Nawrocki accuses opponents of violating the constitutional order as a power struggle over the court escalates.
On Saturday, Polish President Karol Nawrocki called urgent consultations with all parliamentary parties following a night of tension around the Constitutional Tribunal headquarters in Warsaw, where clashes broke out between protesters and police amid an open dispute over control of the institution.
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“Tonight, there has been a violation of the constitutional order of the Republic of Poland and a forcible takeover of a constitutional state body,” Nawrocki said outside the Constitutional Tribunal in the early hours of Saturday, after spending several hours inside the building.
“In view of the threat to the internal security of the Republic of Poland, I am calling urgent consultations today with representatives of parliamentary forces to stabilize the political situation and restore constitutional order,” the head of state added. He also demanded the withdrawal of police officers deployed at the tribunal.
The crisis erupted Friday afternoon, when Judge Anna Korwin-Piotrowska announced that she had assumed leadership of the Constitutional Tribunal and ordered the suspension of the duties of its president, Bogdan Święczkowski, and vice president, Bartłomiej Sochański.
🇵🇱President Karol Nawrocki vs. Tusk’s police.
Highly likely these police officers will soon be dismissed – or perhaps there is something more serious going on here?
The war against Russia in Ukraine is about to end, probably Ursula Von der Nazi & Co are looking for a new victim🤷♂️ pic.twitter.com/uaiuBwlo6H— Roberto (@UniqueMongolia) October 31, 2026
Police later entered the headquarters after receiving a notification from the judge herself warning of a “danger to the lives and physical safety” of the tribunal’s judges.
During the night, supporters of the main opposition party, Law and Justice (PiS), the Confederation party and other right-wing groups gathered outside the building. Among them were PiS leader Jarosław Kaczyński and former Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki. Incidents and clashes between those gathered outside and police were reported throughout much of the night.
Nawrocki, who cut short a trip to Senegal to return to Poland, entered the headquarters shortly after midnight alongside Supreme Court First President Zbigniew Kapiński and Presidential Chancellery chief Zbigniew Bogucki.
A brief explanation for those with no knowledge of Polish politics:
A year ago, the Polish people elected a conservative president, Karol Nawrocki.
Poland currently has a left-liberal government, which, however, does not yet control the courts.
Tusk government is attempting to… pic.twitter.com/woxcmgix5p
— 🇵🇱 Stańczyk (@NatConPatriot) October 31, 2026
There, he engaged in a verbal confrontation with Korwin-Piotrowska and other judges. In footage recorded by one of the judges present, the president denied the judge’s legitimacy, while Bogucki accused her of carrying out a “coup d’etat.”
The confrontation is part of the power struggle between Donald Tusk’s government and President Nawrocki, an ally of PiS, over the legitimacy and control of the Constitutional Tribunal, an institution whose standing has been widely questioned following the judicial reform introduced by the previous conservative government.
The judges backing Korwin-Piotrowska maintain that they have the authority to remove the tribunal’s leadership from its duties, while Nawrocki and his allies consider the move illegal and describe it as an “assault” on a state institution.
For his part, Tusk defended the intervention, saying, “Establishing the rule of law is our duty.” “After years of PiS lawlessness, this is a difficult process, sometimes painful, and requires decisive action,” he wrote on social media.
teleSUR/ JF
Source: EFE
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