Poland's Top Court in Crisis: President Turns Plane Around as Tribunal Chief's Suspension Sparks Protests

WARSAW — Poland's president cut short a trip to Senegal and turned his plane around on Friday, 30 October 2026, as protests erupted outside the country's Constitutional Tribunal in Warsaw after the court's president was suspended — the latest and most dramatic escalation in a decade-long fight over who controls Poland's top court.

President Karol Nawrocki, who had been flying to Senegal for a state visit, announced his return on X, writing: "At a moment like this, the President must be in Poland. I am cutting short my flight to Senegal. I am returning." Police secured the tribunal building as dozens of protesters gathered, and police said three people were detained after some protesters breached the tribunal's fence and others threw objects at officers, CNN reported on 31 October.

By the early hours of Saturday, 31 October, Nawrocki had pushed through a police cordon to enter the tribunal building, where he remained for hours, according to reports from Warsaw. In a statement read outside the court at about 5 a.m., he called the events a "forcible takeover" of a constitutional body and convened urgent consultations with parliamentary forces, citing a threat to internal security.

Illustration: Protesters and police outside a constitutional court building in Warsaw — an artist's impression, not a photograph of the actual events.

What Happened

The confrontation began on Friday evening, 30 October, when the tribunal's website published information that its president, Bogdan Święczkowski, had been suspended, CNN reported. Judge Anna Korwin-Piotrowska, the tribunal's longest-serving judge, said she had assumed control of the court, according to multiple reports. She also suspended Święczkowski's deputy, Bartłomiej Sochański, and called a meeting of all constitutional judges for 3 November, reports said.

Korwin-Piotrowska told state broadcaster TVP that Święczkowski had made the court incapable of acting by refusing to admit judges elected by the current parliamentary majority, and accused him of irregularities in assigning cases, according to Notes from Poland and other Warsaw-based reporting cited in coverage of the crisis. The tribunal's website went down soon after the suspension was published, so the Associated Press could not independently verify the official reasons given for it, CNN noted.

Police entered the building after a letter from Korwin-Piotrowska pointed to a possible threat to judges and staff and a risk of public disorder, according to reports. Hundreds of protesters, including opposition politicians, gathered outside the tribunal late on Friday amid a heavy police presence, while right-wing politicians addressed the crowd and accused Prime Minister Donald Tusk's government of carrying out a coup against the court, Devdiscourse reported.

Nawrocki returned to Warsaw overnight. Shortly before 1 a.m. on Saturday, he appeared outside the court and, after tussling with security personnel, entered the building, where he was still present at 4 a.m., according to The Guardian, as cited in developing coverage. He later left the building before 5 a.m. with his chief of staff, Judge Maciej Taborowski told the Polish Press Agency (PAP). Nawrocki said he had enabled the "legally serving vice president", Judge Sochański, to enter the building, and said Supreme Court First President Zbigniew Kapiński "also does not recognize as legal the actions taken by persons usurping power in the Constitutional Tribunal".

Justice Minister Waldemar Żurek, who is also attorney general, said he had requested the lifting of Święczkowski's and Sochański's immunity, arguing they had failed to fulfil their duties by preventing judges from performing their work. According to one detailed account of the crisis, Żurek filed five immunity requests — four concerning Święczkowski and one concerning Sochański — accompanied by 50 volumes of case files.

Illustration: An aircraft turning back above a European capital at dusk, symbolising a trip cut short — an artist's impression, not a photograph of the actual flight.

Background

Poland's Constitutional Tribunal decides whether laws comply with the country's constitution, and control of it has been contested since 2015, when the national-conservative Law and Justice party (PiS), then in government, sought to appoint judges to seats already filled by the previous government. Critics in Poland and the European Union accused PiS, which led the country between 2015 and 2023, of imposing political control over key judicial institutions, including the tribunal. The PiS reforms led the EU to impose fines on Poland.

Tusk's pro-European government came to power in 2023 with a promise to restore the independence of the judiciary. Since then, its efforts have been blocked by vetoes from two successive presidents aligned with PiS, including Nawrocki, CNN reported. The dispute has effectively paralysed the institution, with the government and the president refusing to recognise appointees put forward by the other side.

The immediate deadlock concerns judges elected by the current parliament whom Nawrocki refused to swear in. Korwin-Piotrowska was elected by the current majority in March 2026, but Nawrocki refused to swear her in, according to crisis coverage. Earlier this year, Nawrocki, an ally of Poland's former nationalist government, refused to swear in three of six judges nominated by parliament, while Święczkowski, who served as a deputy justice minister under PiS, declined to allow judges elected by the current parliamentary majority to assume their duties. Last month, parliament appointed Tusk ally Maciej Berek to the tribunal, Devdiscourse reported.

Tusk has accused Święczkowski of blocking judges elected by the parliamentary majority from taking up their posts. Speaking about the tribunal's future at Campus Polska in August, Tusk said his government had a plan to ensure the tribunal would again be staffed with lawfully appointed judges, while acknowledging his methods might not be to everyone's liking.

Why It Matters

The tribunal is the final arbiter of what Poland's constitution allows, so a fight over who leads it is not a procedural quarrel — it determines whether contested laws, judicial reforms and presidential vetoes can be tested at all. With two rival groups of judges each claiming authority, rulings from the court risk being ignored by one side or the other, deepening the paralysis that has already gripped the institution.

The crisis also cuts directly into Poland's standing in the European Union. Brussels has previously fined Poland over PiS-era judicial changes, and Tusk's government was elected in part on a pledge to repair relations with the EU by restoring judicial independence. A showdown that involves police cordons, immunity motions and a president forcing his way into a court building makes that repair harder to demonstrate, even as Tusk frames the suspension as precisely the restoration of the rule of law.

Domestically, the confrontation has sharpened the standoff between the presidency and the government. Nawrocki, backed by PiS — now the largest opposition force — has used his veto to block the government's agenda, while Tusk's camp argues the tribunal under Święczkowski was itself blocking the democratic majority's choices. Former Justice Minister Zbigniew Ziobro called the suspension "a blatant, criminal attack on the constitutional order" and called for resistance that would be "loud, firm, solidary and fearless". Tusk, by contrast, wrote on X on Friday evening: "Restoring the rule of law is our obligation," adding: "After years of lawlessness under PiS this is a difficult process, sometimes painful and it requires decisive action. There is no other way."

The episode also matters beyond Poland because it is unfolding in a country that has become central to European security debates — including, on the same day, Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski's call at the G20 foreign ministers' meeting in Atlanta for a rapid Black Sea ceasefire to allow grain shipments, and his backing for Poland to become a full G20 member, Reuters reported on 31 October. A government consumed by a constitutional crisis has less room to press those foreign-policy aims.

Illustration: A courtroom interior with scales of justice, symbolising the fight over Poland's top court — an artist's impression, not a photograph of the actual tribunal.

What Happens Next

Several things will determine whether the crisis eases or escalates in the coming days:

• The 3 November judges' meeting: Korwin-Piotrowska has called a meeting of all constitutional judges for 3 November. Whether both rival groups attend — and whether any decisions taken there are recognised — will be an early test of who actually controls the court.
• Nawrocki's consultations: The president has convened urgent consultations on Saturday with representatives of parliamentary forces, saying he wants to stabilise the situation and restore constitutional order. Their outcome will show whether a political compromise is possible or whether the presidency and government remain on a collision course.
• The immunity motions: Żurek's requests to lift the immunity of Święczkowski and Sochański could open the way to criminal proceedings, but they must themselves pass through a court system whose authority is now disputed — a circular problem noted in crisis coverage, since the immunity motions were delivered to the judge who then suspended the officials.
• Protests and policing: Police said three people were detained on Friday. Whether demonstrations outside the tribunal grow, and how police handle further attempts to enter the building, will shape public perceptions of both sides.
• The European reaction: Brussels has watched Poland's judiciary closely since the PiS era. Any statement from EU institutions — or silence — will signal how far Tusk's "rule of law" framing is accepted abroad.

For now, the facts on the ground are stark: a suspended court president who does not recognise his suspension, a judge who says she is in charge, a president who forced his way into the building to back the suspended leadership, and a government insisting it is restoring legality. Until one of those claims prevails, Poland's highest constitutional body remains, in effect, two courts claiming one name.

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FAQ

Who is Bogdan Święczkowski?

Święczkowski is the president of Poland's Constitutional Tribunal, appointed under the PiS government. He previously served as a deputy justice minister in the PiS administration. His suspension was published on the tribunal's website on Friday evening, 30 October 2026.

Why was the tribunal president suspended?

Judge Anna Korwin-Piotrowska, who said she had assumed control of the court, accused Święczkowski of blocking judges elected by the current parliamentary majority from taking up their posts and of irregularities in assigning cases. The tribunal's website went down soon after, so the Associated Press could not independently verify the official reasons, CNN reported.

Why did President Nawrocki turn his plane around?

Nawrocki was flying to Senegal for a state visit when the suspension was announced. He wrote on X: "At a moment like this, the President must be in Poland. I am cutting short my flight to Senegal. I am returning." He later entered the tribunal building through a police cordon and called the events a "forcible takeover".

What is the Constitutional Tribunal?

It is Poland's top court for constitutional matters, deciding whether laws comply with the country's constitution. Control of it has been disputed since 2015, and the dispute has effectively paralysed the institution, with rival appointees unrecognised by the opposing side.

What happens next in the crisis?

Korwin-Piotrowska has called a meeting of all constitutional judges for 3 November, Nawrocki is holding urgent consultations with parliamentary forces, and the justice minister's immunity motions against Święczkowski and Sochański are pending. Protests outside the tribunal and any reaction from the European Union will also shape what follows.

Sources

• CNN, "Polish president turns plane around to return home as court chief's suspension sparks protest", 31 October 2026.
• Reuters, "Poland's Sikorski calls for rapid ceasefire in Black Sea to allow food shipments", 31 October 2026.
• Devdiscourse (Reuters), "Polish president turns back from Senegal trip after top court chief suspended", 31 October 2026.
• Europe Says / Daily Sabah reporting, "Nawrocki says 'forcible takeover' of Poland's Constitutional Tribunal, calls crisis talks", 31 October 2026.
• The Raisina Hills, "Poland Court Crisis: Tusk, Nawrocki and the Tribunal Fight", 31 October 2026.