Polish President Karol Nawrocki returned to Poland on Friday, October 30, 2026, cutting short a flight to Senegal following the suspension of Constitutional Tribunal President Bogdan Swieczkowski. The move followed a long-standing dispute between Nawrocki and Prime Minister Donald Tusk’s government over the court.
The conflict escalated on Friday evening when the Constitutional Tribunal announced that its longest-serving judge, Anna Korwin-Piotrowska, had suspended Swieczkowski and assumed leadership of the court. Swieczkowski was an appointee of the previous Law and Justice (PiS) administration and had served as a deputy justice minister. Following the announcement, protesters gathered outside the tribunal in Warsaw, leading to a heavy police presence and the detention of three individuals after some demonstrators breached the building's fence.
Prime Minister Tusk stated on social media that his government is committed to restoring the rule of law, which the European Union previously accused the PiS government of subverting. He described the process as "difficult" and "at times even painful." Conversely, PiS politicians, including former Justice Minister Zbigniew Ziobro, described the suspension as a "criminal attack on the constitutional order" and called for resistance.
The standoff involves the Constitutional Tribunal, which serves as the arbiter on the constitutionality of laws. The European Union has previously used judicial deadlocks in Poland as grounds to impose financial penalties.
Earlier this year, President Nawrocki refused to swear in three of six parliamentary nominees, while Swieczkowski had declined to seat judges elected by the current parliamentary majority. Prime Minister Tusk previously acknowledged in August that his methods for restaffing the court might be criticized, while the opposition claims the government is executing a coup against the court system. The court's website went offline shortly after the suspension announcement.