Polish president returns from Senegal as constitutional court faces police standoff

Protesters and riot police confronted each other outside Poland's Constitutional Tribunal on Friday after the court's president, Bogdan Święczkowski, was suspended. Seven judges appointed by the Sejm entered the building, and security guards were ordered to leave, while the incumbent president and vice-president were denied entry, tribunal spokesperson Weronika Ścibor said.

Judge Anna Korwin-Piotrowska announced she was assuming leadership of the tribunal and suspending Święczkowski, a move the current tribunal leadership has contested as illegal.

President Karol Nawrocki ended a visit to Senegal and returned to Warsaw, meeting Supreme Court First President Zbigniew Kapiński before heading to the tribunal with aides. Footage posted on X showed a scuffle as Nawrocki attempted to enter the premises.

"Tonight, there has been a breach of the constitutional order of the Republic of Poland and a forcible takeover of a constitutional organ of the state," chief of staff Paweł Szefernaker read from a statement on Nawrocki's behalf.

"I call for the restoration of the legal order and for the forces of coercion sent there by the government to leave the Tribunal's grounds," the statement added.

Nawrocki said he had consulted with Kapiński and that neither recognized the authority claimed by those present in the tribunal. He announced plans for emergency talks with parliamentary groups to address what he described as a threat to internal security and to stabilise the political situation.

Justice Minister Waldemar Żurek expressed alarm at the president's actions, saying he hoped the prosecution service would act and that it was unacceptable for a president to use his immunity to force entry and attack judges. He noted that talks had been held with tribunal officials but no compromise was reached, and urged the tribunal to resume normal work.

The incident sparked protests outside the tribunal, attended by members of the Law and Justice party, Confederation and right-wing supporters, including party leader Jarosław Kaczyński, former prime minister Mateusz Morawiecki, former tribunal president Julia Przyłębska and Bogdan Święczkowski. Kaczyński described the events as an assault on the Constitutional Tribunal and called for continued protests, warning that Poland risked becoming a police state. PiS MEP Patryk Jaki warned that images from the tribunal could damage the image of the government of Donald Tusk.