Poland deployed riot police at its Constitutional Tribunal in Warsaw on Friday after the court announced that its president, Bogdan Swieczkowski, had been suspended, drawing crowds of supporters of the opposition Law and Justice party to the building.
Police said they entered the premises of the tribunal following incidents outside the court, including objects thrown at officers. Three people were detained.
The suspension stems from a dispute that has effectively paralysed the court. Over the past six months, Swieczkowski used his authority as its head to block judges elected by the current parliamentary majority from taking up their duties.
Justice Minister Waldemar Zurek told reporters on Friday that he had asked for the immunity of Swieczkowski and his deputy to be lifted, accusing them of failing in their duties by preventing judges from working.
Swieczkowski was appointed by the former Law and Justice (PiS) government, the nationalist party that held power from 2015 to 2023 and which critics have long accused of bringing political influence to bear on the courts. The tribunal has been one of the central battlegrounds in that argument.
Prime Minister Donald Tusk said restoring the rule of law was the government’s responsibility. Repairing the judicial system after what he described as unlawful conduct under the previous administration was a difficult process, he said, but decisive steps were essential.
The confrontation is the sharpest escalation yet in a standoff between Tusk’s government, which took office in 2023 pledging to undo PiS-era changes to the courts, and judicial institutions still led by appointees of the former government.
Not reported: Neither filing states how long the suspension will last, which body ordered it, or whether Swieczkowski intends to contest it. Al Jazeera’s account was compiled with AP and Reuters.
