional powers to challenge the government’s actions.
Kaczyński also appeared outside the tribunal’s headquarters, where opposition lawmakers and demonstrators had assembled.
According to Polish broadcaster Onet, he appealed directly to Nawrocki to intervene within the limits of the presidency’s constitutional authority.
Other opposition figures characterized the operation in similarly severe terms.
Polish member of the European Parliament Grzegorz Braun, a nationalist politician who has repeatedly criticized the European Union, compared the developments to Poland’s May 1926 coup, when Józef Piłsudski seized power after several days of fighting.
Braun also called for Poland to withdraw from the European Union.
His historical comparison and allegations of a coup reflected his political interpretation of the confrontation; no independent judicial finding had established that Friday’s events constituted a coup or an unlawful government takeover.
Polish police maintained that their actions were limited to protecting personnel and restoring public order.
The Warsaw Metropolitan Police said officers were acting under statutory powers after receiving information about potential threats to the safety of judges and employees.
The police statement also emphasized that officers were respecting the tribunal’s institutional independence and were not intervening in its judicial functions.
Reports about the precise location and actions of police officers differed throughout the evening. Some media outlets reported that officers had entered the building, while police maintained that their personnel were operating on the grounds rather than inside the court itself.
The Associated Press reported that demonstrators breached a fence outside the tribunal and threw objects at officers, resulting in three arrests.
The tribunal’s website briefly displayed an announcement concerning the suspension of its leadership before becoming unavailable. That disruption prevented independent confirmation of all details surrounding the purported disciplinary action.
The circumstances under which the leadership change was announced, and whether it complied with applicable Polish constitutional and judicial procedures, remained unresolved Friday evening.
Poland’s president and prime minister occupy separate constitutional roles. The president serves as head of state and possesses certain appointment and veto powers, while the prime minister leads the government and directs its executive administration.
Nawrocki’s opposition to the governing coalition’s judicial restructuring has created repeated institutional confrontations, particularly over judicial appointments and the authority of courts established or reorganized during the previous PiS administration.
The Constitutional Tribunal dispute has also attracted scrutiny from European institutions because judicial independence and the effectiveness of constitutional review have been longstanding points of disagreement between Warsaw and Brussels.
Tusk’s government argues that its measures are intended to restore judicial independence and compliance with constitutional standards. Opposition leaders contend that the methods being used threaten the separation of powers.
Friday’s suspension announcement, police deployment and interruption of Nawrocki’s international trip brought those competing claims into direct confrontation.
By Friday evening, the status of the tribunal’s leadership remained disputed, with no final judicial resolution establishing the legality of the suspensions or the reported transfer of authority.
Nawrocki’s return to Warsaw placed the presidency at the center of the confrontation as the government and opposition continued disputing control of one of Poland’s principal constitutional institutions.
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