Leadership of Polish Constitutional Tribunal alleges 'coup d’etat'

WARSAW, POLAND - OCT. 30, 2026: The leadership of Poland’s Constitutional Tribunal said on Friday evening that the court’s website had been “unlawfully taken over” and accused those involved in the move of committing the crime of a “coup d’etat.”

“Bogdan Swieczkowski remains president of the Constitutional Tribunal, and Bartlomiej Sochanski remains vice president,” the tribunal said on its official X account.

It also rejected the authority of Anna Korwin-Piotrowska, who earlier announced the temporary suspension of the two men. “Anna Korwin-Piotrowska is not a judge of the Constitutional Tribunal,” the statement said. “All persons participating in these actions are committing the crime of a coup d’état.”

The statement marks an escalation in the confrontation over control of the court, with rival groups now openly disputing not only who leads the institution but who legally constitutes the Constitutional Tribunal itself.

The crisis has also spread beyond the judiciary after Poland’s ambassador to China, Jakub Kumoch, announced his resignation on Friday evening.

“In view of events in the country, I have concluded that it is not possible for me to continue serving as ambassador of the Republic of Poland,” Kumoch wrote on X. He said he had submitted his resignation and asked to be recalled.

Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski responded minutes later, writing on X: “I acknowledge the unprofessional termination of your mission. You no longer represent the Republic.”

Kumoch was a senior foreign policy adviser to then-President Andrzej Duda.

Meanwhile, current President Karol Nawrocki was returning by plane to Warsaw after aborting an official trip to Senegal due to the confrontation at the tribunal.

Police remained deployed around the tribunal building in Warsaw but stressed that officers had not entered the building.

Prime Minister Donald Tusk has defended the broader effort to reshape the judicial system, saying Friday that restoring the rule of law requires “decisive action."

"After years of PiS lawlessness, it is a difficult process, sometimes painful, and requires decisive action. There is no other way,” Tusk wrote on X, referring to the former ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party.