Polish president clashes with judges in court crisis
Conflicting accounts of the confrontation keep the power struggle over the Constitutional Court alive.
Follow-up to: Police secure Polish court after president suspended Saturday, 31 October 2026, 01:55
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A physical confrontation broke out in Warsaw on Friday between President Karol Nawrocki and judges from the Constitutional Court. Accounts differ over exactly what happened; police remained at the court. Nawrocki returned from a trip to Senegal because of the crisis.
The confrontation followed the suspension of Bogdan Święczkowski, president of Poland’s Constitutional Court. Judge Anna Korwin-Piotrowska announced that she was taking over the leadership of the court and that Święczkowski and Vice-President Bartłomiej Sochański had to step down. The court’s official X account rejected the move and called it a ‘coup’.
President Nawrocki then cut short his trip to Senegal. According to Associated Press, he wrote that the president had to be in Poland in such a situation. He returned to Warsaw on Friday evening and subsequently spoke with Zbigniew Kapinski, the First President of the Supreme Court. Anadolu Agency reported that Nawrocki then also became involved in a tense confrontation with judges at the Constitutional Court.
The precise circumstances of the physical incident have not been independently established. Anadolu Agency wrote that US ambassador Tom Rose called the situation ‘very serious’ and that both camps gave ‘diametrically opposed versions’ of events. The ambassador urged officials, police and demonstrators to avoid further escalation.
Supporters of the national-conservative Law and Justice party, PiS, gathered outside the court. According to AP, police said three people had been detained after demonstrators tried to enter the premises or threw objects at officers. AFP likewise reported that officers were stationed around the building. According to Anadolu, police remained outside the building and did not enter.
The crisis is the latest chapter in a long-running conflict over Poland’s judiciary. According to AP, Prime Minister Donald Tusk’s government wants to restore judicial independence after reforms under PiS, which governed between 2015 and 2023. Critics in Poland and the European Union believe PiS built up political influence over, among other institutions, the Constitutional Court at that time. Nawrocki is reportedly backed by PiS and has blocked steps by the current governing majority concerning the appointment of judges.
For Poland, the central question is therefore not only who runs the court, but also which decisions are still regarded as legally valid. Tusk defended the intervention as necessary to restore the rule of law. PiS and the court itself, by contrast, say that the government is undermining the constitutional order. From an institutional-centrist perspective, an independent assessment of the powers involved is desirable to limit further administrative uncertainty.
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One story, several perspectives
What is established
- The president of the Constitutional Court has been suspended.
- Judge Anna Korwin-Piotrowska claimed leadership of the court.
- The court and the government offer opposing legal interpretations.
- President Nawrocki returned to Poland and police remained stationed around the building.
- The precise circumstances of the physical confrontation have not been independently established.
Left
Arguments The government must restore institutions that, in its view, were politically undermined by earlier PiS reforms. Without intervention, a court that blocks the appointment of new judges and weakens the rule of law will continue to operate.
Values An independent judiciary, European legal standards and the restoration of institutional oversight.
Consequences Delay or restraint could entrench the existing seizure of power; at the same time, heavy-handed intervention could further damage confidence in the rule of law.
Centre
Arguments The crisis must be resolved through transparent procedures, judicial rulings and parliamentary oversight. No political majority should unilaterally replace the leadership of a constitutional institution.
Values Institutional continuity, legal certainty and restraint in the use of state power.
Consequences Independent mediation or swift legal review could limit escalation; prolonged uncertainty makes government decisions vulnerable.
Right
Arguments The government is using police and administrative power to disable an inconvenient court. Even a poorly functioning court should, from this perspective, be reformed within the existing constitutional rules.
Values National sovereignty, procedural legitimacy and protection against the concentration of power in the executive.
Consequences The intervention could set a precedent whereby future governments replace judges as soon as they become politically inconvenient.
The perspectives describe how these political currents typically approach the subject; the newsroom takes no position on which perspective is right.
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The substance of the developments is confirmed by several independent sources. The uncertainty surrounding the physical incident is explicitly presented as uncertainty and not as an established detail.
- confirmed Bogdan Święczkowski was suspended as president of Poland’s Constitutional Court. — AP, AFP and Anadolu report the suspension. source
- confirmed Karol Nawrocki cut short his trip to Senegal and returned to Poland. — AP, AFP and Anadolu describe the return. source
- confirmed Three people were detained during incidents around the court. — AP attributes this to the police. source
- confirmed The precise circumstances of the physical confrontation are unclear. — Anadolu reports that the camps involved gave diametrically opposed versions. source
- confirmed The conflict over the Constitutional Court is connected with earlier PiS reforms and the Tusk government’s attempts to reform the judiciary. — AP provides this political and institutional background. source
Editor's note
The suspension of the court president, the deployment of police, Nawrocki’s return from Senegal and the conflicting accounts are certain. The precise circumstances of the physical confrontation have not been independently established.Sources
- Polish president meets Supreme Court chief amid Constitutional Tribunal standoff — Anadolu Agency
- Police secure Poland’s Constitutional Tribunal as protests erupt over court chief’s suspension — Associated Press
- Polish riot police deployed as deposed court chief sets off crisis — AFP
- Polish president cuts short Senegal trip as police deployed outside Warsaw constitutional court — Polskie Radio
The story so far
- Friday, 30 October 2026, 21:26 Polish president returns after court conflict
- Saturday, 31 October 2026, 01:55 Police secure Polish court after president suspended
- Saturday, 31 October 2026, 04:57 Polish president clashes with judges in court crisis (this article)
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