EU Angle, And PM, President On Opposing Sides: Coup In Poland, Explained

Poland's President Karol Nawrocki cut short his visit to Senegal and rushed back to Warsaw as a political fight over the country's top court escalated, with police deployed outside the building and protesters accusing the government of staging a coup.

Nawrocki called urgent talks with political party representatives on Saturday, a day after two senior judges of the Constitutional Tribunal were suspended by a fellow judge. The court rejected the orders and accused those involved of attempting a coup d'etat.

In its website, the tribunal wrote that President Bogdan Swieczkowski and Vice President Bartlomiej Sochanski remain in their positions.

It wrote on X, "All persons participating in these actions are committing the crime of a coup d'etat."

Dozens of police officers guarded the building as supporters of the opposition right-wing Law and Justice party (PiS) gathered outside. Some protesters tried to push through security barricades, while others chanted "Tusk traitor". Police said three people were arrested.

The confrontation has brought an old dispute between Prime Minister Donald Tusk's government and the previous PiS administration back into focus. 

Why Polish President Rushed Back From Senegal

The trigger was a move against two senior officials of Poland's Constitutional Tribunal.

Judge Anna Korwin-Piotrowska issued orders suspending Tribunal President Bogdan Swieczkowski and Vice President Bartlomiej Sochanski from their duties.

She accused the two judges of blocking the work of judges elected by the parliamentary majority, violating judicial procedures and preventing the court from functioning properly.

The government has also moved to bring criminal charges against them.

Nawrocki, who was in Senegal at the time, announced that he was returning to Warsaw.

"At such a moment, the President must be in Poland," he wrote on X.

On Saturday, he called urgent talks with representatives of political parties, citing "the threat to internal security". He was also expected to meet Zbigniew Kapinski, the first president of the Supreme Court.

Why The Polish Government Is Fighting With The Top Court

The dispute began in 2015, when the right-wing Law and Justice party came to power. The party's parliamentary majority moved to appoint judges to the Constitutional Tribunal, which has the power to decide whether laws passed by parliament are constitutional.

The appointments soon became controversial. The PiS majority appointed three judges to positions that had already been filled by the previous parliament.

This led to a dispute over the legitimacy of the court's appointments and its independence.

The European Court of Human Rights and the Court of Justice of the European Union later ruled that the three judges had been improperly appointed.

The European courts also ruled that Poland's Constitutional Tribunal could no longer be considered an "independent and impartial tribunal".

What Donald Tusk Wants

Donald Tusk came to power in 2023 promising to restore the rule of law and reverse changes made to the judiciary under the previous PiS government.

His administration argued that the previous government had weakened judicial independence by changing the way courts and judges were appointed.

Tusk's government has used the European court rulings to challenge the legitimacy of the Constitutional Tribunal. It has also stopped publishing the tribunal's rulings.

Nawrocki and his predecessor, Andrzej Duda, have used their presidential veto powers to block some of Tusk's proposed reforms.

This has left the government struggling to carry out its promise of judicial reform, while the dispute over the tribunal's authority has continued.

Tusk said that his government is trying to correct the damage caused by years of PiS rule.

The two sides have repeatedly accused each other of undermining the country's institutions.

What Tusk Said About The Crisis

The Polish prime minister has defended his government's actions, saying restoring the rule of law will be difficult after years of political interference in the judiciary.

"Restoring the rule of law is our duty", he wrote on X.

"After years of PiS (party)-led lawlessness, this is a difficult process, sometimes painful, and it requires decisive action. There is no other way," he added.

Tusk's government has been trying for weeks to force out the court's judges, who were appointed by the previous PiS government that ruled from 2015 to 2023.

The court frequently ruled in favour of Polish legislation over EU law and the European Union accused Poland's highest court of being too close to the nationalist political power of the time.