Poland's Court Standoff Puts State Power on Display

Police and protesters gathered outside Poland’s Constitutional Tribunal in central Warsaw as rival political camps battled over control of the country’s top constitutional court. Prime Minister Donald Tusk wants to undo changes made by the previous Law and Justice (PiS) government. President Karol Nawrocki is fighting to keep PiS-aligned judges in charge. The court has become a frontline in the struggle over state power, with both sides claiming to defend democracy and the rule of law.

Who Gets to Control the Court

Eight judges backed by Tusk’s ruling parliamentary coalition planned to meet Tuesday to approve the tribunal’s budget and consider disciplinary proceedings against its president, Bogdan Święczkowski, and his deputy, Bartłomiej Sochański. But court rules require 10 of its 15 judges for a quorum. The eight need at least two justices chosen under the previous PiS government, which ruled from 2015 to 2023.

That arithmetic leaves court operations caught between rival appointments and competing claims to legitimacy. Tusk’s government says an overhaul must restore the rule of law and meet EU impartiality standards. Nawrocki’s supporters accuse Tusk of backing a coup. In December 2025, the EU’s top court ruled that the tribunal failed to meet standards for an independent and impartial court because of appointment irregularities dating back a decade.

The dispute traces back to October 2015, when a parliamentary majority led by Civic Platform elected five judges. Three would fill existing vacancies; two would take seats due to open after an election set for December. PiS, then leading in the polls, went on to win. The tribunal later ruled that the two additional judges had been improperly chosen. The incoming PiS majority declared all five selections void, elected five replacements and had PiS-aligned President Andrzej Duda swear them in. That move put the legitimacy of three replacements for properly elected judges in question.

Over the next eight years, PiS reshaped the court with contested judicial appointments, leadership changes and procedural restrictions. Tusk returned to power in 2023, promising to restore the rule of law, but Duda and Nawrocki thwarted his efforts. Nawrocki won the presidency in 2025 with PiS’s backing.

The Election Circus Closes In

The immediate standoff began when Nawrocki chose which of the eight judges appointed by parliament to swear in, a decision critics say violates the constitution. Święczkowski barred the new judges from entering the court building. On Friday, Anna Korwin-Piotrowska, citing her status as the longest-serving judge, suspended Święczkowski and Sochański.

Nawrocki scrapped an official trip to Senegal, turned his flight around over Spain on Friday and headed back to Warsaw. He reached the tribunal at 1 a.m. Saturday. Footage showed him forcing his way past Korwin-Piotrowska. The president’s camp said she and other judges had made unlawful physical contact with him. Święczkowski has vowed to show up at the tribunal’s gates daily to demand entry. He insists he remains president and rejects the authority of the judges seeking control.

A Common Enemy, For Now

The standoff is helping unite right-wing opposition parties ahead of next year’s parliamentary election. At a protest against Tusk’s government, PiS co-founder Jarosław Kaczyński appeared with Grzegorz Braun, an extreme-right Polexit campaigner and antisemite whom Kaczyński had previously ruled out governing with. They took a selfie. Former Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki and libertarian Sławomir Mentzen attended too.

“There are plenty of differences between our programs. But ending Prime Minister Tusk’s government is the fundamental common goal,” Anna Bryłka, vice president of Mentzen’s Confederation party, told POLITICO.

Tusk’s Civic Coalition leads POLITICO’s Poll of Polls, but its smaller partners might not make it into the next parliament. That could open the way for PiS and other right-wing parties if their leaders can work together. The crisis could also rally Tusk’s supporters, who are disappointed by what they see as slow progress on restoring the rule of law.

“Resolving the conflict is simple and possible without constitutional changes,” Tusk wrote Monday. He said Nawrocki should recognize judges lawfully elected by parliament and let them begin their duties. PiS deputy leader Przemysław Czarnek replied: “The solution is very simple. You resign, the president calls a new election and the people decide ... You will not intimidate us, and we will not back down.” The fight over the tribunal is already a fight over the next government.