Poland's Nawrocki Pushes Into Top Court, Calls Emergency Crisis Talks

Polish President Karol Nawrocki forced his way into the country’s Constitutional Tribunal in Warsaw shortly after midnight Saturday, local time, according to POLITICO Europe, escalating a standoff with Prime Minister Donald Tusk’s government over who controls the nation’s top court.

Nawrocki, a conservative backed by the Law and Justice party (PiS) and described by The Guardian as a close ally of President Trump, turned his plane around while flying to a state visit in Senegal to return to Warsaw and intervene at the court on Friday night, The Guardian reported.

Polish President Karol Nawrocki forced his way into the Constitutional Tribunal in Warsaw shortly after midnight this morning, in the latest escalation of the rule-of-law tussle between the PiS-allied president and Prime Minister Donald Tusk.
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The crisis began Friday when a group of judges chosen by Tusk’s parliamentary majority suspended the tribunal’s president, Bogdan Swieczkowski, and his deputy, Bartlomiej Sochanski, both appointed under the previous PiS government, The Guardian reported. Judge Anna Korwin-Piotrowska then announced she was taking over leadership of the court, according to Euronews. Swieczkowski rejected the move, POLITICO Europe reported.

According to POLITICO Europe, a video published overnight showed Nawrocki pushing through people gathered at the court’s entrance, including Korwin-Piotrowska. Judge Maciej Berek accused the president of physically confronting her, while presidential aide Rafal Leskiewicz said it was the judges, whom he called “usurpers,” who obstructed and manhandled Nawrocki, the outlet reported. Inside, Nawrocki told the newly elected judges, “You are not judges,” according to POLITICO Europe.

Euronews reported that Nawrocki first met with Zbigniew Kapinski, First President of the Supreme Court, at the presidential palace before going to the tribunal with Kapinski and a group of aides. Nawrocki said neither he nor Kapinski recognized the actions of those he said were unlawfully claiming authority over the court, according to Euronews.

Early Saturday, Nawrocki’s chief of staff, Pawel Szefernaker, read a statement outside the tribunal. “Tonight, there has been a breach of the constitutional order of the Republic of Poland and a forcible takeover of a constitutional organ of the state,” Szefernaker said, according to Euronews. “I call for the restoration of the legal order and for the forces of coercion sent there by the government to leave the Tribunal’s grounds.”

Nawrocki then called emergency talks with representatives of the parliamentary parties for Saturday, citing “the threat to internal security,” AFP reported. The talks were set to begin at 1 p.m. local time at the presidential palace, according to AFP.

Outside the court, hundreds of protesters, including opposition lawmakers, gathered to show support for the suspended judges, according to The Guardian. Police said they detained three people after some protesters breached the tribunal’s fence and others threw objects at officers, The Guardian reported. AFP reported that the court’s official X account described the events as a “coup d’etat,” and that some demonstrators chanted “Tusk traitor.”

Tusk’s government has argued the moves are needed to restore the rule of law after judicial changes made under the previous PiS government, according to POLITICO Europe, which reported that the government has spent weeks trying to remove judges appointed in that era.

The United States weighed in as well. U.S. Ambassador to Poland Tom Rose warned all sides in a post on X, according to AFP: “Don’t take any action that could provoke violence or further escalation.” He added, “The last thing Poland needs is a confrontation that spirals into something far worse.”

Poland is a key NATO ally on the front line with Russia and Ukraine, and the outcome of Saturday’s talks could shape whether the confrontation cools or deepens in the days ahead.

Sources

• POLITICO Europe
• AFP
• The Guardian
• Euronews

Reporting by Daily Beltway.