Poland's government has suspended two senior justices of the Constitutional Tribunal and moved to bring criminal charges against them, escalating a long-running dispute over the rule of law. Justice Minister Waldemar Żurek requested the removal of immunity for President Bogdan Święczkowski and Vice-President Bartłomiej Sochański. The tribunal stated the men remain legally appointed justices, calling the actions a "coup d'etat."
The government's actions against the Constitutional Tribunal escalate Poland's ongoing rule of law dispute, potentially impacting the country's relationship with the European Union and its legal framework.
A political stand-off has erupted in Poland over the Constitutional Tribunal after the government suspended its two senior justices and moved to bring criminal charges against them. Justice Minister Waldemar Żurek requested the removal of immunity for President Bogdan Święczkowski and Vice-President Bartłomiej Sochański. The tribunal declared the actions a "coup d'etat" and stated the two men remain legally appointed. Prime Minister Donald Tusk framed the move as a necessary step to restore the rule of law after years of alleged "lawlessness" by the previous Law and Justice (PiS) party government. Opposition politicians from PiS gathered outside the court to protest, leading to the deployment of riot police. President Karol Nawrocki, aligned with PiS, diverted his plane back to Warsaw amid the escalating situation. The Constitutional Tribunal has been at the center of Poland's rule of law dispute since the PiS government took office in 2015, with European courts previously ruling that some of its appointments were improper.
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