The struggle for control of Poland's Constitutional Tribunal escalated overnight from October 30 to 31 into one of the country's sharpest political crises in recent years. Police cordoned off the court building in Warsaw, the tribunal's suspended chair tried to cut through the locked gates, and President Karol Nawrocki interrupted his visit to Senegal and arrived at the tribunal in the middle of the night.
On Saturday, Nawrocki declared that there had been a “violation of the constitutional order of the Republic of Poland and a forcible takeover of the constitutional organ of the state” and convened urgent consultations with representatives of the parliamentary forces.
How it began
The crisis began with a decision by Judge Anna Korwin-Piotrowska, who was elected by the Sejm in 2026 but was never sworn in by Nawrocki. She suspended the tribunal's chair, Bogdan Święczkowski, and his deputy, Bartłomiej Sochański, for one month, temporarily took charge of the court and called the police, citing a threat to the judges' safety.
The tribunal's previous leadership refused to recognize the decision, said the court's website had been illegally seized and called what was happening a “coup d'état.”
A locksmith at the gates
Police cordoned off the building and the surrounding area, while Donald Tusk's government sent reinforcements to the tribunal throughout the night. Police said their officers did not enter the building itself.
Święczkowski, the suspended chair, tried to cut through the tribunal's metal gates with the help of a locksmith to enter the guarded building.
Opposition supporters gathered outside the court knocked down the gates that the locksmith had tried to cut through and broke into the courtyard.
Police said officers entered the court grounds after some demonstrators broke through the fence and threw dangerous objects at police. Three people were detained.
Protesters continued gathering outside the tribunal throughout the night. Jarosław Kaczyński, leader of the opposition Law and Justice party (PiS), also joined the action.
The president turns the plane around
“At such a moment, the president should be in Poland,” Nawrocki said as he turned around the plane flying to Senegal. After returning to Warsaw, he held an emergency meeting at the Presidential Palace and met with Zbigniew Kapiński, the First President of the Supreme Court.
At around 1 a.m., Nawrocki arrived at the tribunal, where those gathered greeted him with applause.
After a scuffle at the doors, the president entered the building. “We are judges of the Constitutional Tribunal,” Korwin-Piotrowska told him. “You are not judges of the Constitutional Tribunal,” Nawrocki replied, as shown in a video recorded inside.
The president remained at the tribunal until nearly 5 a.m., demanded that police leave the court grounds and helped Sochański, whom he considers the lawful deputy chair, enter the building.
Tusk: There is no other way
Prime Minister Donald Tusk defended the authorities' actions. “Restoring the rule of law is our duty. It is sometimes a painful process, but there is no other way,” he said.
Justice Minister and Prosecutor General Waldemar Żurek criticized Nawrocki's conduct at the tribunal and called on the prosecutor's office to examine the incident. Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski said that the lawfully elected majority had been prevented from working and that action had been necessary for the court to resume operations.
Opposition speaks of a coup
The opposition calls what is happening an attempted coup. Kaczyński said Poland was turning into a police state, while former Justice Minister Zbigniew Ziobro called for “loud, firm, united and fearless resistance.”
At the heart of the crisis is a confrontation between Tusk's government, which does not recognize the tribunal's decisions because of judges appointed under PiS, and President Nawrocki, who does not recognize the judges elected by the Sejm in 2026. Everyone is now awaiting the outcome of the president's urgent consultations with the parties.
Latest news: cordon remains
On Saturday, Nawrocki again called for "restoration of legal order" and demanded that the forces sent by the government leave the court building. The police, however, maintain a cordon around the Constitutional Tribunal. The results of the president's urgent consultations with the parties have not yet been announced.
Rallies in Support of Nawrocki
According to Anadolu Agency, among those gathered at the court on the night of October 31 were PiS leader Jarosław Kaczyński, former Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki, and former President of the Constitutional Tribunal Julia Przyłębska. Nawrocki reported that his plane, flying to Senegal, returned to Poland via Spain.
On October 31, rallies in support of Nawrocki took place in Warsaw, and the police chained off the entrance to the tribunal building. Stating a threat to the country's internal security, Nawrocki noted that the first president of the Supreme Court, Zbigniew Kapinski, also does not consider the actions of those who took control of the tribunal to be legal.
Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski stated that it is about restoring legal order in an institution politicized under the previous government. According to him, over the past three years, the Sejm elected a new majority of judges, and the president of the tribunal prevented them from working. “The democratically elected government will continue to defend the constitution,” Sikorski said.
