Polish President Returns from Senegal Amid Constitutional Tribunal Standoff
President Karol Nawrocki cut short his Senegal trip to return to Warsaw as a dispute over the Constitutional Tribunal’s leadership intensifies, with judges’ meetings and immunity requests pending.
President Karol Nawrocki flew back to Warsaw on Oct. 30, ending a planned visit to Senegal, as tensions over the Constitutional Tribunal’s leadership grew.
Nawrocki posted on X, "At a moment like this, the president must be in Poland. I am cutting short my flight to Senegal. I am returning."
The dispute centers on the appointment of judges to the tribunal, a conflict between Prime Minister Donald Tusk’s pro-European government and the conservative opposition aligned with the president. Anna Korwin-Piotrowska, elected by parliament but whose appointment is contested, announced a general assembly of judges for Nov. 3.
Prosecutor General Waldemar Żurek filed five requests to lift judicial immunity – four targeting tribunal president Bogdan Święczkowski and one against deputy president Bartłomiej Sochański – accompanied by extensive case files, though they do not amount to criminal charges.
Protesters gathered outside the court, with some objects thrown at police and three arrests made. A protester breached a perimeter fence, allowing Święczkowski to approach the gate; he said the gate was opened on his instructions, but police prevented his entry. Former deputy foreign minister Arkadiusz Mularczyk accused the government of attempting a coup, claiming legally appointed judges were being blocked from the court.