Poland's Constitutional Tribunal dispute sparks institutional crisis

Poland faces an institutional crisis Saturday after a night of unrest over control of the Constitutional Tribunal, disputed between judges backed by Prime Minister Donald Tusk and those supported by President Karol Nawrocki. Police have blocked access to the building since Friday. Judge Anna Korwin-Piotrowska suspended the tribunal's president and vice president, assumed leadership, and called police to the scene. Nawrocki, who cut short a trip to Senegal, denounced a "violation of constitutional order" and convened urgent consultations. Clashes occurred between riot police and opposition lawmakers. The crisis stems from judicial reforms by the previous PiS government, which filled the tribunal with loyalists. The EU had activated Article 7 proceedings over rule-of-law concerns. Tusk's government has struggled to reform the tribunal, leaving its members mutually denying each other's legitimacy.