Constitutional Tribunal Standoff: Judges Denied Entry, Police Summoned

Tensions escalated at Poland’s Constitutional Tribunal on Tuesday as newly elected judges were barred from entering the building, prompting a police intervention and claims of a constitutional “coup” from the president of the court.

Denied Entry and Police Intervention

The General Assembly of the Constitutional Tribunal, intended to discuss the institution’s budget, failed to convene after two recently elected judges were denied access to the headquarters. In response, the judges summoned the police, and a prosecutor from the National Prosecutor’s Office arrived on the scene.

Judge Krystian Markiewicz confirmed he called the police because his inability to enter the building to participate in the assembly constituted a breach of law. He noted that all judges have a legal obligation to attend the General Assembly.

Dispute Over Tribunal Composition

The conflict centers on the status of six judges elected by the Sejm in March. Tribunal President Bogdan Święczkowski stated he invited two of these judges as “guests” but barred others, accusing them of previously entering the chamber without his permission.

Judge Anna Korwin-Piotrowska, who was allowed inside as a guest, requested a formal objection be entered into the minutes, asserting that she and her colleagues are full-fledged acting judges with the duty to participate in the proceedings. President Święczkowski characterized these events as an attempted “coup against a constitutional organ of the state.”

Administrative and Legal Deadlock

Tribunal spokesperson Weronika Ścibor reported that the assembly could not proceed due to a lack of quorum after judges Magdalena Bentkowska and Dariusz Szostek left the session. She described the actions of the prosecutor and police as an attempt to intimidate an independent judicial body.

The status of the judges remains the subject of a pending competency dispute requested by President Nawrocki. While some judges have taken their oaths at the Presidential Palace, the validity of others, who took their oaths in the Sejm, remains contested by the Tribunal’s leadership.