Poland Overhauls Constitutional Court Amid Coup Accusations

A judge elected by Poland's current parliament suspended the Constitutional Tribunal's chief judge and deputy on Friday. She then declared herself acting head of the court.

• 224 pages of immunity-lifting requests went from Żurek to the court that evening.
• Police in riot gear secured the grounds but said they did not enter.
• Nawrocki turned back his Senegal-bound plane and returned to Warsaw.
• The tribunal's leadership said participants were committing the crime of a coup.

Why it matters: The fight over who sits on the tribunal began in 2015 and has run through three governments. Whoever controls it can strike down laws, and Tusk's coalition cannot override Nawrocki's vetoes.

• Nawrocki refused to swear in four judges parliament elected in March 2026.
• The Venice Commission said in October the president should accept their oaths.

How 8 sources split on this story

Where they split: The dispute is whether the suspensions restore a lawfully composed court, as Tusk says, or seize it unlawfully, as Nawrocki and the tribunal's leadership say.

What’s next: The tribunal must act on Żurek's immunity requests for Święczkowski and deputy Bartłomiej Sochański. In 2025 it rejected an earlier request.

• Nawrocki convened consultations attended by two of Tusk's coalition partners and opposition parties.
• Does any law let an individual judge suspend a court's head?
• Will Tusk's coalition partners, Poland 2050 and PSL, keep backing the move?
• Which bench will Polish courts and EU bodies treat as legitimate?