European Security — 2026-11-04

Poland Rule-of-Law Crisis Deepens as Rival Judges Claim Control of Top Court

BLUFDual claims to control of Poland's Constitutional Tribunal have created a legitimacy vacuum that will paralyze judicial review and deepen the standoff between Nawrocki and the Tusk government.

Judge Anna Korwin-Piotrowska declared on Friday that she had suspended Constitutional Tribunal president Bogdan Święczkowski and his deputy Bartłomiej Sochański and was acting head of the court 123. President Karol Nawrocki, who has refused to swear in five of eight judges parliament elected this year, entered the building and clashed physically and verbally with her, according to Notes from Poland 2. On Tuesday eight government-backed judges held a general assembly, broadcast live, and ruled that a quorum existed by counting only 12 eligible judges, while Święczkowski called her a "usurper" and constitutional scholar Ryszard Piotrowski called the meeting "illegal" 3. The assembly adopted a 2027 budget and drew lots for disciplinary panels, and Nawrocki told Prime Minister Donald Tusk the government had "illegally" taken over the court 3.

Analysis
Poland now has two rival claimants to authority at the Constitutional Tribunal, and neither the executive nor the courts hold a mechanism to resolve which is valid. The eight-judge assembly reached quorum only by shrinking the eligible pool to 12, a reading Nawrocki, Święczkowski and legal scholars reject, so any budget, disciplinary panel or ruling it produces will face validity challenges from the president's office and the suspended leadership. Nawrocki's refusal to swear in five judges keeps their status contested. Since October 31, the group's broadcast assembly and Nawrocki's accusation against Tusk have hardened the standoff, though the suspension has held in practice. The assembly may be a deliberate maneuver to create facts on the ground, with the government expecting a procedurally active court to outlast quorum objections. Confidence is high, because three sources converge on the sequence, the quorum arithmetic and each side's position, though the two Notes from Poland pieces share an editorial origin.

4 sources

Polish president aborts Africa trip as power struggle erupts at Constitutional Tribunal in Warsaw - Anadolu Agency
Polish president in physical confrontation with judges amid power struggle at constitutional court - Notes from Poland
Disputed Polish constitutional court holds first meeting after takeover by government-backed judges - Notes from Poland
Polands Rule-of-Law Crisis Deepens as Rival Judges Claim Control of Top Court - Balkan Insight