Polish President Returns from Africa as Tribunal Suspension Exposes a Judicial Power Grab
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Poland's Constitutional Tribunal suspended its president and vice president, prompting President Karol Nawrocki to cut short his Senegal trip and rush back to Warsaw amid protests and a police lockdown at the court.
At 6 p.m. local time on Oct. 30, 2026, the website of Poland's Constitutional Tribunal posted a brief notice that the court's president, Bogdan Swieczkowski, and vice president, Bartłomiej Sochanski, had been suspended. The notice was quickly removed, and Judge Anna Korwin-Piotrowska, the tribunal's longest-serving member, announced she would assume leadership to "restore the rule of law," a phrase many Poles have heard used to justify political interference.
President Karol Nawrocki, who was en route to Senegal, turned his flight around and 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." His chief of staff later confirmed that the president entered the tribunal building accompanied by Supreme Court First President Zbigniew Kański.
Riot police sealed off the court and dozens of demonstrators gathered outside, chanting slogans against the removal. The tribunal's official X account described the episode as a "coup d'état," highlighting the extraordinary nature of the takeover.
Polish Ambassador to China Jakub Kumoch announced his resignation on X, stating that he could no longer serve. Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski responded, saying the ambassador's conduct was "unprofessional" and that he no longer represented the Republic.
The suspension occurs amid ongoing tensions between the pro-European government of Prime Minister Donald Tusk, which took office in 2023, and the opposition Law and Justice (PiS) party. Tusk has said the move is part of a broader effort to replace judges appointed under the previous PiS-led administrations, describing the process as "painful but necessary" to restore the rule of law. PiS officials, including former Justice Minister Zbigniew Ziobro, condemned the action as a "blatant, criminal attack on the constitutional order" and called for firm resistance.
The dispute reflects a longer-standing clash over judicial independence, with the EU previously fining Poland over reforms that it said undermined the independence of the judiciary.