Riot police deployed to Poland’s constitutional court after judge suspended
Riot police were locked in a tense standoff with protesters outside Poland's constitutional court on Friday night after its top judge was suspended in the latest escalation in a decade-long dispute over the court's legal status.
The clashes followed a controversial decision by a group of government-appointed judges to suspend the court's contested president, Bogdan Święczkowski, and his deputy, Bartłomiej Sochański, amid disagreements over the bench's legitimacy.
The move prompted a furious reaction from the rightwing opposition Law and Justice (PiS) party, with its leader, Jarosław Kaczyński, condemning what he claimed was an "assault" on the court.
Political Intervention
The PiS-backed conservative president, Karol Nawrocki, a close ally of Donald Trump, turned his plane around en route to a state visit in Senegal to return to Warsaw and intervene at the court on Friday night.
Hundreds of protesters – including opposition MPs – gathered outside the building to show their support for the suspended judges. Three people were reportedly arrested for trying to force entry through a heavy police presence.
The government appointees "were not judges of the constitutional court."
Court Crisis
Shortly before 1am on Saturday, Nawrocki appeared outside the court and made his way through the police cordon, with one video showing the president tussling with security and other judges to force his entry into the building.
As of 4am local time, the president remained inside the building. In a statement read out on his behalf outside the court at 5am, Nawrocki criticised "a violation of Poland's constitutional order", saying "a constitutional body was seized by force". He called for security forces to leave the premises.
The court has been at the centre of a dispute dating back to 2015, when the outgoing centrist and the incoming rightwing governments moved in quick succession with legally questionable moves to stack the bench with their appointees.
Political Standoff
The latest clash is likely to further polarise the country, setting the scene for a dramatic showdown in next year's parliamentary election, with polls showing the populist-right with a chance to return to power.
Earlier this month, the Council of Europe's advisory body on the rule of law, the Venice Commission, said the president's refusal should not prevent judges from taking up their posts.
On Friday night, a group of judges elected by the current majority moved to suspend Święczkowski, a former minister under PiS, and seize procedural control of the court. Anna Korwin-Piotrowska – who is one of the five judges not accepted by Nawrocki – said she had assumed the top position, citing the longest experience in the judiciary.
Polish prime minister Donald Tusk insisted that "restoring the rule of law is our duty." "After years of PiS's lawlessness, this is a difficult process, sometimes painful, and it requires decisive action. There is no other way," he argued.
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