Poland Constitutional Tribunal protest prompts police detentions and Nawrocki return

Police guarded Poland’s Constitutional Tribunal as dozens of protesters gathered to oppose what they called the improper suspension of the court’s president. Officers detained three people after some protesters forced entry through the tribunal’s fence. Police also said other demonstrators threw objects at officers during the protest.

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Polish President Karol Nawrocki, who was travelling to Senegal, said the situation made a return necessary. "At a moment like this, the President must be in Poland. I am cutting short my flight to Senegal. I am returning,\" Nawrocki wrote on X. The protest unfolded amid a wider political dispute over Poland’s courts.

Poland Constitutional Tribunal dispute and PiS government legacy

Poland’s highest courts, including the Constitutional Tribunal, have remained a central flashpoint. The conflict has involved the pro-European government and the national-conservative Law and Justice party, PiS. Critics in Poland and the European Union accused PiS of steering court bodies politically. Those changes led the EU to impose fines on Poland.

Donald Tusk’s pro-European government took office in 2023 and pledged judicial independence. Since then, efforts have faced obstacles from presidential vetoes. Two successive presidents aligned with PiS used veto power, including Nawrocki. This has slowed some legal changes linked to restoring how courts are run.

Poland Constitutional Tribunal president suspension and website outage

Information on the suspension of Constitutional Tribunal president Bogdan Swieczkowski appeared on the court’s website at about 6 pm local time. The website went offline soon after. As a result, The Associated Press could not independently confirm the official reasons stated for the suspension.

Swieczkowski became head of the Constitutional Tribunal during the PiS government. Tusk has accused Swieczkowski of preventing judges chosen by the parliamentary majority from taking their tribunal posts. Tusk also spoke in August at Campus Polska about plans to re-staff the tribunal with lawfully appointed judges.

Poland Constitutional Tribunal rule of law fight and political reactions

Prime Minister Tusk addressed the issue on X on Friday evening. \"Restoring the rule of law is our obligation,\" Tusk wrote on X on Friday evening. \"After years of lawlessness under PiS, this is a difficult process, sometimes painful, and it requires decisive action. There is no other way.\"

PiS politicians, now the largest opposition group, criticised Swieczkowski’s suspension. \"This is a blatant, criminal attack on the constitutional order,\" former Justice Minister Zbigniew Ziobro wrote on X on Friday evening. \"That is why I call for resistance that will be loud, firm, solidary and fearless.\"

The incident added fresh tension to Poland’s long-running argument over judicial authority. Police reported three detentions and cited fence breaches and thrown objects. Nawrocki said the circumstances required returning from an overseas trip. The suspension of Bogdan Swieczkowski, and the tribunal website outage, left key details contested.

With inputs from PTI