Tusk-Nawrocki battle escalates as chief judge is ousted from Poland’s top court – POLITICO

Poland’s constitutional court descended into turmoil Friday evening as judges barred from hearing cases moved to oust the institution’s nationalist-linked leadership, sparking accusations of a coup and tense protests.

Anna Korwin-Piotrowska, a judge with the court, ordered its president Bogdan Święczkowski and his deputy to be suspended for a month and announced she was taking charge. Święczkowski rejected her authority, accusing those involved of a “coup d’état,” while his deputy was turned away at the building’s gates.

The showdown marks an escalation in Prime Minister Donald Tusk’s struggle to undo the judicial overhaul carried out by the nationalist Law and Justice (PiS) former government. During its eight years in power, PiS filled the Constitutional Tribunal with its appointees, including Święczkowski and his deputy, placing it at the heart of Poland’s confrontation with Brussels over the rule of law.