Polish President Nawrocki declared that the constitutional order of the republic had been violated and announced emergency political talks on Friday. He returned to Warsaw late that day, cutting short an official visit to Senegal as a fierce dispute over control of the country’s Constitutional Tribunal escalated.
"Tonight, there was a violation of the constitutional order of the Republic of Poland and a forcible takeover of a constitutional state body," Nawrocki stated following the standoff.
He warned that the confrontation created a direct threat to Poland’s internal security. He called urgent consultations with representatives of parliamentary forces to stabilize the political situation and restore constitutional order.
Upon landing in Warsaw, Nawrocki met with the First President of the Supreme Court, Zbigniew Kapinski. He then traveled to the Constitutional Tribunal building at approximately 1 am.
Inside the premises, the president confronted Anna Korwin-Piotrowska and other judges whose official status is rejected by him and by the tribunal’s previous leadership. Video footage recorded inside the building captured the exchange between the president and the jurists.
"We are judges of the Constitutional Tribunal," Korwin-Piotrowska told him during the encounter.
"You are not judges of the Constitutional Tribunal," Nawrocki replied.
The president remained inside the tribunal until shortly before 5 am. He subsequently demanded that police leave the court grounds and stated that he enabled Bartlomiej Sochanski, whom he recognizes as the lawful vice president of the tribunal, to enter the building.
The crisis erupted on Friday after Korwin-Piotrowska announced the temporary suspension of Tribunal President Bogdan Swieczkowski and Sochanski. The tribunal’s official account on the social media platform X, which remains controlled by the previous leadership, rejected the suspension and claimed its website had been unlawfully seized, accusing those involved of a coup d’état.
Police units were deployed around the perimeter of the tribunal building but confirmed they did not enter the interior. Prime Minister Donald Tusk defended efforts to overhaul institutions shaped during the eight years of governance by the Law and Justice party, arguing that restoring the rule of law required decisive action.
Justice Minister and Prosecutor General Waldemar Zurek criticized the actions taken by Nawrocki inside the tribunal and urged prosecutors to investigate the incident.
