Poland's court crisis deepens as protests continue

Protests continued Saturday outside Poland's constitutional court after its chief judge was suspended, with no resolution to the deadlock. President Nawrocki still refuses to approve judges nominated by Prime Minister Donald Tusk's pro-European government. Tusk condemned attempts to "destroy democracy" and called Friday's turmoil "horrible," urging such scenes never recur in Poland. The EU Commission backed Tusk, demanding Nawrocki approve the new judges in line with Poland's constitution and EU law. Tusk's camp and the nationalist PiS party, which ruled from 2015 to 2023, traded blame over court control. Suspended chief judge Bogdan Swieczkowski received his title under PiS, while Tusk's government has sought to reform judicial institutions since 2023.