On Friday night, hundreds of demonstrators stood outside Poland’s Constitutional Tribunal in Warsaw after the court’s president was suspended, sparking clashes with police that left several injured and saw three protesters detained for entering the building premises, according to Xinhua.
The protest, which erupted amid an escalating dispute between Prime Minister Donald Tusk’s ruling coalition and the opposition over control of the judiciary, drew supporters of the Law and Justice (PiS) party who accuse the Tusk government of attempting to seize the court’s authority.
Key PiS figures were present, including party leader Jarosław Kaczyński and former Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki, both of whom joined the crowd that confronted police as they breached perimeter fencing and threw objects at officers.
The roots of the conflict lie in parliamentary appointments to the tribunal. Poland’s parliament, dominated by Tusk’s coalition, elected eight judges to the tribunal this year, but President Karol Nawrocki, an ally of the opposition, accepted the oaths of only three. The remaining five judges took oaths at parliamentary ceremonies, but Nawrocki and the tribunal’s leadership refused to acknowledge their status, preventing them from assuming judicial duties.
Following the dispute, Poland’s Constitutional Tribunal announced on its website that its president and vice‑president had been suspended for one month and that a newly elected judge, whose legitimacy remains contested, would take temporary leadership. Tribunal officials described the move as an illegal coup and accused those involved of taking over the court’s website. Polskie Radio reports that riot police were deployed to the tribunal grounds in response to the escalating tensions.
In the middle of the night, President Nawrocki cut short a flight to Senegal and returned to Warsaw. He held an emergency meeting with judicial officials late on Friday and then visited the tribunal building, entering the premises shortly after midnight, a move noted by Xinhua as part of the unfolding situation.
The protests and the tribunal’s leadership dispute have deepened the divide between Tusk’s government and the opposition, raising questions about the independence of Poland’s judiciary and the legitimacy of its recent court appointments. The situation remains fluid, with police continuing to monitor the tribunal’s surroundings and the opposition calling for a transparent resolution to the crisis.
