Polish Judge Suspends Tribunal Chief as Tusk Backs Court in 2015-Rooted Power Struggle
Updated
Updated · Reuters · Oct 31
Polish Judge Suspends Tribunal Chief as Tusk Backs Court in 2015-Rooted Power Struggle
3 articles · Updated · Reuters · Oct 31
Summary
Anna Korwin-Piotrowska suspended Constitutional Tribunal president Bogdan Swieczkowski late Friday and assumed control of the court, deepening Poland's fight over who controls the judiciary.
Donald Tusk said the tribunal would function independently and lawfully, while President Karol Nawrocki accused the government of a forcible takeover and cut short a trip to Senegal to return to Warsaw.
Riot police guarded the tribunal from Friday afternoon as several hundred protesters demanded Swieczkowski's reinstatement; Nawrocki spent Saturday in political consultations.
The clash extends a dispute dating to 2015, when Law and Justice reshaped the tribunal; Tusk's 2023 government has tried to reverse that system, but Nawrocki and PiS-era appointees have blocked key changes.