Political tensions in Poland escalated after riot police took control of the Constitutional Court area in Warsaw amid a dispute between Prime Minister Donald Tusk's government and senior judges.
Riot police were deployed at Poland's Constitutional Court in Warsaw on Friday amid intensifying conflict between Prime Minister Donald Tusk's government and senior judges appointed during the right-wing Law and Justice Party (PiS) administration.
The police deployment followed Justice Minister Waldemar Burek's announcement that he had filed a request to lift the immunity of Constitutional Court President Bogdan Swianchkowski and Vice President Bartlomiej Sochanski to allow criminal proceedings against them.
Prime Minister Tusk affirmed the government's goal to reduce political influence over the judiciary and defended the actions, while PiS supporters protested outside the court in Warsaw, with riot police securing the area to prevent protesters from entering the building.
Poland's President Karol Nawrocki, backed by the PiS party, entered the Constitutional Court to handle the situation, according to the president's chief of staff. Nawrocki had earlier canceled a trip to Senegal en route to the Summer Youth Olympic Games in Dakar.
The Constitutional Court posted on social media that the two judges targeted by the government remain lawfully appointed senior judges and accused those involved in the government's actions of committing a coup d’état.
Tusk posted a statement affirming that restoring the rule of law is the government's duty after Poland faced abuses of power under the PiS administration, acknowledging the process is difficult and painful but necessary to enforce decisively.
This conflict stems from judicial reforms under the PiS government that began in 2015, which accelerated appointments to the Constitutional Court to secure a majority capable of ruling on the constitutionality of laws.
Subsequently, the European Court of Human Rights and the European Court of Justice ruled that the appointment of three judges during this period was improper, as they replaced judges validly appointed by the previous parliament.
The European courts also found that Poland's Constitutional Court was no longer an independent and impartial judicial body. Tusk's government used these rulings to suspend the publication of the court's decisions.
However, Tusk's government has not been able to reverse all changes made during the PiS era, as President Nawrocki and former President Andrzej Duda, both PiS supporters, have used their powers to block the government's efforts.
Nawrocki has also refused to ratify five Constitutional Court judges elected by parliament in March, citing flaws in the selection process, preventing them from carrying out their duties normally.
One of these judges is Anna Korwin-Piotrowska, who is currently serving as the court's acting head.
Earlier this month, the Venice Commission, the Council of Europe's constitutional advisory body, recommended that Nawrocki approve all five judges to enable them to assume their roles at the court.
The Justice Minister stated that the Constitutional Court president and vice president should face criminal charges for blocking the newly elected judges from participating in hearings.
Nonetheless, Tusk's actions have faced criticism; in September he nominated Maciej Berek, a politician and lawyer who served as a minister in his government, as a candidate for Constitutional Court judge.
Legal expert Marcin Matschak, a critic of PiS-era judicial reforms who once called Swianchkowski one of the worst court presidents, said there is no legal basis to suspend the court president.
He also warned that the current actions at the Constitutional Court could damage the institution's credibility and Poland's efforts to restore the rule of law for decades, criticizing the armed police presence and legal interpretations enabling the Justice Minister to remove the court president by executive order.
Poland is scheduled to hold parliamentary elections next year, with speculation that Tusk's moves may be an attempt to gain support from voters who favor judicial reform.
. Source:BBC
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