Poland's prosecutor general calls Nawrocki's tribunal entry a 'bandit raid'

Polish Justice Minister and Prosecutor General Waldemar Żurek said the prosecution service should draw conclusions from President Karol Nawrocki's actions inside the Constitutional Tribunal. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Tusk is considering a referendum on constitutional changes.

Polish Justice Minister and Prosecutor General Waldemar Żurek called President Karol Nawrocki's nighttime appearance inside the Constitutional Tribunal a “bandit raid” and said the prosecution service should draw conclusions from it. “I am already assessing his entry into the tribunal from the standpoint of criminal law. It constituted a violation of the inviolability of the tribunal building,” Żurek said on TVP Info on November 1.

According to the minister, the president and his security detail pushed through a police cordon, thereby putting State Protection Service officers in a difficult position. Żurek thanked the police, who, he said, “kept their composure completely.”

“The tribunal will resume work within weeks”

Żurek also said the tribunal would return to normal work in the coming weeks: “It is a matter of weeks before the first hearings are held and the first cases are considered on their merits.” The immediate test will be the general assembly of judges on November 3, convened by Judge Anna Korwin-Piotrowska, who is temporarily heading the tribunal. Ten of the 15 judges must be present for decisions to be made, but only eight of the judges elected by the current Sejm are serving.

Сторонники президента с польскими флагами у здания Конституционного трибунала в Варшаве

The minister demanded that his motions to lift the immunity of suspended Tribunal President Bogdan Święczkowski and his deputy be considered as soon as possible. “Mr. Święczkowski has long considered himself a man above the law,” Żurek said. He also said that events surrounding the tribunal were being used by Russian propaganda and accused right-wing politicians of “naively following its lead.”

Tusk considers a referendum

The political crisis is deepening, meanwhile: Saturday's consultations between the president and political parties produced no results. Prime Minister Donald Tusk is considering breaking the deadlock by changing the constitution and is exploring the idea of a referendum. “We will begin a serious systemic discussion on changing the constitution,” Rzeczpospolita quoted a government source as saying. Nawrocki had previously also supported constitutional reform.

The Constitutional Tribunal has been at the center of the conflict since 2015, when the Law and Justice government changed its composition. The current government does not recognize some of the judges appointed at that time, while Nawrocki supports the court's former leadership.

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Poland's prosecutor general calls Nawrocki's tribunal entry a 'bandit raid'