Poland's president returns as court crisis escalates

Polish president returns from Senegal trip after top court chief suspended

Updated / Saturday, 31 Oct 2026 07:41

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Polish President Karol Nawrocki turned back ⁠to Poland while en route to Senegal after a far-right ally was suspended as head of the country's top court, escalating a battle with Prime Minister Donald Tusk's government over control of the judiciary.

Yesterday, the Constitutional Tribunal said its longest-serving judge Anna Korwin-Piotrowska had suspended Bogdan Swieczkowski, the tribunal's president and an appointee of Mr Tusk's far-right predecessor, and was now in charge of the court.

Hundreds of protesters gathered outside the tribunal last night amid a heavy police presence, while right-wing politicians addressed the crowd accusing Mr Tusk's government of carrying out a coup ‌against the court.

"At a moment ⁠like this, the President must be in Poland. I am cutting short my flight to Senegal. I am returning," Mr Nawrocki said on X.

A long-running political dispute over the Constitutional Tribunal has effectively paralysed the institution, with the pro-European government and the nationalist president refusing to recognise appointees put forward by the other side.

Mr Tusk, writing on ‌X, said his government was seeking to restore the rule of law, which the European Union had accused his predecessors - the Law and Justice Party - of ⁠subverting.

"This process is difficult, at times even painful, and requires decisive action. There is no other ‌way," he said.

The dispute dates back to 2015, when the nationalist Law and Justice ⁠sought to appoint ‌judges to seats already filled by the previous government.

Its nominees gained a majority on the Constitutional Tribunal, while critics at home and abroad said the court no longer met the standards of an independent and impartial tribunal established by law.

After Mr Tusk's coalition took ⁠office in 2023 it pledged to restore the rule of law and reform the court, but Law and Justice ally ⁠Mr Nawrocki has acted to thwart those efforts since his election as president in 2025.

Earlier this year, Mr Nawrocki refused to swear in three of six judges nominated by parliament, while Mr Swieczkowski, a former deputy justice minister in the Law and Justice administration, declined to seat judges elected by the current parliamentary majority.

Last month, the parliament appointed Tusk ally Maciej Berek to the tribunal, which critics said undermined the government's stated goal of ‌restoring checks and balances.