Polish President Returns Early as Court Chief Is Suspended
Police entered Poland's Constitutional Tribunal on Friday after its president, Bogdan Swieczkowski, was suspended. President Karol Nawrocki turned his Senegal-bound plane around.
- Judge Anna Korwin-Piotrowska ordered Swieczkowski and deputy Bartlomiej Sochanski suspended.
- The tribunal's X account called the move a coup and her order invalid.
- Police said they entered after objects were thrown at officers outside.
- Tusk called the action necessary to restore the rule of law.
Why it matters: The dispute decides who controls the court that rules on the constitutionality of Polish law. The tribunal has been effectively paralysed for months.
- Nawrocki refused to swear in three of six parliament-nominated judges this year.
- Swieczkowski blocked judges elected by the current majority from taking up duties.
How 20 sources split on this story
Where they split: The two sides disagree over whether the suspension is a lawful restoration of the court or an illegal seizure of it.
Center coverage, 7 sources: The center frames it as the latest escalation in a long fight between Tusk's centrist government and PiS-appointed judges, rooted in EU rule-of-law disputes.
Right coverage, 11 sources: The right frames it as Tusk using police to seize the top court, echoing PiS leaders who call it a coup.
What’s next: Nawrocki is flying back to Warsaw. He said the president must be in Poland at such a moment.
- Zurek requested lifting immunity for Swieczkowski and Sochanski.
- Whether courts or other state bodies will recognize Korwin-Piotrowska as interim chief.
- How Nawrocki will respond once back in Warsaw.
