Tensions over Poland’s top court ignite as the country’s prime minister and president square off

Prime Minister Donald Tusk said on Saturday that his government would press ahead with efforts to restore the independence of Poland’s Constitutional Tribunal, as hundreds of protesters gathered for a second night against the suspension of the court’s president.

The pro-European government said the suspension is necessary to restore judicial independence, while critics from the opposition have likened it to a “coup d’etat.”

President Karol Nawrocki — who opposes the pro-European government — turned back his plane during a flight to Senegal on Friday evening and returned home. On Friday night, he made his way to the Constitutional Tribunal despite the chaos and said he helped the suspended court president enter the building.

Police said they detained three protesters on Friday night after some threw objects at officers and tried to break through the security fence around the court.

The dispute over the long-embattled Constitutional Tribunal is likely to deepen political polarization in Poland a year before a parliamentary election, further intensifying the standoff between the pro-European government and the national-conservative opposition party Law and Justice, or PiS.

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Critics in Poland and the European Union accuse PiS, which led the country between 2015 and 2023, of imposing political control over key judicial institutions. Reforms introduced under the PiS government prompted the EU to impose fines on Poland.

Tusk’s pro-European government came to power in 2023 with a promise to restore the independence of the judiciary. Since then, its efforts have been blocked by vetoes from two successive presidents aligned with PiS, including Nawrocki.

“Restoring the rule of law is our obligation,” Tusk wrote on X on Friday evening. “After years of lawlessness under PiS this is a difficult process, sometimes painful and it requires decisive action. There is no other way.”

Tusk had earlier pledged that his government would ensure the tribunal was again staffed with lawfully appointed judges while acknowledging that his methods may not be to everyone’s liking.

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The functioning of the Constitutional Tribunal had been impaired for years. The Court of Justice of the European Union, the EU’s top court, had said it was no longer an impartial court after PiS appointments. Even after Tusk took power, efforts to balance the court were hampered by Nawrocki and the tribunal’s president, Bogdan Święczkowski.

On Friday evening, the Constitutional Tribunal’s website announced the suspension of Święczkowski. Shortly after, the protesters, including PiS leader Jarosław Kaczyński and far-right politicians, began rallying outside the building.

Slawomir Kaminski/Agencja Wyborcza/Reuters

The government says Święczkowski repeatedly broke the law and jeopardized the tribunal’s work. Święczkowski became head of the court under the former PiS government. Tusk has accused him of blocking judges elected by the parliamentary majority from taking up their posts at the tribunal.

“Since last night, we’re dealing with a massive constitutional crisis in Poland, the result of an illegal, forceful attempt to take over an important institution,” Marcin Przydacz, a top aide to the Polish president, told The Associated Press.

Przydacz said that the president had invited all parliamentary parties to talks on Saturday in an effort to defuse tensions and find a solution to the crisis.

The government is a broad coalition made up of Tusk’s centrist Civic Coalition, the Left, and two more conservative groupings, Poland 2050 and the Polish People’s Party, or PSL. Representatives of Poland 2050 and PSL, along with several opposition parties, met with Nawrocki on Saturday, while Tusk didn’t attend.

The president’s camp is hoping that the crisis surrounding the Constitutional Tribunal will erode Tusk’s parliamentary majority.

“Everything depends on those political parties who supported Donald Tusk so far,” Przydacz said.

Speaking on Saturday night, Tusk compared PiS to a man who steals an elderly woman’s purse and then claims to be the victim when police catch him and take it back.

PiS’ response to the suspension of Święczkowski, including the attempts to forcefully enter the tribunal on Friday, represents “another stage in the process of destroying the rule of law in Poland” by PiS and the president, Tusk said.

周六，总理唐纳德·图斯克表示，他的政府将继续努力恢复波兰宪法法院的独立性。此前，数百名抗议者连续第二个晚上聚集在一起，反对暂停该法院院长职务。

亲欧派政府表示，暂停司法独立是恢复司法独立的必要措施，而反对派批评人士则将其比作“政变”。

反对亲欧政府的卡罗尔·纳沃罗茨基总统周五晚间在飞往塞内加尔的航班上折返，返回委内瑞拉。周五晚间，他不顾混乱前往宪法法院，并表示他帮助被停职的法院院长进入了大楼。

警方称，周五晚间，三名抗议者向警员投掷物品并试图冲破法院周围的安全围栏，随后警方拘留了他们。

围绕长期处于争议中的宪法法院的争端可能会在议会选举前一年加深波兰的政治两极分化，进一步加剧亲欧政府与民族保守派反对党法律与公正党（PiS）之间的对峙。

Piotr Lapinski/NurPhoto/AP

波兰和欧盟的批评人士指责2015年至2023年执政的法律与公正党（PiS）对关键司法机构实施政治控制。法律与公正党政府推行的改革促使欧盟对波兰处以罚款。

图斯克领导的亲欧派政府于2023年上台，承诺恢复司法独立。但此后，其努力遭到与法律与公正党（PiS）结盟的两任总统（包括纳沃罗茨基）的否决，导致相关政策受阻。

“恢复法治是我们的义务，”图斯克周五晚间在X网站上写道。“在法律与公正党（PiS）执政多年，社会秩序混乱不堪，恢复法治是一个艰难的过程，有时甚至痛苦，需要采取果断行动。别无他法。”

图斯克此前曾承诺，他的政府将确保法庭再次由合法任命的法官组成，同时他也承认，他的方法可能并非人人都能接受。

Damian Lemanski/Bloomberg/Getty Images

波兰亲欧反对派似乎即将推翻民粹主义者，但未来几天仍将充满紧张局势。

宪法法院的运作多年来一直受到损害。欧盟最高法院——欧盟法院曾表示，在法律与公正党（PiS）任命法官后，该法院已不再公正。即使在图斯克上台后，平衡法院的努力也受到纳沃罗茨基和法院院长博格丹·希维奇科夫斯基的阻挠。

周五晚间，宪法法院网站宣布暂停希维奇科夫斯基的职务。此后不久，包括法律与公正党领导人雅罗斯瓦夫·卡钦斯基和极右翼政客在内的抗议者开始在法院大楼外集会。

斯拉沃米尔·卡明斯基/Agencja Wyborcza/路透社

政府称，希维奇科夫斯基屡次违法，危害了法庭的工作。希维奇科夫斯基是在前法律与公正党（PiS）政府执政期间成为法庭庭长的。图斯克指控他阻挠议会多数派选举产生的法官就职。

波兰总统的高级助手马尔钦·普日达奇告诉美联社：“从昨晚开始，波兰就面临着一场巨大的宪政危机，这是有人非法、武力企图接管一个重要机构的结果。”

普日达奇表示，总统已邀请所有议会政党于周六举行会谈，以缓和紧张局势并找到解决危机的办法。

政府是由图斯克的中间派公民联盟、左翼党以及两个较为保守的政党——波兰2050和波兰人民党（PSL）组成的广泛联盟。波兰2050和波兰人民党的代表以及几个反对党的代表于周六会见了纳沃茨基，而图斯克本人并未出席。

总统阵营希望围绕宪法法院的危机能够削弱图斯克在议会中的多数席位。

“一切都取决于迄今为止支持唐纳德·图斯克的那些政党，”普日达茨说。

图斯克在周六晚上发表讲话时，将法律与公正党比作一个偷了老妇人钱包的男人，然后在警察抓住他并拿回钱包后，声称自己是受害者。

图斯克表示，法律与公正党对希维奇科夫斯基被停职的回应，包括周五试图强行进入法庭，代表着法律与公正党和总统“在波兰摧毁法治进程中的又一个阶段”。