Poland's constitutional court crisis turns physical as police intervene

Poland's constitutional crisis escalated on October 30th when judges appointed by parliament forcibly entered the Constitutional Tribunal building with riot police, leading to a physical standoff with the court's president and the country's president. The judges, whom President Karol Nawrocki has refused to swear in, suspended court president Bogdan Swieczkowski and his deputy for 30 days, with judge Anna Korwin-Piotrowska assuming the presidency. Prime Minister Donald Tusk's government supports the move as part of restoring rule of law, while opposition leaders accuse him of staging a coup. The crisis stems from a decade-long conflict over the tribunal, which the EU's highest court ruled was illegally packed by the previous Law and Justice government. President Nawrocki has blocked five new judges using a legal loophole requiring presidential oaths, despite the Venice Commission ruling this role is ceremonial.