Poland’s President Karol Nawrocki and Prime Minister Donald Tusk clashed over a contested overhaul of the Poland Constitutional Tribunal after a confrontation at the court building on Friday night that was broadcast live on television.
According to Euronews, Nawrocki attempted to enter the Tribunal building on Friday night amid a deadlock over the appointment of new judges, and police surrounded the building as events unfolded. On Friday, the Tribunal’s chief judge, Bogdan Swieczkowski, was suspended. According to Al Jazeera, Nawrocki called this a threat to Poland’s internal security when he convened urgent consultations on Saturday.
In a televised address on Saturday evening, Tusk said the government would see the overhaul through, stating that "in certain matters, there can be no compromise." According to the Guardian World, he described Friday’s events as "scandalous incidents" and said Nawrocki forced his way into the court building to intervene. "No politician can enter a court to issue orders or intimidate judges," Tusk said. The forced-entry account comes from Tusk’s speech as reported by the Guardian World. Euronews reports only that Nawrocki attempted to enter, and no independent second source confirmed the forced entry.
The European Commission on Saturday urged Nawrocki to approve the new judges nominated by parliament. According to Euronews, the Commission said the appointment of eight new members lies within the constitutional power of the Sejm.
Nawrocki’s consultations at the presidential palace on Saturday drew nationalist, far-right and some governing coalition parties, according to Al Jazeera. Tusk’s Civic Coalition stayed away. No breakthrough had emerged by Saturday afternoon.
Experts remain divided over whether the suspension of the chief judge is lawful, according to the Guardian. Poland’s Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights said its legal basis was "questionable." Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski conceded the events were "not elegant" but said the alternative would be an unconstitutional transformation of Poland into a presidential republic.
The dispute dates to 2015, when the then-governing Civic Platform and Law and Justice (PiS) clashed over the appointment of five judges. The legitimacy of the Tribunal has been contested for more than a decade. Tusk says the court’s PiS-aligned judges frequently ruled in favour of Polish legislation over EU law. The European Court of Human Rights issued interim measures on 5 May 2026 concerning judges appointed by the Sejm in March 2026.
Tusk also claimed that Medvedev backed the opposition and that the opposition is pro-Russian. These claims are unverified and come from Tusk alone.
Nawrocki has not agreed to approve the nominated judges. The dispute sets battle lines before next year’s parliamentary election, where polls show a close race.
The sources do not include an official text or detailed legal basis for the chief judge’s suspension, and no figures for protest size or police deployment were reported.
Sources
This article was written with AI assistance from the published reporting listed above. It is part of the World Brief daily news podcast.