Police deployed during stand-off over control of Poland's top court
Summary
Poland’s government has moved to pursue criminal charges against Constitutional Tribunal President Bogdan Święczkowski and Vice-President Bartłomiej Sochański, escalating a dispute over control of the court. Opposition Law and Justice supporters protested in Warsaw as riot police guarded the building, while Prime Minister Donald Tusk said the government was acting to restore the rule of law.Key Facts
- Justice Minister Waldemar Żurek requested that Święczkowski and Sochański lose their immunity from prosecution so criminal charges could be brought.
- The Constitutional Tribunal said the two men remained its legally appointed senior justices and described the actions against them as a coup d’état.
- Tusk said his government’s actions were part of its effort to reverse changes made under the previous Law and Justice government.
- President Karol Nawrocki, backed by Law and Justice, has refused to swear in five judges elected by parliament since March.
- The Venice Commission said Nawrocki should swear in the five judges so they could serve on the court.
- The European Court of Human Rights and the Court of Justice of the European Union previously ruled that three judges appointed under the Law and Justice government had been improperly elected.
- Poland’s parliamentary elections are scheduled for next year.
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