Poland Moves to Prosecute Top Court Chiefs Amid Standoff
Poland's justice minister sought to strip the Constitutional Tribunal president and deputy of immunity as police secured the court and PiS supporters protested.
The story in focus
Poland's justice minister requested immunity strips for Constitutional Tribunal President Bogdan Święczkowski and Vice-President Bartłomiej Sochański to pursue criminal charges, after the government suspended both for a month. Police secured the Warsaw court as PiS politicians protested, and President Karol Nawrocki returned from a trip abroad.
- Justice Minister Waldemar Żurek requested stripping two senior justices of immunity to bring criminal charges.
- The Constitutional Tribunal said Święczkowski and Sochański remain legally appointed and called participants' actions a coup.
- Riot police were deployed to keep demonstrators out of the court building in Warsaw.
- President Karol Nawrocki ordered his plane back from a trip to Senegal.
The suspension and immunity request
Poland's justice minister, Waldemar Żurek, said he had asked for the immunity of Constitutional Tribunal President Bogdan Święczkowski and Vice-President Bartłomiej Sochański to be lifted so criminal charges could follow. The court's website carried a statement that both were suspended for one month, with judge Anna Korwin-Piotrowska leading the institution in the interim.
The tribunal posted that the two men remain the legally appointed senior justices and described participation in the actions against them as a coup d'etat. Żurek said the charges relate to the pair not allowing judges to adjudicate. Warsaw police said officers responded to one judge who reported possible threats to the safety of judges and staff.
Reaction and next steps
Prime Minister Donald Tusk backed the move, saying restoring the rule of law is the government's duty after years of PiS-led lawlessness and requires decisive action. PiS politicians gathered outside the court in protest, and riot police were deployed to prevent demonstrators from entering. President Karol Nawrocki, backed by PiS, ordered his plane to turn back from a trip to Senegal, saying the president must be in Poland at such a moment.
The immunity request now goes to the body empowered to decide on it; the source does not name that body's decision. Tusk's government has cited rulings by the European Court of Human Rights and the EU Court of Justice that the tribunal was no longer independent and impartial. Lawyer Marcin Matczak, a critic of the PiS-era reforms, said the suspension had no legal basis. The Venice Commission earlier this month said Nawrocki should swear in five judges elected by parliament since March.
What did Poland's justice minister request regarding the Constitutional Tribunal's two senior justices?
Waldemar Żurek requested that President Bogdan Święczkowski and Vice-President Bartłomiej Sochański lose their immunity from prosecution so criminal charges could be brought against them.
Sources & further reading
- Poland: Protesters clash with police over sacked court chief ↗DW
- Police deployed during stand-off over control of Poland's top court ↗BBC
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