Poland's disputed top court meets as eight judges claim a quorum

What to know

• Judge Anna Korwin-Piotrowska announced on Friday, Oct. 30, that she was imposing a one-month suspension on Constitutional Tribunal President Bogdan Święczkowski and Vice-President Bartłomiej Sochański, and that she was taking over running the court, according to Al Jazeera and Notes from Poland.
• Święczkowski says he is still the court's president. The Tribunal's official account on X described the takeover as the crime of a "coup d'état," according to Notes from Poland. Tusk says the government is restoring the rule of law.
• Riot police were deployed around the building in Warsaw. Police said they acted on information about possible threats to judges and staff, secured the grounds and did not enter the building, Al Jazeera reported. Police said three people were arrested on Friday.
• President Nawrocki turned his aircraft around in mid-flight while travelling to a state visit in Senegal and returned to Warsaw, where he went to the court overnight and was filmed in a physical confrontation with judges, according to Notes from Poland and Euronews.
• A European Commission spokesperson told Euronews on Saturday, Oct. 31, that the Commission was closely monitoring the situation and that appointing the eight new Tribunal members "lies within the constitutional power of the Sejm," Poland's lower house.
• On Tuesday, Nov. 3, eight judges elected by the Sejm this year held a general assembly under Korwin-Piotrowska, broadcast live for the first time in the Tribunal's history, Notes from Poland and Politico Europe reported. They declared a quorum by treating only 12 of 15 seats as eligible — excluding the suspended Święczkowski and Sochański and disputed judge Jarosław Wyrembak — then adopted a draft 2027 budget and drew lots for disciplinary panels against Święczkowski and Sochański. Święczkowski rejected the gathering as illegitimate; constitutional scholar Ryszard Piotrowski called the meeting "illegal," Onet reported via Notes from Poland.
• Poland's National Prosecutor's Office said Tuesday it had opened an investigation into an alleged assault on judges Korwin-Piotrowska and Krystian Markiewicz during the Oct. 30–31 night confrontation at the Tribunal, according to an official statement on gov.pl and TRT World. No suspects had been publicly charged. At a National Security Council session the same day, Nawrocki publicly blamed Tusk for the police deployment and for what he called illegal actions inside the Tribunal, Notes from Poland and Politico Europe reported.

What set off the standoff?

The immediate trigger came on the evening of Friday, Oct. 30. According to Notes from Poland, a group of judges elected to the Constitutional Tribunal by the Sejm this year entered the court's building in Warsaw, and Korwin-Piotrowska announced that she had ordered an immediate break in the duties of Święczkowski, the court's president, and Sochański, its vice-president. Al Jazeera reported that the suspensions were for one month and that Korwin-Piotrowska said she was assuming responsibility for running the institution.

The claim rests on a disputed reading of seniority. Al Jazeera reported that Korwin-Piotrowska's assertion that she is the Tribunal's longest-serving judge is based on her overall length of judicial service rather than on time served on the Tribunal itself; Notes from Poland reported that her career began in 1995. The brief statement posted on the court's website cited article 130 of Poland's law on common courts, which allows a court president or the justice minister to order an immediate break in a judge's duties, Notes from Poland reported.

Constitutional law scholar Marcin Matczak rejected that basis, writing that "this legal basis [for suspending Święczkowski] is nonexistent for a million reasons," according to Notes from Poland, which also quoted him calling Święczkowski "the worst person to serve as the president of the TK" while saying he had never expected to defend him.

The underlying fight is older. Notes from Poland reported that Tusk's government, in office since 2023, does not recognise the Tribunal's legitimacy because it regards three of the judges appointed under the former Law and Justice (PiS) government as unlawfully installed. Al Jazeera reported that parliament elected eight judges to the 15-member court this year, that Nawrocki swore in three and withheld the oath from five, that the five took their oaths without him, and that Święczkowski refused to let those five begin adjudicating. Notes from Poland reported that Święczkowski's refusal came despite an order from the European Court of Human Rights that the judges be allowed to take up their posts.

Why are police at the court?

Riot police were deployed around the Tribunal in large numbers on Friday night, Notes from Poland reported, and officers prevented Święczkowski from entering the grounds after some of his supporters cut through the perimeter fence with a power tool. Al Jazeera reported that police said the deployment followed information from Korwin-Piotrowska about possible threats to judges and staff and risks to public order, that officers secured the grounds without entering the building, and that three people were arrested after trying to enter the court complex.

Tribunal spokeswoman Weronika Ścibor said seven people elected as judges this year were escorted into the building by State Protection Service officers, entering through a gate from the prime minister's chancellery rather than the main street entrance where protesters had gathered, according to Notes from Poland. Ścibor said Sochański was not admitted to the grounds.

The police presence became its own flashpoint. On Monday, Nov. 2, Polsat News reported that Święczkowski sent a letter to the national police commander, Gen. Marek Boroń, opening with the words "Z najwyższym oburzeniem i stanowczym sprzeciwem przyjmuję działania podjęte przez Policję wobec Trybunału Konstytucyjnego" — saying he received the police actions toward the Tribunal with the highest indignation and firm objection. According to Polsat News, the letter demanded "Żądam natychmiastowego opuszczenia przez Policję terenu Trybunału Konstytucyjnego," a demand that police immediately leave the Tribunal's grounds, and asked for the legal basis for the operation, the identity of those who ordered it, the number of officers involved, and the preservation of all closed-circuit and body-camera recordings from Oct. 30 onward. Polsat News reported that Ścibor published the letter on X the same day.

What does each side say?

The Tribunal's official account on X said "an unlawful takeover of the TK's website has occurred," that "Bogdan Święczkowski remains chief justice," that "Korwin-Piotrowska is not a TK judge," and that "All persons participating in these actions are committing the crime of a coup d'état," according to Notes from Poland. PiS leader Jarosław Kaczyński, speaking outside the court, said "as of today, Poland has become a police state," Notes from Poland reported. Zbigniew Kapiński, the First President of the Supreme Court, told the outlet Kanał Zero that he was "appalled" and that it was "undoubtedly a coup d'état," according to Notes from Poland.

Tusk's camp frames the same events as overdue enforcement of the constitution. Notes from Poland quoted the prime minister writing on social media that "Restoring the rule of law is our duty," adding that the process is "sometimes painful" and "requires decisive action." Al Jazeera reported that Tusk called the removal painful but necessary to restore the rule of law after years of erosion under PiS, and that in a Saturday evening speech he accused conservative nationalist opposition leaders of wanting to "destroy democracy and rule of law," saying "Let's call things by their name."

Żurek, who is both justice minister and prosecutor general, said he had filed motions with the Tribunal to waive the immunity from prosecution of Święczkowski and Sochański, and said the documents were "delivered to the longest-serving judge of the Constitutional Tribunal," Notes from Poland reported. After the president's visit to the court, Żurek told Euronews that "The president's behaviour alarmed me enormously," said footage showed the president "forcing his way in and attacking the judges," and said the Tribunal should resume normal work and handle pending citizens' cases. Notes from Poland reported that he called Nawrocki's behaviour "shameful."

Figures inside Tusk's own coalition criticised the method. Notes from Poland quoted Szymon Hołownia of Poland 2050 saying the events "bring shame on Poland" and that fixing the Tribunal "by force" would "exacerbate its downfall," and quoted Anna-Maria Żukowska, head of The Left's parliamentary caucus, saying: "The TK is in the hands of independent judges. Politicians should not tell them what to do."

What happened when the president returned?

Nawrocki was airborne on his way to a state visit in Senegal when he ordered his plane to turn around and return to Warsaw, Notes from Poland reported. Euronews reported that he met Kapiński at the presidential palace and then travelled to the Tribunal with him and with aides. NewsCubby's Oct. 31 report on the president's crisis talks covered the first day of his consultations.

Notes from Poland reported that at around 1 a.m. on Saturday, Oct. 31, Maciej Berek — one of the judges elected by the Sejm — shared videos showing Nawrocki entering the Tribunal building amid a confrontation at its doors, in which the president was heard asking Korwin-Piotrowska to move out of his way and was seen pushing past her. Presidential aide Marcin Przydacz said Korwin-Piotrowska and judge Krystian Markiewicz had "breached the inviolability of the head of state," while Berek said the president "barged into judge Korwin-Piotrowska with great force," according to Notes from Poland, which reported that a later video showed Nawrocki telling the judges inside the building: "you are not Constitutional Tribunal judges."

At around 5 a.m., the president left the building and his chief of staff, Paweł Szefernaker, read a statement saying: "There has been a violation of the constitutional order of Poland and a forceful takeover of a constitutional body," Notes from Poland reported. Euronews reported the same statement referring to "a forcible takeover of a constitutional organ of the state" and a call for "the restoration of the legal order." Al Jazeera reported that Nawrocki then called urgent consultations with parliamentary representatives on Saturday, and the broadcaster reported that he cited "the threat to Poland's internal security"; Tusk's Civic Coalition stayed away and no breakthrough had emerged by Saturday afternoon. APA, citing the Polish news agency PAP, reported on Nov. 1 that Święczkowski and Sochański had been barred from entering the court building under Korwin-Piotrowska's decision, and that local media reported Święczkowski tried and failed to enter during protests on Oct. 31.

What happens next, and how is this landing abroad?

The Tuesday general assembly went ahead under Korwin-Piotrowska with only the eight Sejm-elected judges present, Notes from Poland reported. The group said a two-thirds quorum was met because suspensions and the disputed Wyrembak seat left 12 eligible judges, so eight sufficed; they then adopted a draft 2027 budget and selected disciplinary panels for Święczkowski and Sochański. Święczkowski called the session a "social gathering" by a "usurper," Polsat News reported via Notes from Poland, and scholar Marcin Matczak warned that lowering the quorum by suspending judges "opens a Pandora's box." Żurek told TVN before the assembly that Korwin-Piotrowska's course was the only way "to rebuild the independence of the tribunal," Notes from Poland reported.

Polsat News reported that on Nov. 2 Tusk wrote on X that a solution "jest proste i możliwe bez zmian w Konstytucji" — simple and possible without changing the constitution — because "Prezydent uznaje legalnie wybranych przez Sejm sędziów, bo tak stanowi Konstytucja," meaning the president should recognise the judges lawfully elected by the Sejm as the constitution requires. Polsat News also quoted Tusk saying "Póki co, Karol Nawrocki wybiera siłową konfrontację, która może bardzo wiele Polskę kosztować" — that for now Nawrocki is choosing a forceful confrontation that could cost Poland a great deal — and that "demokratyczne państwo prawa nie może ustąpić przed przemocą. I nie ustąpi," a democratic state under the rule of law cannot yield to violence and will not. Polsat News reported that the presidential spokesperson announced a complaint to prosecutors over the scuffle at the court; on Tuesday prosecutors separately opened their own assault investigation into the Oct. 30–31 confrontation, gov.pl said.

A European Commission spokesperson told Euronews that the Commission was closely monitoring the crisis, that it is for the Polish authorities to ensure the Tribunal can function under the Polish constitution and the case law of the EU Court of Justice, and that the appointment of the eight new members "lies within the constitutional power of the Sejm." The spokesperson pointed to a European Court of Human Rights interim measure of May 5, 2026 requiring Polish authorities not to hinder judges elected by the Sejm in March 2026 from taking up their duties, Euronews reported. Al Jazeera reported that the EU's highest court ruled in December 2025 that the Tribunal did not meet the requirements of an independent court and that its judgments challenging EU law breached Poland's obligations as a member state. Al Jazeera also reported that the European Commission on Saturday urged Nawrocki to accept the nomination of the new judges, citing AFP, and quoted U.S. Ambassador to Poland Tom Rose calling for calm: "The last thing Poland needs is a confrontation that spirals into something far worse."

The confrontation lands in a European autumn already crowded with street politics; NewsCubby has tracked the wave of youth-led demonstrations across Europe and France's mass protest marches and the 565 arrests that followed, while a run of contested votes and diplomatic splits features in NewsCubby's round-up of the Black Sea grain corridor, the G20 split and Bulgaria's election.

Neither the suspension nor the counter-claims have been tested by any authority both sides accept, which is the core of the deadlock: the body that would normally rule on who lawfully leads the Constitutional Tribunal is the Constitutional Tribunal. Al Jazeera reported that parliamentary elections are due next year, and quoted Matczak warning that the scenes could set a precedent a future government might cite to justify sending police into the Tribunal to settle legal disputes. This report reflects developments through Tuesday, Nov. 3, including the disputed general assembly and the prosecutor's assault investigation.

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*ARCHIVE PHOTO: The seat of Poland's Constitutional Tribunal in Warsaw, photographed on Jan. 22, 2016. Not from the current standoff. Photo: Adrian Grycuk / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 3.0 PL.*

*NewsCubby articles are produced with AI assistance and reviewed by humans.*