Polish police enter Constitutional Tribunal and remove Bogdan Święczkowski

Polish Police Enter Constitutional Tribunal and Remove President Bogdan Święczkowski

Polish police entered the Constitutional Tribunal building in Warsaw and removed its president, Bogdan Święczkowski, from office, Reuters reported.

Opposition leader Jarosław Kaczyński denounced the police intervention on the social platform X, characterizing the deployment of state services as a coup d’état against the highest court. “From today, Poland is becoming a police state, and from there it is a direct path to authoritarianism and then to totalitarianism,” Kaczyński wrote, urging citizens to maintain legal public protests outside the Tribunal. Kaczyński also wrote, Attack on the Constitutional Tribunal! Tusk’s services are entering the Tribunal by force! This is the first such case on a global scale, and added, We, Poles, cannot let ourselves be intimidated! and The civic protest, completely legal, must continue! The Tribunal is the guarantor of our freedom and sovereignty! Tusk’s trampling of the law knows no bounds!

President Karol Nawrocki Interrupts Senegal Trip and Returns to Warsaw

President Karol Nawrocki turned his presidential aircraft around mid-flight and headed back to Poland after learning of the police raid at the Constitutional Tribunal. Polsat News journalist Katarzyna Pisa first reported from the aircraft that both the primary presidential plane and a backup aircraft carrying journalists were ordered back to Warsaw. Nawrocki posted on X that a Polish president must remain in the country during such a crisis, writing, “I am suspending my flight to Senegal. I am returning.”

The National Police Headquarters stated that officers entered the premises to carry out statutory duties after disturbances broke out outside the building, including individuals hurling dangerous objects at law enforcement personnel. Authorities denied forcing out the Tribunal’s security guards, though three individuals were detained during the clashes. The authorities denied forcibly removing the security guards of the Constitutional Tribunal and reported three detentions. The police added that the actions were taken, among other things, on the basis of a letter from Constitutional Tribunal judge Anna Korwin-Piotrowska, in which she informed about a “possible threat to the life and health of the judges and employees of the Tribunal” and a “risk of violation of public order.” The police assured that they acted within their powers while respecting the independence of the Constitutional Tribunal and that the measures taken did not constitute interference in the work of the institution.

Institutional Paralysis and Competing Legal Claims Over Tribunal Leadership

The raid deepens a protracted political deadlock that has effectively paralyzed the Constitutional Tribunal. The institutional crisis stems from earlier disputes involving President Nawrocki—an ally of Poland’s former nationalist government—who refused to administer the oath of office to three of six judges nominated by the parliament. In response, Tribunal President Bogdan Święczkowski blocked judges selected by the current parliamentary majority from taking their seats. The executive branch also does not recognize certain members of the institution.

Following the police action, conflicting claims emerged over the Tribunal’s leadership. According to the Polish Press Agency (PAP), a statement published on the Tribunal’s website announced that Święczkowski and Vice-President Bartłomiej Sochanski were suspending their duties, with Judge Anna Korwin-Piotrowska stepping in to lead the institution based on a letter citing safety risks.

Prosecutor General Files Immunity Removal Requests Against Tribunal Leaders

Prosecutor General Waldemar Żurek submitted five separate applications to the Constitutional Tribunal requesting the waiver of immunity for top court officials.

Questions About the Constitutional Tribunal Crisis in Poland

Why did President Karol Nawrocki abort his trip to Senegal?

President Nawrocki ordered his flight back to Warsaw after police entered the Constitutional Tribunal building and removed its president, stating that a Polish head of state must be in the country during such a national crisis.

Who ordered the police intervention at the Tribunal building in Warsaw?

Reuters reported that the action was carried out by police forces under the direction of Donald Tusk’s government while President Nawrocki was traveling abroad.