Protests, police cordon continue outside Poland's Constitutional Tribunal

WARSAW, POLAND - OCT. 31, 2026: Protests and a police cordon continued outside Poland's Constitutional Tribunal in Warsaw, on Saturday, Oct. 31, following the announcement that Tribunal President Bogdan Swieczkowski and Vice President Bartlomiej Sochanski had been suspended from their duties.

The confrontation marked an escalation in the dispute between Nawrocki and Prime Minister Donald Tusk's government over the legitimacy and control of Poland's Constitutional Tribunal.

The standoff erupted Friday after Korwin-Piotrowska announced the temporary suspension of Tribunal President Bogdan Swieczkowski and Sochanski.

The tribunal's official account on US social media platform X, controlled by the previous leadership, rejected the move and claimed its website had been unlawfully taken over.

It also accused those involved of committing a "coup d'état."

Police were deployed around the tribunal but said they did not enter the building.

Tusk defended efforts to change institutions shaped during the eight years of government by the Law and Justice party, saying restoring the rule of law required "decisive action."

Justice Minister and Prosecutor General Waldemar Zurek, meanwhile, criticized Nawrocki's conduct inside the tribunal and called for prosecutors to examine the incident.