WARSAW, Nov. 1 (Xinhua) -- A leadership dispute at Poland's Constitutional Tribunal has sparked a political confrontation, with the court's top two officials declared suspended and opposition supporters taking to the streets to accuse Prime Minister Donald Tusk's government of trying to take control of the court.
Polish President Karol Nawrocki cut short a visit to Senegal and returned to Warsaw amid the dispute, calling for urgent talks with parliamentary parties. Tusk accused Nawrocki and the main opposition Law and Justice (PiS) party of undermining the rule of law and vowed to ensure that the tribunal could operate independently and in accordance with the constitution.
What has happened in recent days? What triggered the dispute? And what impact could it have?
WHAT HAPPENED?
The row began on Friday evening, when a notice appeared on the Constitutional Tribunal's website announcing the one-month suspension of its president and vice-president and naming judge Anna Korwin-Piotrowska to temporarily oversee the court.
A statement subsequently posted on the tribunal's social media account said its website had been "illegally taken over" and accused those involved of staging a "coup."
The announcement prompted opposition supporters to gather outside the court, where some clashed with police. Three protesters who entered the tribunal's grounds were detained, and several people were reportedly injured.
Nawrocki arrived at the tribunal in the early hours of Saturday and became involved in a heated confrontation with several judges. The confrontation escalated into pushing and shoving at the building's entrance.
Nawrocki's chief of staff, Pawel Szefernaker, read out a statement outside the tribunal in which the president accused those involved of violating Poland's constitutional order and taking over a constitutional institution "by force." Nawrocki also called for urgent talks with parliamentary parties to stabilize the political situation and restore constitutional order.
Nawrocki's office said he met representatives of several parties on Saturday, including the Polish People's Party, a member of Tusk's governing coalition, and the opposition PiS. Tusk's Civic Coalition did not attend.
In a televised address on Saturday evening, Tusk accused PiS and Nawrocki of undermining the rule of law, saying no politician, not even the president, had the right to give orders to judges or intimidate them. He pledged to ensure the tribunal's security and provide the conditions necessary for it to function independently.
The dispute will face another test on Tuesday, when Korwin-Piotrowska plans to convene an assembly of judges to discuss the tribunal's budget.
Under Polish law, at least two-thirds of the tribunal's judges must attend for the assembly to adopt valid resolutions. Polish media reported that some judges planned to stay away because they disputed the meeting's legality, potentially leaving it without the required quorum.
WHY DISPUTE ERUPTED?
The dispute stems from Nawrocki's refusal to accept the oaths of five of the eight Constitutional Tribunal judges elected this year by the Sejm, Poland's lower house of parliament, where Tusk's coalition holds a majority. The five, including Korwin-Piotrowska, have not been recognized by the president or the tribunal's existing leadership and have been unable to take part in hearings.
The row is part of a long-running dispute over judicial reforms introduced by PiS, which governed Poland from 2015 to 2023. Changes to judicial appointments and the tribunal's procedures, along with the government's refusal to publish some court rulings, sparked controversy.
Since taking office in 2023, Tusk's government has sought to reverse some of those changes. But tribunal judges serve nine-year terms, leaving some elected under PiS in place at a court that has the power to rule on the constitutionality of legislation.
The government's plans for judicial reform have also faced opposition from Nawrocki, an ally of PiS who became president in 2025. Although Tusk's coalition holds a parliamentary majority, it lacks the three-fifths majority in the Sejm needed to override a presidential veto. The two have repeatedly clashed over major policies.
Inflation and economic pressures linked to the Russia-Ukraine conflict have also fueled public discontent, putting pressure on Tusk's coalition to deliver results before the 2027 parliamentary elections, Wang Hongyi, a researcher at the Center for Central and Eastern European Studies at Beijing Foreign Studies University, told Xinhua.
Wang said Tusk's tough stance in the tribunal dispute was aimed at breaking the deadlock over judicial reform.
WHAT IMPACT COULD DISPUTE HAVE?
The proposed changes to the tribunal's leadership have raised legal questions in Poland. Przemyslaw Rosati, head of the Polish Bar Council, questioned the legal basis for suspending the tribunal's president and whether Korwin-Piotrowska had the authority to assume the post. Marcin Matczak, a law professor at the University of Warsaw, also questioned the legal basis for the move, saying it would "solve nothing" from a legal standpoint.
Li Zhiqiang, a professor at the Center for Polish and Central and Eastern European Studies at Sichuan University, told Xinhua that the dispute could disrupt Poland's judicial system, deepen political divisions, make it harder for the government to carry out its policies and strain unity within the ruling coalition.
The European Commission said on Saturday it was closely following developments and stressed that the tribunal should operate in accordance with Poland's constitution and European Union (EU) court rulings. It also noted that the Sejm has the constitutional authority to elect tribunal judges. The European Conservatives and Reformists Group in the European Parliament, meanwhile, accused Tusk's government of undermining judicial independence.
Judicial independence has long been a source of friction between Poland and the EU, which previously withheld some funding over rule-of-law concerns during the PiS government's time in office. Tusk has sought to improve relations with Brussels since taking office, but the latest dispute could bring fresh uncertainty to those ties, said Li.
Li also pointed out that prolonged political turmoil could divert Poland's attention from regional security issues and hinder coordination between the president and government on foreign policy.
