Poland’s Constitutional Tribunal leadership dispute escalates amid protests
On October 30, police secured the grounds of Poland’s Constitutional Tribunal as demonstrators protested the reported suspension of its president, Bogdan Święczkowski. The development intensified a long-running dispute between Prime Minister Donald Tusk’s government and the opposition Law and Justice (PiS) party over judicial appointments and the court’s independence. Tusk’s government says it seeks to restore the rule of law following reforms under PiS, while opposition politicians condemn the reported suspension as an attack on the constitutional order. President Karol Nawrocki cut short a trip to Senegal to return to Poland. The tribunal’s website briefly displayed a suspension notice before becoming inaccessible, leaving the legal basis and status of the decision disputed.