Tusk Defends Judicial Reforms as Poland Tribunal Crisis Deepens

Poland's confrontation over judicial independence intensified on Saturday, October 31, 2026, after Prime Minister Donald Tusk pledged to protect the Constitutional Tribunal from political interference. His televised address followed a confrontation involving President Karol Nawrocki, opposition politicians and police at the court's headquarters in Warsaw.

The dispute centers on the appointment of new constitutional judges and the suspension of Tribunal President Bogdan Święczkowski. Tusk's government maintains that changes are necessary to restore judicial independence, while opposition figures accuse the administration of attempting to seize control of an important state institution.

Hundreds of protesters gathered outside the Tribunal for a second consecutive night, according to CNN. Police detained three people on Friday after some demonstrators allegedly threw objects at officers and attempted to breach the security fence.

Tusk characterized the confrontation as a serious challenge to democratic institutions, describing Friday's events as “scandalous incidents.”

“A democratic state has to be strong and capable of enforcing justice,” Tusk said.

The prime minister argued that restoring public order must not come at the expense of constitutional principles. He maintained that physical intimidation and political interests should not determine the authority of judicial institutions.

“We waited calmly for new judges to be chosen, until the terms of their predecessors appointed by PiS expired. The Sejm made its choice, the judges took the oath, but the president did not deign to receive that oath,” Tusk said.

The Sejm, Poland's lower parliamentary chamber, elected the replacement judges, who subsequently took their oaths. However, Nawrocki did not formally receive them, while Święczkowski prevented the newly elected judges from assuming their duties, according to Tusk's account.

The prime minister rejected the possibility of compromising on constitutional principles.

“In certain matters there can be no compromise,” Tusk said.

He also argued that neither the president nor other politicians had the authority to enter judicial institutions to instruct judges or intimidate them. Tusk pledged government support for the Tribunal's independent operations.

“And I intend to fulfil this task,” Tusk said.

Earlier, Tusk had outlined his government's position in a statement published on X.

“Restoring the rule of law is our obligation,” Tusk wrote.

“After years of lawlessness under PiS this is a difficult process, sometimes painful and it requires decisive action. There is no other way,” he added.

He subsequently characterized the opposition's response to the suspension of Święczkowski as “another stage in the process of destroying the rule of law in Poland.”

The dispute dates back to 2015, when the Civic Platform and Law and Justice (PiS) parties clashed over the appointment of five constitutional judges. PiS governed Poland from 2015 to 2023, during which judicial reforms prompted criticism from the European Union and financial penalties against the country.

The Court of Justice of the European Union previously questioned the Constitutional Tribunal's impartiality following appointments made under the PiS administration. Tusk's pro-European coalition took office in 2023 promising to restore judicial independence, but its efforts encountered resistance from successive presidents aligned with PiS.

President Nawrocki returned to Warsaw on Friday after turning his plane around during a journey to Senegal. He subsequently visited the Tribunal building and said he had helped Święczkowski enter the premises, according to CNN.

Marcin Przydacz, a senior aide to Nawrocki, defended the president's position and described the confrontation as an attempt to take control of the institution.

“Since last night, we're dealing with a massive constitutional crisis in Poland, the result of an illegal, forceful attempt to take over an important institution,” Przydacz told The Associated Press.

He said Nawrocki had invited representatives of parliamentary parties to discussions on Saturday to ease tensions and seek a resolution.

“Everything depends on those political parties who supported Donald Tusk so far,” Przydacz said.

Representatives of Poland 2050, the Polish People's Party and several opposition groups met with the president. Tusk did not participate in those discussions, while Nawrocki's allies hoped the confrontation would weaken the government's parliamentary majority.

The political standoff is also unfolding ahead of Poland's next parliamentary election, increasing tensions between Tusk's governing coalition and the national-conservative opposition. Tusk additionally warned that Russian-linked online accounts could exploit the dispute to undermine Poland's constitutional order.