Poland's prime minister warns of rule-of-law crisis amid Tribunal standoff
Select a version of the text written from a presumed ideological perspective. This is not the original text, but a hypothetical version — how someone with that viewpoint might have phrased it. Tapping the current version again will return to the original or select cleaned version.
Prime Minister Donald Tusk said the rule of law must prevail after a confrontation between President Karol Nawrocki and the Constitutional Tribunal over new judges, while accusing opponents and Russian-linked actors of worsening the dispute.
Prime Minister Donald Tusk addressed the nation on Saturday, saying the rule of law must prevail as tensions over Poland’s Constitutional Tribunal intensify. The dispute escalated on Friday when President Karol Nawrocki attempted to enter the Tribunal building while police blocked access, highlighting a deadlock over the appointment of new judges.
Tusk described the incident as a "scandalous" episode and warned that such scenes should not recur. He asserted that a democratic state must be capable of enforcing justice and that no politician, including the president, has the right to enter a court, issue instructions to judges, or intimidate them.
The prime minister said his government’s proposals to resolve the crisis were obstructed by the opposition Law and Justice (PiS) party and the president, noting that the Sejm had elected new judges who took their oaths, but the president did not receive them. Tribunal President Bogdan Święczkowski also refused to allow the new judges to assume their duties.
Tusk emphasized that the newly elected judges were legally appointed and that lawlessness could not be negotiated. He warned that pro-Russian groups could exploit the conflict, citing online activity he described as Russian-linked bots supporting opponents of Poland’s constitutional order.
While pledging to provide the Tribunal with security and conditions to operate independently, Tusk did not outline a specific agreement with President Nawrocki or a detailed plan to end the standoff.