A conflict has erupted in Poland over the Constitutional Tribunal — people took to the streets to protest

October 30, 2026 at 09:22 PM • 14239 переглядiв

Polish President Nawrocki is returning to Warsaw after the heads of the Constitutional Tribunal were suspended and clashes broke out near the court. The police intervened in the conflict.

Polish President Karol Nawrocki cut short his visit to Senegal and is returning to Warsaw after the head of Poland’s Constitutional Tribunal was suspended from office and protests began in the country, UNN reports.

Details

On Friday, Poland’s Prosecutor General Waldemar Żurek announced that he had submitted five motions to the Constitutional Tribunal to lift immunity, four of which concerned consent to prosecute acting Constitutional Tribunal President Bogdan Święczkowski, while the fifth concerned lifting the immunity of Constitutional Tribunal Vice-President Bartłomiej Sochański.

“As Prosecutor General, I today submitted five motions to the Constitutional Court to lift immunity. The motions are very extensive, totalling 224 pages. Four motions concern granting consent to bring acting Constitutional Court President Bogdan Święczkowski to criminal liability. The fifth motion concerns lifting the immunity of Constitutional Court Vice-President Bartłomiej Sochański. Fifty volumes of materials concerning the crimes specified in the motions were also submitted to the Court. All the documents were handed over to the Constitutional Court judge with the longest tenure
- Żurek wrote on X.

According to media reports, judges Magdalena Bentkowska and Maciej Berek, with Anna Korwin-Piotrowska, as the judge with the longest tenure, became president of the Constitutional Tribunal and issued orders suspending Święczkowski and Sochański from performing their duties for one month. The Tribunal stated that "an illegal takeover of the Constitutional Court’s website had taken place."

Bogdan Święczkowski remains president, as before, and Bartłomiej Sochański remains vice-president. Ms Anna Korwin-Piotrowska is not a judge of the Constitutional Tribunal. All persons involved in these actions are committing the crime of a coup d’état
- the statement said.

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Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk wrote: "Restoring the rule of law is our duty. After years of lawlessness caused by the Law and Justice party, this is a difficult, sometimes painful process that requires decisive action. There is no other way."

Polish President Karol Nawrocki said: "At such a moment, the president should be in Poland. I am cancelling my flight to Senegal. I am returning to Poland."

According to media reports, an attempt to redistribute influence over Poland’s Constitutional Tribunal between the executive branch and the head of state led to a confrontation involving force near the court building.

The crisis continues because Nawrocki has refused to swear in half of the judges elected by parliament, followed by the blocking of their powers by Tribunal President Bogdan Święczkowski. The current events were triggered by a statement from one of the judges regarding Święczkowski’s suspension.

This provoked the involvement of law enforcement agencies and clashes near the institution, during which dangerous objects were used against police officers. According to Polish police, law enforcement officers entered the Constitutional Tribunal building after incidents occurred outside the building, including various objects being thrown at police officers.