Poland's Constitutional Tribunal standoff: what the government and the opposition each say happened

Poland's Constitutional Tribunal, which rules on whether laws comply with the constitution, has two rival leaderships. On Oct. 30, 2026, judge Anna Korwin-Piotrowska said she was acting as the court's head because she has the longest service in the judiciary. She then suspended its president, Bogdan Święczkowski, and vice president, Bartłomiej Sochański, for one month (prawo.pl, Oct. 30-31, 2026; AFP, Oct. 31). Police deployed at the court that night, and President Karol Nawrocki turned his plane back from a trip to Senegal.

Key facts - Oct. 30: Korwin-Piotrowska suspended Święczkowski and Sochański for one month - Oct. 30: Justice Minister and Prosecutor General Waldemar Żurek asked for their immunity to be lifted - Oct. 30: The court's official X account said Święczkowski is still president - Night of Oct. 30-31: Nawrocki returned to Warsaw and went into the court building - Oct. 31: Nawrocki called crisis talks with parties, citing "the threat to internal security" - Oct. 31: Nawrocki's talks with party leaders; government's main parties stayed away; no breakthrough reported - Oct. 31: Tusk ruled out compromise in a televised address - Nov. 1: Święczkowski returned to the court, saying no one had dismissed him - Nov. 3: 28 Supreme Court judges said they would boycott Kapiński's extraordinary assembly (2 p.m. Warsaw time) - Nov. 3: Tribunal judges' assembly convened by Korwin-Piotrowska (3:30 p.m. Warsaw time); the president's office disputes her right to call it - Nov. 3: Eight Tribunal judges declared a quorum, adopted the 2027 budget plan and drew disciplinary panels (RMF FM) - Nov. 3: The Supreme Court assembly lacked a quorum; 55 judges backed the College's resolution backing Święczkowski (Rzeczpospolita)

Why is the court disputed in the first place?

The fight goes back to 2015, when both the outgoing centrist government and the incoming Law and Justice (PiS) government made disputed moves to fill seats on the court (Guardian, Oct. 31). Since 2023, Prime Minister Donald Tusk's government has refused to recognise the court in its current form and does not publish its rulings (Daily Mail). This year parliament elected five new judges, including Korwin-Piotrowska and Maciej Berek (prawo.pl). Nawrocki, who is backed by PiS, refused to swear them in. They took their oaths in parliament instead, which Nawrocki considers null and void, and Święczkowski barred them from hearing cases (Politico Europe). Earlier in October, the Council of Europe's Venice Commission said the president's refusal should not stop the judges from taking up their posts (Guardian).

What does the government say?

• Prime Minister Donald Tusk, on X on Oct. 30: "Przywracanie rządów prawa jest naszym obowiązkiem. Po latach pisowskiego bezprawia to proces trudny, czasem bolesny i wymaga zdecydowanego działania. Innej drogi nie ma." In English: "Restoring the rule of law is our duty. After years of PiS-led lawlessness, this is a difficult process, sometimes painful, and it requires decisive action. There is no other way." (Tusk on X)
• Justice Minister and Prosecutor General Waldemar Żurek said he had asked for the legal immunity of Święczkowski and Sochański to be lifted. He said they had obstructed the court's work by stopping judges from doing their jobs. "This court has become private property; we must restore its proper functioning," he said (AFP; Polskie Radio).
• Korwin-Piotrowska said the suspension was needed to restore the rule of law (AFP).
• Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski said "the constitutional tribunal was politicised under the previous government" and that the aim was "allowing the majority of duly elected judges to make the tribunal function again" (Guardian).

What do the president, PiS and the court's leadership say?

• The Tribunal's official X account said on Oct. 30 that the court's website had been unlawfully taken over, that Święczkowski is still president and Sochański vice president, and that "Pani Anna Korwin-Piotrowska nie jest sędzią Trybunału Konstytucyjnego" ("Ms. Anna Korwin-Piotrowska is not a judge of the Constitutional Tribunal") (@TK_GOV_PL). AFP, Polskie Radio and the Daily Mail report that the account also called the events a "coup d'état."
• President Karol Nawrocki posted on Oct. 30 that "W takim momencie Prezydent musi być w Polsce" ("At such a moment, the President must be in Poland") and that he was cutting short his flight (Nawrocki on X). A statement read on his behalf outside the court early Oct. 31 criticised "a violation of Poland's constitutional order," said "a constitutional body was seized by force," and called on security forces to leave (Guardian). He called crisis talks over "the threat to internal security" (AFP). Inside the building, he was heard telling the newly elected judges that they were not judges of the Tribunal (Politico Europe).
• PiS leader Jarosław Kaczyński condemned what he called an "assault" on the court (Guardian).
• Former PiS Justice Minister Zbigniew Ziobro wrote on X: "It's true: a coup d'état is underway" (Fox News).
• Former Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki, who now leads a separate coalition, denounced "the forceful takeover of the Constitutional Tribunal" (Fox News).

Where do the accounts conflict?

• Who leads the court. Korwin-Piotrowska says she is acting head. The court's X account says Święczkowski still is, and that she can't act because the president never swore her in (AFP; @TK_GOV_PL).
• What happened at the door. Judge Maciej Berek accused Nawrocki of physically confronting Korwin-Piotrowska. Presidential aide Rafał Leśkiewicz said the judges, whom he called "usurpers," obstructed and manhandled the president (Politico Europe). Video shows a scuffle as he entered (Guardian). We could not establish from the footage reports who pushed whom.
• Whether the suspension is lawful. prawo.pl reports that Korwin-Piotrowska relied on art. 12(4) of the Tribunal organisation act and art. 130 §1 of the ordinary courts act. The Guardian reports that experts are divided. Marcin Matczak, a law professor and prominent critic of PiS, said the legal basis was "non-existent" (Guardian).
• Why police were there. Nawrocki and PiS figures describe a seizure by force. Police said they secured the Tribunal after protesters gathered, and detained three people after some breached the fence (Fox News; Guardian).

What has the United States said?

US Ambassador Tom Rose wrote on X on Oct. 30 that the events were "very serious indeed" and that "Both sides offer sharply different accounts of what happened and why" (Rose on X). He added: "America is on Poland's side. It is not our place to judge or interfere in its internal affairs." He also urged everyone involved not to "take any action that could provoke violence or further escalation" (Polskie Radio).

How did outlets on each side frame it?

All four agree on the core events: the one-month suspension, police at the court, Nawrocki's return, the court's X account disputing the suspension, and Tusk's rule-of-law post.

What changed on Oct. 31 and Nov. 1?

Update, Nov. 1, 2026. Neither side has backed down. Here is what each said, in time order.

• Nawrocki's talks. The president held talks with party leaders at the presidential palace on Oct. 31, convened "due to the threat to Poland's internal security," and no breakthrough had emerged by that afternoon (Al Jazeera, Nov. 1). Deputy Prime Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz (PSL) and Szymon Hołownia (Poland 2050), both in the governing coalition, urged a "constitutional reset": dissolving the current bench and electing a new one by a parliamentary supermajority. Leaders of the left-wing Razem party and the right-wing Confederation backed the idea. Former Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki proposed a constructive vote of no confidence in Tusk's government, with former Sejm speaker Marek Jurek leading a caretaker government until the 2027 election. PiS leader Jarosław Kaczyński met Nawrocki and did not comment afterward (PAP, Nov. 1).
• Who stayed away. Tusk's Civic Coalition said its invitation came by text message too late to attend. The Left and the Centre refused. The Left's Anna Maria Żukowska said one "cannot accept an invitation from someone responsible for the current situation" (PAP).
• Tusk's address. In a televised address on the evening of Oct. 31, Tusk said "an attack on the Tribunal and its judges is yet another stage in the destruction of the rule of law in Poland by PiS" and "in certain matters, there can be no compromise" (PAP). He also said "in a state governed by the rule of law, a politician cannot enter a court or tribunal and give orders or intimidate judges, even if he is the president" (Politico Europe, Nov. 1). He pledged that the Tribunal would work independently and safely (BBC News Polska, Nov. 1).
• Two ambassadors resigned. Paweł Soloch, Poland's ambassador to Romania, wrote on X that "in connection with the attempt at an unlawful takeover" of the Tribunal he saw no way to continue in the post (our translation). Ambassador to China Jakub Kumoch had resigned earlier. Marcin Przydacz, head of the president's international policy office, said Soloch was resigning "in protest against D. Tusk's lawlessness" (our translation) (Rzeczpospolita, Oct. 31). Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski called the resignations unprofessional and said people around the president had pressed diplomats to quit, which he called scandalous (Rzeczpospolita, Oct. 31).
• The court's rival leaders. On the evening of Oct. 31, Korwin-Piotrowska said in a statement on the court's website that Święczkowski and Sochański are not authorised to enter the building, and that other judges must arrange access with her, for safety reasons. On the morning of Nov. 1, Święczkowski came to the court and told protesters: "Jestem prezesem Trybunału Konstytucyjnego. Nikt mnie nie zwolnił z tego stanowiska" ("I am the president of the Constitutional Tribunal. No one has dismissed me from this post"). He said he would come every day (BBC News Polska).
• The European Commission. Justice Commissioner Michael McGrath said "the Polish Constitutional Tribunal needs to be able to function in accordance with the Polish constitution and the case law of the Court of Justice of the EU" and that "the Venice Commission has been clear that appointing the new judges lies within the power of the Sejm." Politico Europe reports he stopped short of endorsing the suspension itself (Politico Europe).

Update, Nov. 2, 2026. Each side is now taking legal steps against the other, Polish Radio's English service reported Monday, citing PAP (Polskie Radio, Nov. 2):

• Disciplinary cases. Korwin-Piotrowska told TVN24 on Sunday that she will add an item to Tuesday's general assembly of the Tribunal: a random draw to pick the judges who would hear disciplinary cases against Święczkowski and Sochański. She said the draw would be held in "absolute transparency" so it could not be challenged. She said the allegations against Święczkowski include refusing to let "properly elected" judges hear cases.
• The president's complaint. The president's office said it will file a complaint with prosecutors over an alleged breach of the head of state's inviolability, linked to Nawrocki's overnight visit to the court. Accounts of that visit still conflict: Korwin-Piotrowska says he pressed against her and tried to push past, while his team said he was looking for the keys to Sochański's office. She did not rule out a complaint of her own.
• The other bench. A statement bearing the names of seven judges sworn in before April 1, including Święczkowski and Sochański, called her actions "completely unlawful."

Update, Nov. 3, 2026 (morning, before the assemblies). Both assemblies were due to start Tuesday afternoon in Warsaw, 7 a.m. and 8:30 a.m. CT. Their outcomes weren't known when we updated. Here is where each side stood beforehand (Polish sources, our translations):

• Supreme Court boycott. 28 of the Supreme Court's 125 judges said they would not attend the extraordinary General Assembly that First President Zbigniew Kapiński called for 2 p.m. Warsaw time, Onet reported. Statements published by Judge Włodzimierz Wróbel say the meeting is not a valid General Assembly because people not entitled to take part were invited, and that its date was set in breach of the rules. Justice Minister Waldemar Żurek also criticised the assembly on TVN24. Kapiński had said on Nov. 2 that the Supreme Court "cannot be indifferent" and called the executive's actions "completely unlawful," Rzeczpospolita reports.
• The Tribunal assembly. Korwin-Piotrowska's assembly, set for 3:30 p.m., is to be broadcast in full, according to RMF FM as cited by Rzeczpospolita. Its agenda is the court's 2027 spending plan and the draw for disciplinary panels. Whether it has a quorum is itself disputed: two-thirds of 15 judges is 10, but on the governing coalition's count of 12 active judges it is eight. Zbigniew Bogucki, head of the president's chancellery, told Radio ZET that only the Tribunal's president can convene the assembly, and "the president of the Constitutional Tribunal is Bogdan Święczkowski" (Rzeczpospolita).
• At the court. Święczkowski said he was again refused entry to the Tribunal's grounds on Tuesday morning (Rzeczpospolita).
• A third diplomat. Krzysztof Szczerski, Poland's permanent representative to the UN, also asked to leave his post, Rzeczpospolita reports.
• Security council. Nawrocki's National Security Council meets at 3 p.m. Warsaw time, with Tusk attending, and the Tribunal is expected to come up alongside a permanent U.S. base (Rzeczpospolita).

We will add what each assembly decides once it is reported.

Update, Nov. 4, 2026 (what the assemblies decided). Both met on Tuesday. Neither settled who leads the Tribunal (Polish sources, our translations):

• Tribunal assembly. Eight judges attended and voted that eight made a quorum, RMF FM reports. Korwin-Piotrowska said 12 judges were entitled to vote, because the Oct. 30 suspension orders bar Święczkowski and Sochański from taking part and, in her view, Judge Jarosław Wyrembak was defectively elected. The eight adopted the court's 2027 budget plan and drew disciplinary panels. Judge Magdalena Bentkowska chairs the panel on Święczkowski's suspension, with Maciej Taborowski and Krystian Markiewicz, and Stanisław Piotrowicz is disciplinary officer. Maciej Berek chairs the panel on Sochański, with Korwin-Piotrowska and Rafał Wojciechowski, and Dariusz Szostek is disciplinary officer. Korwin-Piotrowska set no date for another assembly and said she would review the requests to lift the two judges' immunity on Wednesday, RMF reports. Justice Minister Żurek said most lawyers hold that eight was a quorum, while acknowledging differing interpretations.
• Supreme Court assembly. It adopted no resolution because there was no quorum in the Civil and Criminal Chambers, First President Kapiński said, blaming judges appointed before 2017 (Rzeczpospolita). The 55 judges present backed a resolution of the Supreme Court's College, which calls removing Święczkowski from his duties a breach of Article 7 of the constitution and warns that rulings involving Sejm-elected judges who have not taken the oath before the president risk not being recognised as Tribunal rulings.
• Not yet checked: the outcome of Nawrocki's National Security Council meeting.

What happens next?

As of Nov. 4, the disciplinary panels drawn on Nov. 3 are to consider the suspensions of Święczkowski and Sochański, and Korwin-Piotrowska is reviewing the requests to lift their immunity (RMF FM). Background from before the assemblies: two assemblies met on Tuesday, Nov. 3. Korwin-Piotrowska has convened Tribunal judges, and says the agenda now includes the draw for disciplinary panels against Święczkowski and Sochański (Polskie Radio), which could set up another clash over who controls the court (Politico Europe; prawo.pl). Separately, Supreme Court First President Zbigniew Kapiński has called an extraordinary General Assembly of Supreme Court judges to debate "threats to the constitutional order" (PAP). Żurek's immunity requests would need a ruling by the court's judges. Parliamentary elections are due in 2027.

Sources

• RMF FM: Eight judges at Tribunal assembly adopt budget plan; disciplinary panels drawn, Nov. 3, 2026 (Polish)
• Rzeczpospolita: Supreme Court General Assembly without quorum; 55 judges back the College's position, Nov. 3, 2026, updated Nov. 4 (Polish)
• Rzeczpospolita live coverage: assemblies of Tribunal and Supreme Court judges and the National Security Council, Nov. 3, 2026 (Polish)
• Onet: 28 Supreme Court judges boycott the assembly, Nov. 3, 2026 (Polish)
• Polskie Radio English Section, citing PAP: Poland's constitutional court row deepens as judge seeks to discipline its chief, Nov. 2, 2026
• Donald Tusk on X, Oct. 30, 2026
• Karol Nawrocki on X, Oct. 30, 2026
• Trybunał Konstytucyjny on X, Oct. 30, 2026
• Ambassador Tom Rose on X, Oct. 30, 2026
• AFP, Oct. 31, 2026
• prawo.pl
• Polskie Radio
• The Guardian, Oct. 31, 2026
• Politico Europe
• PAP, Nov. 1, 2026
• Politico Europe, Nov. 1, 2026
• Al Jazeera, Nov. 1, 2026
• BBC News Polska, Nov. 1, 2026
• Rzeczpospolita, Oct. 31, 2026 (Soloch); Rzeczpospolita, Oct. 31, 2026 (Sikorski)
• Fox News
• Daily Mail

Photo: Adrian Grycuk / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0 PL (cropped). The entrance to the Constitutional Tribunal in Warsaw; file photo from January 2016.

Drafted with AI assistance from primary sources. Written and edited by The Whole Read newsroom under Monsaur Othman's editorial standards. Read how we use AI, our editorial policy and our corrections policy.