Rival Judges Paralyze Poland's Constitutional Tribunal

Overview

• A Saturday announcement by Judge Anna Korwin-Piotrowska said she had temporarily suspended Tribunal president Bogdan Święczkowski and assumed interim leadership of the court.
• The Tribunal's official account rejected the move as illegitimate and called the action a 'coup,' saying Święczkowski remains president.
• Police deployed around the tribunal after clashes with protesters left three people detained and prompted President Karol Nawrocki to cut short a trip to Senegal and call emergency consultations.
• Justice Minister Waldemar Żurek has sought measures to remove the president and his deputy and to strip their immunities, leaving the court effectively paralysed amid procedural voting hurdles inside the Tribunal.
• The crisis traces to PiS reforms since 2015 and recent rulings by European bodies that backed parliamentary swearing-in of judges, and it now threatens Tusk's judicial reforms and public order in the run-up to the 2027 vote.