Polish police deployed anti-riot units around the Constitutional Tribunal in Warsaw on Friday evening, October 30, 2026, following the announced suspension of the high court’s controversial president, Bogdan Swieczkowski. The development marks a dramatic escalation in the long-running institutional power struggle between Poland’s nationalist opposition and the centrist government led by Prime Minister Donald Tusk.
In response to the unfolding confrontation, nationalist President Karol Nawrocki interrupted an official trip to Senegal, cutting short his flight to return urgently to Warsaw. Dozens of police officers deployed steel barriers and blocked access to the highest judicial compound as scores of supporters of the national-conservative Law and Justice party gathered outside. Protesters chanted slogans denouncing the prime minister, recited prayers, and brandished religious icons in support of supreme judges whose removal has been sought by the executive branch.
The Constitutional Tribunal has long been a focal point of friction between Warsaw and the European Union, which has criticized the institution for lacking independence from political interference. National-conservative leaders previously invoked the supremacy of domestic Polish legislation over EU law during prolonged disputes with Brussels. Since returning to power in 2023, Tusk has vowed to restore the rule of law and resolve the judicial crisis, though his government’s administrative appointments to the tribunal have repeatedly faced roadblocks from President Nawrocki, who has refused to endorse them.
Defending the administration’s actions on the social platform X, Tusk wrote, “After years of illegality under Law and Justice, it’s a difficult, sometimes painful process, which requires resolute action. There is no other way.” Demonstrators outside the gates responded with chants of “Tusk traitor!”
The immediate crisis erupted when Anna Korwin-Piotrowska, one of the tribunal’s judges, announced the suspension of Swieczkowski. Concurrently, the minister of justice and prosecutor general announced during a press conference that formal requests had been filed to lift the legal immunity of both Swieczkowski and his deputy, Bartlomiej Sochanski.
The tribunal swiftly rejected the move, issuing a statement on its official social media account denouncing the suspension as “a coup d’état.” The court’s official website went offline Friday evening. According to the tribunal’s counter-statement, Swieczkowski remains in office, and Korwin-Piotrowska cannot legally assume interim leadership because she has not taken her oath of office before the head of state.
While police forces secured the perimeter of the judicial complex, law enforcement officials stated that officers had not entered the tribunal’s interior buildings as the political and constitutional showdown continued to unfold in the Polish capital.
