Since Karol Nawrocki became president in August 2025 he has vetoed the government's judicial reforms and refused to swear in most Constitutional Tribunal judges elected by the Sejm, which Prime Minister Donald Tusk's coalition controls. On 30 October 2026 the Tribunal's longest-serving judge said she had suspended its president, police were deployed at the court and a statement read for Nawrocki called it a forcible takeover, while Tusk said there could be no compromise.
As of 1 November 2026 Judge Anna Korwin-Piotrowska says she leads the Constitutional Tribunal and that the suspended Święczkowski and Sochański may not enter its building, while they and the president reject the suspension as unlawful. Police remain at the court and no agreement between Tusk and Nawrocki has been reported. Polityka reported the suspension lasts 30 days, after which a general assembly of Tribunal judges is to decide.
Then-president Andrzej Duda refused to swear in three Constitutional Tribunal judges chosen by the outgoing parliament. The new majority elected replacements, whom Duda swore in. The EU Court of Justice later found irregularities in the appointment of three judges in December 2015 and of the Tribunal's president in 2016.
The government in power from 2015 to 2023 changed the law so that parliament, rather than judges, chose most members of the National Council of the Judiciary (KRS), which nominates judges. Polish and European courts have since found the reshaped council lacks legitimacy, Notes from Poland reported.
The European Commission triggered Article 7 of the EU treaty against Poland for the first time, citing what it called systemic threats to judicial independence from 13 laws passed in two years. Poland's foreign ministry called the move political.
The Court of Justice of the EU ordered Poland to pay a daily penalty of 1 million euros for failing to suspend the Supreme Court's disciplinary chamber, Reuters reported. A deputy justice minister called the demand "usurpation and blackmail."
Tusk returned to power in 2023 promising to restore judicial independence. His coalition stopped filling Constitutional Tribunal vacancies, saying it regards the court as illegitimate because of judges appointed under the previous government.
The European Commission closed the Article 7 procedure, saying there was no longer a clear risk of a serious breach of the rule of law. The Polish justice ministry said the decision rested on its action plan and did not absolve Poland from carrying out the reforms.
Nawrocki won the presidential runoff with 50.89 percent of the vote against Warsaw mayor Rafał Trzaskowski, according to election commission figures reported by Reuters and Polskie Radio. Turnout was 71.63 percent.
Tusk's government won a confidence vote in the Sejm by 243 votes to 210. Tusk said the presidential result did not reduce his government's mandate.
Nawrocki took the oath before parliament. In his speech he accused the government of regularly violating the constitutional article requiring authorities to act within the law and called for a return to the rule of law, Notes from Poland reported.
Tusk wrote on X that he had worked with three presidents as prime minister, Reuters reported, and said of the fourth that the government would manage.
Nawrocki said he was refusing to nominate 46 judges and would deny promotions for the rest of his term to judges who, in his words, question Poland's constitutional and legal order. The justice ministry said his letter gave no reasons. Government spokesman Adam Szłapka called it an attempt to undermine the justice system.
In case C-448/23, Commission v Poland, the Court of Justice of the EU ruled that the Constitutional Tribunal does not meet the requirements of an independent and impartial tribunal under EU law, citing irregularities in the appointment of three judges and its president.
Speaking at an EU summit in Brussels, Tusk said the ruling was a green light for reforms and that the government could now try to fix the Tribunal by systematically appointing new judges.
Nawrocki vetoed a government bill under which judges would elect most members of the National Council of the Judiciary. He said in a video on X that the bill was unconstitutional and would cause chaos, AFP reported. Tusk accused him of vetoing "blindly, just to cause harm," Notes from Poland reported.
The governing coalition's majority in the Sejm elected six judges to fill all six vacant Tribunal seats. Justice Minister Waldemar Żurek urged Nawrocki to swear them in. The head of the president's office, Zbigniew Bogucki, said the president would not allow it.
Nawrocki swore in Dariusz Szostek and Magdalena Bentkowska only. Bogucki said two vacancies had arisen during Nawrocki's term and two judges brought the court to the 11 needed for a full bench. Żurek accused the president of trying to usurp power.
Anna Korwin-Piotrowska, Krystian Markiewicz, Maciej Taborowski and Marcin Dziurda took their oaths in the Sejm before a notary and the Sejm speaker, after inviting Nawrocki, who did not attend. Bogucki called the move an ostentatious and conscious violation of the law, Notes from Poland reported.
When the four judges arrived at the Tribunal to begin work, its president, Bogdan Święczkowski, refused to admit them, arguing that they had not taken the required oath before the president, Notes from Poland reported.
In Dziurda and Others v. Poland, the European Court of Human Rights granted an interim measure concerning the four judges. Notes from Poland reported it required Polish authorities not to obstruct them. Bogucki said the issue was pending before the Tribunal. A Tribunal spokeswoman said the European court lacked authority.
Ruling in case K 323/26 on a motion filed by opposition MPs, the Constitutional Tribunal held that the law should not be read as obliging the president to administer the oath to new Tribunal judges, Notes from Poland reported. Żurek said there was no valid ruling.
Nawrocki's office said he would swear in Sławomir Patyra, elected by the Sejm on 11 June, with Bogucki calling it a clean situation unlike the earlier choices. Notes from Poland later reported that Nawrocki had sworn in three Sejm-elected judges in 2026 and refused four.
The Sejm elected Maciej Berek, a minister in Tusk's government until August 2026 whom Tusk called his right-hand man, by 226 votes of 437. Some coalition MPs voted against. Bogucki questioned whether Berek met the ten-year legal practice requirement, which Berek disputes. Nawrocki said the Tribunal did not need another politician, Notes from Poland reported.
Prosecutors, overseen by Justice Minister and Prosecutor General Waldemar Żurek, charged two senior Tribunal officials with abuse of power for refusing entry to the four judges. Both pleaded not guilty. The Tribunal called the charges unlawful and Święczkowski opened disciplinary proceedings against the three judges sworn in by the president, Notes from Poland reported.
The Council of Europe's Venice Commission, asked by a committee of its parliamentary assembly, issued its opinion on the president's role in judges' oaths. It said the president should swear in Sejm-elected judges without delay, cannot review their election, and that judges may take the oath without him if he refuses, Notes from Poland reported. Nawrocki's spokesman said the opinion was advisory.
Berek took his oath at a ceremony in the Sejm without Nawrocki, directing it toward the president, and became the fifth judge sworn in without presidential approval. Clashes were reported outside the Tribunal between police and people camped there. Tusk said the new judges would receive state protection, Brussels Signal reported.
Nawrocki refused to accept Berek's oath. His chief of staff, Zbigniew Bogucki, called the ceremony grotesque and a sad day for Polish democracy.
A notice on the Tribunal's website, citing article 130 of the common courts law, announced a 30-day suspension of its president, Bogdan Święczkowski, and vice-president Bartłomiej Sochański, Polityka reported. Judge Anna Korwin-Piotrowska told TVP she had issued the order and was taking charge as the longest-serving judge, Notes from Poland reported. Żurek said prosecutors had filed five motions to lift the two judges' immunity. The Tribunal leadership said the website had been unlawfully taken over.
Riot police guarded the Tribunal from Friday afternoon, Reuters reported. Polityka reported that Korwin-Piotrowska had called police, citing possible threats to the life and health of judges and staff. A statement on the Tribunal's X account, attributed by Polityka to Święczkowski, said those involved were committing the crime of a coup d'état. Supreme Court First President Zbigniew Kapiński also called it a coup d'état, Notes from Poland reported. Police said dangerous objects were thrown at officers, Fox News reported.
Tusk wrote on X that restoring the rule of law was the government's duty and that the process was difficult and sometimes painful, Fox News and Reuters reported.
Nawrocki cut short a flight to Senegal and returned to Warsaw, landing shortly before 10 p.m., Polityka reported. He met Supreme Court First President Zbigniew Kapiński and Święczkowski at the presidential palace on his return.
Shortly before 1 a.m. Nawrocki entered the Tribunal with Kapiński, Polityka reported. Footage showed him pushing past a group of judges, Euronews reported. Żurek said he was alarmed. Shortly before 5 a.m. Paweł Szefernaker read Nawrocki's statement, which spoke of a breach of the constitutional order and a forcible takeover of a constitutional body. It did not use the words coup d'état.
Nawrocki held urgent consultations at the presidential palace, citing a threat to internal security. Representatives of several parties, including some governing coalition parties, attended, while Tusk's party stayed away, AFP reported.
The European Commission urged Nawrocki to accept the new judges, AFP reported. US Ambassador Tom Rose called for calm.
In a televised address, Tusk said the president had not deigned to receive the judges' oaths and that no politician, including the president, had the right to enter a court and intimidate judges. He said the government would ensure the Tribunal's security and working conditions.
“What will it be like with the fourth? We'll manage.”
“return to the rule of law”
“In certain matters there can be no compromise”
“a breach of the constitutional order of the Republic of Poland”
| Court at the centre | Constitutional Tribunal, 15 judges, 11 needed for a full bench |
| Judges elected by the Sejm in 2026 | Eight (six in March, one in June, one in September) |
| Sworn in by Nawrocki | Three, according to Notes from Poland |
| Sworn in before parliament without him | Five |
| Nawrocki's vetoes by 19 February 2026 | 27, according to Notes from Poland |
| Key EU ruling | Court of Justice of the EU, C-448/23, 18 December 2025 |
| ECHR case | Dziurda and Others v. Poland, interim measure of 6 May 2026 |
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