Poland's Top Court Chief Suspended as Police Deploy at Tribunal; President Nawrocki Aborts Senegal Trip Mid-Flight
Poland's Constitutional Tribunal in Warsaw plunged into a standoff on October 30 as Judge Anna Korwin-Piotrowska announced a one-month suspension of the court's president, Bogdan Święczkowski, and his deputy, Bartłomiej Sochański, accusing them of failing their duties by blocking judges elected by the parliamentary majority from taking their seats. Korwin-Piotrowska, elected by the current Sejm in March 2026, said that as the longest-serving judge she was taking over the court to restore the rule of law. The notice appeared on the tribunal's website around 6 p.m., after which the site went dark.
Police deployed in force around the tribunal on Friday evening as supporters of the opposition Law and Justice party protested the suspension. Some demonstrators forced through fencing and hurled objects at officers, and police said three people were detained. Police said the deployment followed Korwin-Piotrowska's report of threats to judges and staff, and that officers did not enter the tribunal building itself. The court's official social media account called the website takeover unlawful and the suspension a 'coup d'état,' insisting Święczkowski remains president and that Korwin-Piotrowska, who has not been sworn in by the president, cannot lead the court.
President Karol Nawrocki, airborne en route to Senegal, ordered his plane turned around. 'At a moment like this, the President must be in Poland. I am interrupting my flight to Senegal. I am returning,' he wrote. Back in Warsaw he met Święczkowski and Supreme Court First President Zbigniew Kapiński at the presidential palace, and his chief of staff said the president later entered the tribunal building accompanied by Kapiński. Law and Justice leader Jarosław Kaczyński addressed protesters outside the court, calling the move an attack on the tribunal.
Prime Minister Donald Tusk defended the suspension, saying restoring the rule of law is the government's duty, in a process that is 'difficult, sometimes painful' and requires decisive action. Justice Minister and Prosecutor General Waldemar Żurek said he has requested the lifting of immunity for Święczkowski and Sochański over their blocking of judges.
The confrontation is the latest escalation of Poland's long-running judiciary battle. The tribunal has been effectively paralysed for months: Nawrocki has refused to swear in three of six judges elected by parliament, Święczkowski has declined to seat judges chosen by the current majority, and the European Court of Human Rights has ordered the court to admit them. Święczkowski, a former deputy justice minister under Law and Justice, has accused Tusk's government of plotting to rewrite the constitutional order. Legal experts are divided on the legal basis of the suspension order, and the standoff is still developing.
Source: GSM News
Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 位于华沙的波兰宪法法院大楼（Wikimedia Commons，CC BY-SA 3.0）
- 2026-10-30Poland's Top Court Chief Suspended as Police Deploy at Tribunal; President Nawrocki Aborts Senegal Trip Mid-FlightThis story
- 2026-10-31Follow-up: Poland's President Enters Constitutional Tribunal in Early-Morning Scuffle, Tells Rival Judges 'You Are Not Judges'
