Tusk Defends Move on Tribunal as Law and Justice Calls It a Coup

Poland's government has defended the suspension of the Constitutional Tribunal's president and the police presence at the court, while the opposition Law and Justice party (PiS) calls the moves a coup. Prime Minister Donald Tusk said on X on Friday that restoring the rule of law is the government's duty, according to Devdiscourse.

Justice Minister Waldemar Zurek also told reporters he has asked for the immunities of tribunal president Bogdan Swieczkowski and his deputy to be lifted. His reason is that they failed to fulfill their duties by preventing judges from doing their work.

What the government says

Tusk described the process as hard. In his post, he said that after years of lawlessness under PiS the effort is difficult and at times painful, and that it calls for decisive action. He added: "There is no other way."

Zurek's request targets Swieczkowski and his deputy directly. The justice minister argues that the two officials blocked judges from carrying out their work. According to Devdiscourse, Swieczkowski was a deputy justice minister under PiS and has declined to let judges elected by the current parliamentary majority take up their duties.

What Law and Justice says

PiS politicians, including party leader Jaroslaw Kaczynski, said Tusk's government is carrying out a coup against the tribunal, Devdiscourse reported. The reports do not detail the legal arguments behind that claim.

President Karol Nawrocki, an ally of the former nationalist PiS-led government, turned back his plane en route to Senegal after police entered the court's premises, according to The Jerusalem Post. He said the president must be in Poland at a moment like this.

What led to the police action

Police said officers entered the tribunal's premises after incidents outside the court, including the throwing of dangerous objects at police. The tribunal said on its website that Swieczkowski had been suspended on Friday. The reports do not say who ordered the suspension.

The dispute behind the standoff

The Jerusalem Post described a long-running political dispute that has effectively paralyzed the tribunal. Earlier this year, Nawrocki refused to swear in three of the six judges nominated by parliament. Swieczkowski, meanwhile, declined to allow judges elected by the current parliamentary majority to assume their duties.

Each side's actions have therefore fed the other's complaints. The government and its allies point to the blocked judges. PiS politicians frame the government's response as an attack on the institution.

What's at stake for Poland's top court

The Constitutional Tribunal is Poland's top court, and the reports say the dispute has left it effectively paralyzed. For ordinary Poles, the immediate question is whether the court can function again, because a paralyzed tribunal cannot do its work.

The standoff is also a direct confrontation between the prime minister and the president. Nawrocki has cut short an overseas trip over the events at the court, and Tusk has said decisive action is needed. The two leaders come from opposing political camps.

What happens next

The next step is the request to lift the immunities of Swieczkowski and his deputy. Reports so far do not say how or when that request will be decided. Whether the suspended court president is replaced, and how the judges currently blocked from the bench are handled, also remain open. Nawrocki's return to Poland sets up further contact between the president and the government over the court.

Earlier on Around Prague: Poland: Police Enter Constitutional Tribunal, Court Chief Suspended, Nawrocki Turns Plane Around

Around Prague, based on reporting by The Jerusalem Post, Devdiscourse