Polish President Accuses Prime Minister Tusk of Forced Takeover of Top Court

Poland's head of state Karol Nawrocki alleged that Prime Minister Donald Tusk orchestrated a forcible seizure of the nation's supreme court after its presiding judge was suspended, The Hindu reported. According to court statements, senior judge Anna Korwin-Piotrowska removed tribunal president Bogdan Swieczkowski, an appointee tied to the preceding nationalist administration, and stepped into leadership. The move expanded an ongoing dispute between the nationalist president and the pro-European government over judicial control. President Nawrocki described the development as a breach of public order in the Republic of Poland, in remarks read by an aide outside the court in Warsaw.

Presidential Aircraft Diversion and Police Mobilisation

The confrontation unfolded rapidly after Nawrocki ordered his aircraft, which was en route to Senegal, to turn back mid-flight in Spanish airspace to respond to the political crisis, The Hindu reported. Upon landing, the president proceeded directly to the tribunal building, where riot police stood guard as several hundred demonstrators gathered outside demanding Swieczkowski's reinstatement. In a televised address, Prime Minister Tusk stated that the executive branch will ensure that the Constitutional Tribunal operates in accordance with the law and independent of government interference, The Straits Times reported. Writing on social media, Tusk stated that his administration seeks to restore the rule of law after the European Union accused previous leaders of subverting standards.

Roots of the Decade-Long Judicial Confrontation

The institutional impasse is rooted in a prolonged political conflict surrounding the Constitutional Tribunal that has effectively paralysed the court. The tensions trace back to 2015 when the Law and Justice party moved to appoint judges to seats already filled under the previous administration, The Hindu reported. Those appointments granted nationalist nominees a working majority on the tribunal, prompting international and domestic critics to argue that the body no longer functioned as an independent judicial institution. Following the election of Tusk's governing coalition in 2023, the government pledged to reform the tribunal, but Nawrocki has resisted those legislative measures since assuming the presidency in 2025.

According to SDG News, the EU's top court determined in December 2025 that Poland's Constitutional Tribunal failed to meet EU-law requirements for an independent and impartial tribunal due to irregularities regarding the appointment of its president and three judges.

Parliamentary Appointments and Competing Constitutional Stances

Earlier in the year, Nawrocki declined to swear in three of six judges nominated by the parliamentary majority, while Swieczkowski refused to seat parliamentary appointees. The legislative assembly subsequently appointed government ally Maciej Berek to the tribunal, drawing criticism regarding the administration's stated objective of restoring judicial checks and balances, The Straits Times noted. Boym Institute Chairperson Krzysztof Marcin Zalewski addressed the trajectory of the ongoing institutional crisis in post-Cold War Polish governance. Nawrocki conducted urgent political consultations in the capital as both branches of government maintained opposing stances over the legitimacy of the judicial leadership.