Poland's midnight chaos: Court under police guard, President's return and coup claim

Police guarded Poland's Constitutional Tribunal as protesters opposed Bogdan Święczkowski's suspension. The confrontation deepened a long-running dispute over judicial independence and constitutional authority.

In Short

• Riot police detained three people after demonstrators breached the perimeter fence
• Justice Minister Waldemar Żurek sought immunity waivers for two senior judges
• Nawrocki cut short his Senegal trip and entered the tribunal

A court under police guard, protesters challenging the government's move and a president abandoning an overseas trip midair - Poland's latest constitutional showdown had all the makings of a political crisis.

At its centre is a bitter struggle over who controls the country's judiciary, pitting Donald Tusk's pro-European government against the opposition Law and Justice (PiS) party.

Riot police were deployed after some demonstrators breached the court's perimeter fence and others threw objects at officers. Police said three people were detained during the confrontation.

The dispute intensified after Justice Minister Waldemar Zurek sought to strip Swieczkowski and the tribunal's Vice-President Bartomiej Sochanski of their immunity from prosecution to initiate criminal proceedings against them.

The government's action has drawn strong criticism from PiS leaders, who accused Tusk's administration of undermining the country's constitutional order.

Polish President Karol Nawrocki, who is backed by PiS, also cut short his trip to Senegal to return to Warsaw amid the developments. Nawrocki was travelling to attend the Summer Youth Olympic Games in Dakar when he announced that he was turning back.

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

According to his chief of staff, Nawrocki later entered the Constitutional Tribunal.

POLAND'S GOVERNMENT AND OPPOSITION CLASH OVER JUDICIARY

The latest confrontation is part of a prolonged dispute over judicial independence in Poland, particularly the composition and functioning of the Constitutional Tribunal.

The PiS-led government, which held power between 2015 and 2023, introduced changes to the judiciary that critics in Poland and the European Union said gave the ruling party political control over key judicial institutions.

The European Court of Human Rights and the Court of Justice of the European Union subsequently ruled that three judges appointed during the PiS government's tenure had been improperly elected because their positions had already been filled by the previous parliament.

European courts also questioned the tribunal's independence and impartiality.

Tusk came to power in 2023 promising to restore judicial independence and reverse the changes introduced by PiS.

However, his efforts have faced obstacles, particularly from two successive presidents aligned with the opposition, Nawrocki and his predecessor Andrzej Duda, who have used their veto powers to block proposed reforms.

Nawrocki has also refused to swear in five judges elected by parliament since March, citing concerns over the selection process. One of them, Anna Korwin-Piotrowska, has now been placed in temporary charge of the tribunal.

- Ends