Poland's PM vows lawful tribunal operation amid court standoff
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk vowed the Constitutional Tribunal will operate lawfully after President Karol Nawrocki accused him of a forcible takeover, following the suspension of tribunal president Bogdan Swieczkowski on Friday. The tribunal’s longest-serving judge, Anna Korwin-Piotrowska, suspended Swieczkowski, a Law and Justice appointee, escalating a judiciary battle. Nawrocki, an ally of the previous government, returned from Senegal to the court, where riot police guarded against hundreds of protesters demanding Swieczkowski’s reinstatement. The dispute stems from 2015 Law and Justice judicial appointments, which critics said undermined tribunal independence. Tusk’s government, in office since 2023, aims to restore rule of law, but Nawrocki has blocked reforms, including refusing to swear in judges this year.