Tusk Moves to Remove Constitutional Tribunal Chief

The political conflict in Poland intensified on Friday when the government suspended Bogdan Święczkowski, the president of the Constitutional Tribunal. The move, announced on the court's website around 6 p.m. local time, immediately triggered street demonstrations and a sharp reaction from the opposition.

The suspension was part of Prime Minister Donald Tusk's effort to restructure the tribunal. Tusk argued that the court had been clogged by judges who blocked appointments made by the parliamentary majority. He described the process of restoring the rule of law as difficult and sometimes painful, but stated that decisive action was required after years of what he called lawlessness under the previous administration.

President Karol Nawrocki, who was traveling to Senegal when the news broke, turned his plane around to return to Poland. He posted on X that the President must be in the country during such a moment. He cut short his flight to ensure he was present for the developments. The President has previously used his veto power to block similar judicial reforms, aligning him with the national-conservative Law and Justice party, or PiS, which governed from 2015 to 2023.

The dispute over the tribunal's composition has strained relations between Warsaw and Brussels. European Union officials had previously fined Poland for judicial changes made during the PiS era. Critics argued that those reforms allowed the political party to exert control over key judicial institutions. Tusk's current government, elected in 2023, campaigned on a platform of reversing those changes and ensuring the tribunal is staffed by lawfully appointed judges.

Dozens of protesters gathered outside the tribunal on Friday to oppose the suspension. Police secured the building after some demonstrators breached the fence and threw objects at officers. Three people were detained during the incident. The court's website went offline shortly after the initial announcement, preventing independent verification of the specific reasons cited for Święczkowski's removal.

Zbigniew Ziobro, a former Justice Minister and PiS politician, condemned the suspension as a criminal attack on the constitutional order. He called for loud and fearless resistance from the public. The suspension marks a concrete step in Tusk's plan to clear the tribunal of judges he views as politically appointed, a strategy he outlined in August as necessary to ensure the court functions properly.

Święczkowski was originally appointed to lead the tribunal under the PiS government. Tusk accused him of preventing judges elected by the current parliamentary majority from taking up their posts. The government maintains that clearing these blocks is essential for the court to operate with legitimacy. The opposition views the suspension as a power grab that undermines the court's autonomy.