Poland: turmoil and protest in front of the Constitutional Court

The power struggle over the Polish Constitutional Court is coming to a head. Police surrounded the building after protesters gathered there. The trigger is the presumed suspension of the

Poland Tumult and protest in front of the Constitutional Court As of: October 31, 2026 • 2:03 a.m

The power struggle over the Polish Constitutional Court is coming to a head. Police surrounded the building after protesters gathered there. The trigger is the presumed suspension of the previous court administration.

In Poland, a dispute over the Constitutional Court has escalated. According to police, officers secured the area in front of the court after a judge alerted officers about possible threats to the safety of judges and staff.

A notice had previously appeared on the Constitutional Court's website stating that the activities of court president Bogdan Swieczkowski and his deputy had been suspended for a month. During this time, constitutional judge Anna Korwin-Piotrowska will lead the court. Shortly afterwards, a post from the Constitutional Court appeared on X denying this information. Swieczkowski is still in office. Korwin-Piotrowska could not represent him because she was not sworn in by the President. The court spoke of a coup.

In the evening, many demonstrators gathered in front of the courthouse in the center of Warsaw, most of them supporters of the opposition PiS. Some tried to break through barriers and enter the area. According to police, three people were arrested. Many demonstrators remained outside the court late in the evening.

The ECJ has condemned Poland. The Constitutional Court violated principles of EU law. more

Behind the chaos lies a bitter dispute between the two largest political camps over the Constitutional Court. The right-wing conservative PiS, which ruled the country from 2015 to 2023, had filled the court with judges who were politically close to it. The European Court of Justice (ECJ) found at the time that the court could not be considered independent and impartial due to serious deficiencies in the appointment of its judges and its then president.

After Tusk's center-left alliance took over the government following the 2023 parliamentary election, it announced that it would reverse the PiS government's controversial innovations in the judiciary. But this process is making slow progress. This is also due to President Karol Nawrocki, who is close to the PiS and always thwarts Tusk's government.

In recent months, Nawrocki has refused to swear in five constitutional judges nominated by parliament. When these judges took their oath of office in front of parliament instead, court president Swieczkowski, who was nominated during the PiS era, refused them access to the building. The European Court of Human Rights had already decided in May that these judges should take up their duties.

The lawyer Anna Korwin-Piotrowska was one of the newly nominated constitutional judges whom Nawrocki did not want to be sworn in. She now explained on TVP that the previous President of the Constitutional Court had rendered the court incapable of acting because he had not admitted the new judges. As the oldest person in the service, she therefore called a meeting of all constitutional judges for November 3rd.

The right-wing conservative President Nawrocki canceled his planned trip to Senegal. “At such a moment the president must be in Poland,” Nawrocki wrote on Platform X. His plane landed back in Warsaw in the evening. He later arrived at the court. Television images showed Nawrocki passing through a police line in a crowd.

Prime Minister Donald Tusk emphasized on X that restoring the rule of law was an obligation for his government. "After years of lawlessness under the PiS government, this is a difficult, sometimes painful process that requires decisive action. There is no other way."

Justice Minister Waldemar Zurek requested that the immunity of Swieczkowski and his deputy be lifted. "This court has become private property. We must ensure that it functions properly again," he said.