The European Commission backed Poland’s parliament in a constitutional showdown over the appointment of judges to the Constitutional Tribunal, siding with Prime Minister Donald Tusk against President Karol Nawrocki.
The confrontation escalated on Friday when the tribunal announced the suspension of its president, Bogdan Święczkowski, and his deputy, Bartłomiej Sochański, triggering protests outside the Warsaw court. Nawrocki, who had been in Senegal, returned to Poland and entered the tribunal building late Friday, pushing past judges including Anna Korwin-Piotrowska, who had assumed interim leadership. A Commission spokesperson said the Sejm holds constitutional authority to appoint eight new tribunal members and urged Polish authorities to align with national and EU court rulings, citing interim measures from the European Court of Human Rights in May that barred obstructing parliament-appointed judges.
Tusk defended the appointments in a televised address, rejecting compromise over what he called violations of constitutional order. Nawrocki’s office announced legal action against Korwin-Piotrowska and others, alleging the president’s physical inviolability was breached during the late-night confrontation. Four former tribunal presidents issued a joint statement calling Nawrocki’s actions an unprecedented violation of judicial autonomy and endorsing steps by the newly appointed judges to restore the court’s independence.
Korwin-Piotrowska said she would issue an order to expand Tuesday’s general assembly of judges to include a lottery for disciplinary panels against Święczkowski and Sochański. Justice Minister Waldemar Żurek stated the tribunal should begin hearings within weeks and that prosecutors must address the conduct of Nawrocki’s aides inside the building. The Commission’s stance supports Tusk’s legal position but leaves resolution to Polish institutions, as the standoff continues over the tribunal’s leadership and the swearing-in of new judges.
