Tusk defends Polish court overhaul as judges suspend chief
Poland's PM Tusk vowed on Saturday to see through a contested constitutional court overhaul after government-backed judges suspended the tribunal's leadership.
The story in focus
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk used a Saturday night televised address to defend his government's contested overhaul of the constitutional court and vow to complete it. The move followed Friday's suspension of the PiS-appointed chief judge and deputy by government-backed judges, which prompted street protests and riot police deployment.
- Tusk said in certain matters there can be no compromise, defending the court shake-up as needed to restore a tribunal crippled by political disputes.
- On Friday government-backed judges suspended the PiS-appointed chief judge and deputy and took procedural control, prompting street protests and riot police deployment.
- Tusk cited adverse rulings from European tribunals in arguing the court as shaped by PiS was not a genuine court.
- The Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights called the legal basis for the temporary suspension questionable.
- President Karol Nawrocki, who earlier refused to swear in five parliament-approved judges, joined Friday's protests; his aide rejected Tusk's address.
What happened at the tribunal
The confrontation flared on Friday when a group of government-backed judges moved to take procedural control of Poland's constitutional court, suspending the PiS-appointed chief judge and deputy. The action drew street protests and riot police were drafted to protect the court building.
Tusk defended the step in a prime-time address on Saturday night, saying the court in the form imposed by PiS was not a genuine court and citing adverse rulings from European tribunals. He said it was the government's duty to ensure conditions for the court to operate and that he intended to fulfil it.
Dispute over legality
Poland's Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights said on Saturday that the legal basis for the temporary suspension was questionable and warned it would not contribute to restoring the court. Experts were reported as divided on whether the procedural move is lawful.
President Karol Nawrocki, who earlier this year refused to swear in five judges approved by parliament, joined Friday's protests and entered the court building to intervene. Tusk criticised that step, saying no politician can enter a court to issue orders or intimidate judges. A senior Nawrocki aide rejected Tusk's address. Foreign minister Radosław Sikorski called the scenes outside the court not elegant but said the alternative was conceding an unconstitutional transformation.
Political stakes
The clash sets battle lines before next year's parliamentary election, with polls pointing to a close race between Tusk's broad coalition and the nationalist right. Nawrocki held cross-party talks on Saturday with no apparent breakthrough.
Tusk also highlighted that Russia's former president Dmitry Medvedev had joined the opposition outcry over the changes.
What prompted Poland's constitutional court crisis?
Government-backed judges suspended the PiS-appointed chief judge and deputy on Friday and took procedural control of the tribunal. Tusk defended the move on Saturday as necessary, while the Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights questioned its legal basis.
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