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Akbar Novruz

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Poland has been plunged into a constitutional confrontation after police entered the Constitutional Tribunal and its president was reportedly suspended from office, prompting allegations of a coup d'état and forcing President Karol Nawrocki to cut short his trip to Senegal.

The crisis escalated on Friday amid a prolonged dispute between President Nawrocki and Prime Minister Donald Tusk's government over control of the country's highest constitutional court.

At the centre of the confrontation is the appointment of new Constitutional Tribunal judges elected by parliament, who reportedly took their oaths and began performing their duties without the president's participation.

Police were deployed around the tribunal's headquarters following security warnings, while reports emerged that the official functions of Tribunal President Bogdan Święczkowski and his deputy, Bartłomiej Sochański, had been suspended.

The announcement was made by Constitutional Tribunal judge Anna Korwin-Piotrowska, whose authority was immediately challenged by the tribunal's leadership.

In a statement published on its official X account, the tribunal described the developments as a "coup d'état".

"Ms. Anna Korwin-Piotrowska is not a judge of the Constitutional Tribunal," the statement said. "All persons participating in these actions are committing the crime of a coup d'état."

The accusation reflects the depth of the institutional dispute but does not establish that a coup has legally occurred.

President cuts short foreign visit

President Nawrocki announced that he was abandoning his journey to Senegal and returning to Poland as the confrontation intensified.

"At a moment like this, the President must be in Poland. I am cutting short my flight to Senegal. I am returning," he wrote on X.

Meanwhile, Justice Minister and Prosecutor General Waldemar Żurek told journalists that he had requested the lifting of the judicial immunity of Święczkowski and Sochański.

The move adds another dimension to the dispute over the tribunal's leadership and the government's efforts to reshape an institution whose composition has remained politically contentious for years.

Outside the court, dozens of police officers guarded the building as supporters of the opposition Law and Justice (PiS) party gathered to protest.

According to an AFP journalist at the scene, demonstrators chanted "Tusk traitor", while some participants prayed holding Catholic rosaries and religious images.

Long-running dispute over judicial independence

The confrontation is rooted in Poland's judicial reforms under the previous PiS government, which governed from 2015 until 2023.

During that period, the European Union repeatedly criticised changes to Poland's judicial system, raising concerns about the independence of the Constitutional Tribunal and its relationship with the government.

The tribunal also issued rulings asserting the primacy of certain provisions of Polish law over European Union legislation, contributing to tensions between Warsaw and Brussels.

After coming to power in 2023, Tusk pledged to restore judicial independence and resolve Poland's disputes with EU institutions.

However, his government's efforts to change the composition and functioning of the tribunal have faced resistance from President Nawrocki, who has blocked judicial appointments.