Poland’s constitutional court crisis escalates as chief is suspended

A judge announced the month-long suspension of Constitutional Tribunal president Bogdan Święczkowski and his deputy, while saying she would lead the court. The move intensified a dispute over judicial appointments and the tribunal’s authority: the court’s account and opposition figures called it a coup, while Prime Minister Donald Tusk defended it as part of restoring the rule of law. Police deployed around the court as protesters gathered, and President Karol Nawrocki returned to Warsaw from a trip to Senegal.

• Judge Anna Korwin-Piotrowska announced that Święczkowski and deputy Bartłomiej Sochański were suspended for a month, and said she would lead the tribunal. The court’s social-media account rejected the move and maintained that Święczkowski remained its president.· 2 sources
• The dispute concerns the tribunal’s composition and the status of judges elected by the current parliamentary majority. Nawrocki has refused to swear in five of those judges, while Święczkowski had not allowed them to take up their duties.· 2 sources
• Tusk defended the action as necessary to restore the rule of law; opposition figures and the tribunal’s account described it as a coup.· 2 sources
• Police deployed around the tribunal as protesters gathered in Warsaw. Police said three people were detained after some protesters breached a fence and objects were thrown at officers.· 2 sources
• Nawrocki cut short his planned trip to Senegal and returned to Warsaw as the confrontation unfolded. Justice Minister Waldemar Żurek also said he had sought to lift the immunity of Święczkowski and Sochański.· 2 sources