Polish PM Tusk pledges support for constitutional tribunal as standoff with president deepens
By Sadaf Sundas Riaz — SCN NEWS
WARSAW, October 31, 2026 — Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk pledged on Saturday to ensure the Constitutional Tribunal could operate independently after the suspension of its president triggered a confrontation with President Karol Nawrocki, drawing riot police and hundreds of protesters to the country's highest constitutional court. The dispute has developed into one of the most serious institutional challenges facing Tusk's pro-European government, with rival political camps accusing each other of undermining the constitution and attempting to seize control of the judiciary. Nawrocki, an ally of the opposition Law and Justice party, cut short an overseas trip and returned to Warsaw as the crisis intensified, while the government insisted that restoring the court's independence required decisive action.
The confrontation began on Friday when the Constitutional Tribunal announced that its president, Bogdan Święczkowski, and deputy president, Bartłomiej Sochański, had been suspended for one month. Anna Korwin-Piotrowska, the court's longest-serving judge, assumed responsibility for its leadership under arrangements whose legality has become the subject of intense political disagreement. The decision followed a prolonged dispute over the admission of judges elected by parliament, with Tusk's government accusing the suspended leadership of obstructing appointments and preventing the tribunal from functioning in accordance with constitutional requirements.
Tusk defended the changes in a televised address on Saturday evening, arguing that his government had a responsibility to provide the court with the security and conditions necessary to perform its constitutional duties. He said the tribunal should operate independently of political interference and insisted that restoring the rule of law could not involve accepting actions his government considered unlawful. His remarks signalled that the governing coalition intended to support the court's new leadership despite opposition demands for the immediate reinstatement of Święczkowski.
The prime minister accused the former governing Law and Justice party, known by its Polish abbreviation PiS, of damaging the judiciary during its eight years in power and then presenting efforts to reverse those changes as an attack on democracy. Tusk maintained that judges selected through lawful parliamentary procedures must be allowed to take office and that political authorities should not determine the court's decisions. His government has made judicial reform a central priority since taking office in December 2023, but its efforts have repeatedly encountered resistance from conservative political figures and successive presidents aligned with the former ruling party.
President Nawrocki rejected the suspension of Święczkowski and accused the governing coalition of attempting to take control of an institution intended to remain independent of the executive and legislature. The president interrupted a journey to Senegal on Friday and returned to Warsaw, where he visited the tribunal during the confrontation and said he had helped the suspended court president enter the building. His intervention brought the dispute directly into the relationship between Poland's presidency and government, raising questions about how the country's institutions could function when their leaders disagree over the legitimacy of judicial appointments.
Marcin Przydacz, a senior aide to Nawrocki, described the developments as a constitutional crisis resulting from what the president's office considered an unlawful attempt to assume control of the court. The presidential administration called for emergency consultations involving parliamentary parties in an effort to identify a possible solution. Representatives of several political groups attended discussions on Saturday, although Tusk did not participate, illustrating the difficulty of establishing a common negotiating framework between the rival camps.
The confrontation drew hundreds of demonstrators to the Constitutional Tribunal in Warsaw, where supporters of the opposition protested against the suspension of the court's leadership. Police established security barriers around the building after tensions escalated on Friday evening, with some protesters attempting to cross the perimeter and throwing objects towards officers. Authorities detained three people during the disturbances, while riot police remained deployed as demonstrations continued for a second night.
Jarosław Kaczyński, the leader of PiS, joined the protests alongside other conservative and far-right politicians, accusing the government of violating constitutional protections and interfering with the judiciary. Opposition figures described the suspension as an attempted seizure of judicial power, arguing that the government could not claim to restore judicial independence while supporting the removal of judges associated with its political opponents. Their position has intensified pressure on Nawrocki to resist the changes and use the powers of the presidency to challenge further government action.
The government rejects those accusations, arguing that the tribunal's previous leadership had itself prevented the institution from functioning independently by obstructing judges elected by the current parliamentary majority. Tusk has accused Święczkowski of refusing to recognise appointments made through parliamentary procedures, prolonging a dispute that has already undermined confidence in the court's legitimacy. The government maintains that restoring the tribunal's ability to hear constitutional cases requires ending practices it considers politically motivated, although legal experts remain divided over whether the suspensions were carried out through lawful procedures.
The origins of the crisis date to 2015, when disputes over appointments to the Constitutional Tribunal intensified following the election victory of Law and Justice. The party's government introduced changes affecting judicial appointments and the organisation of the courts, arguing that reforms were necessary to improve efficiency and accountability. Critics, including European institutions and domestic legal organisations, accused PiS of weakening judicial independence and concentrating influence over institutions responsible for reviewing the constitutionality of legislation.
The dispute eventually became a major source of tension between Poland and the European Union, which challenged aspects of the country's judicial reforms and pursued legal action over alleged violations of European standards. The Court of Justice of the European Union questioned whether the Constitutional Tribunal continued to meet requirements for an independent and impartial judicial body. Poland faced financial penalties and prolonged disagreements with Brussels, making the restoration of judicial independence a significant issue in its relationship with European institutions.
Tusk's coalition entered government in 2023 promising to reverse controversial judicial changes and restore Poland's standing within the European Union. However, the process has proved difficult because the presidency retains powers affecting legislation and judicial appointments, while judges selected under the previous government continue to hold positions in important institutions. Presidential vetoes have prevented some reforms from taking effect, forcing the government to seek alternative ways of addressing the institutional disputes it inherited.
Nawrocki's election reinforced the political divide by placing an opponent of Tusk's government in the presidency while the prime minister retained control of a parliamentary coalition. The president has resisted several initiatives intended to change the composition and functioning of judicial institutions, arguing that the government must operate within constitutional limits. Tusk's supporters contend that those objections have obstructed the restoration of the rule of law, leaving Poland in a prolonged struggle over which institutions possess legitimate authority to resolve the dispute.
The latest confrontation centres partly on the status of judges elected by the Sejm, Poland's lower house of parliament, whose appointments were not fully recognised by the tribunal's previous leadership. The government argues that the judges were selected through legitimate parliamentary procedures and should be permitted to exercise their responsibilities. Nawrocki and his political allies dispute aspects of that process, leaving the tribunal's composition and leadership contested at a time when its authority to resolve constitutional questions is itself under challenge.
The dispute presents particular difficulties because the Constitutional Tribunal is responsible for determining whether legislation and certain government actions comply with Poland's constitution. Its ability to perform that role depends on the acceptance of its authority by political institutions, judges and the wider legal system. When the government and president reject each other's interpretation of the court's leadership and membership, the institution risks becoming a source of further political conflict rather than a mechanism for resolving it.
The crisis also threatens to complicate relations within Tusk's governing coalition, which includes his centrist Civic Coalition, the Left, Poland 2050 and the Polish People's Party. Although the coalition's members broadly support restoring judicial independence, they differ on some constitutional and political questions and face pressure from voters concerned about institutional stability. Nawrocki's office has sought discussions with parliamentary groups, including coalition partners, creating an opportunity for the president to challenge the government's position through political negotiations as well as legal arguments.
With parliamentary elections approaching in 2027, the confrontation is likely to become an important issue in the campaign between Tusk's pro-European coalition and the national-conservative opposition. Both sides have presented their positions as necessary to defend democracy, but their competing claims reflect fundamentally different interpretations of how the judicial system should be repaired after years of political conflict. The protests outside the tribunal demonstrate that the disagreement has extended beyond legal institutions and into a broader struggle over political legitimacy.
Tusk also warned that the domestic confrontation could be exploited by forces seeking to weaken Poland, including pro-Russian groups operating online. He argued that political disputes should not allow intimidation or violence to determine the functioning of constitutional institutions. The prime minister did not announce a negotiated settlement with Nawrocki, however, and his address left unresolved the question of how the government and presidency could agree on the tribunal's leadership and the status of disputed judicial appointments.
For Poland, the immediate challenge is maintaining the operation of its constitutional court while political leaders contest the legality of the changes introduced on Friday. The government has pledged to protect the tribunal's independence and enable its judges to work, while the president and opposition continue to demand recognition of the suspended leadership. With protests continuing and no agreement between the rival political camps, the dispute threatens to prolong the institutional uncertainty that has affected Poland's judiciary for more than a decade.