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Polish President Karol Nawrocki said early Saturday that a "forcible takeover" of the Constitutional Tribunal had violated the country’s constitutional order, and convened urgent talks with parliamentary forces, citing a threat to internal security.
The statement capped a night of confrontation after the government-backed suspension of Tribunal President Bogdan Swieczkowski, which Prime Minister Donald Tusk's government says is needed to restore the rule of law and the opposition calls a "coup d’etat."
"Tonight there was a violation of the constitutional order of the Republic of Poland and a forcible takeover of a constitutional body of the state," said the statement on X, read by presidential minister Pawel Szefernaker to demonstrators outside the court.
"I call for the restoration of legal order and for the coercive forces sent to the site by the government to leave the Tribunal premises," Nawrocki said.
Nawrocki said Supreme Court First President Zbigniew Kapinski "also does not recognize as legal the actions taken by persons usurping power in the Constitutional Tribunal."
"In connection with the threat to the internal security of the Republic of Poland, I am convening urgent consultations today with representatives of parliamentary forces in order to stabilize the political situation and restore constitutional order," he said.
He said he had enabled "the legally serving vice president" of the tribunal, Judge Bartlomiej Sochanski, to enter the building.
Nawrocki cut short a trip to Senegal mid-flight and pushed through crowds to enter the court overnight.
He and his chief of staff Zbigniew Bogucki left the building before 5 a.m., Judge Maciej Taborowski told Polska Agencja Prasowa (PAP), adding that judges remained inside.
"Restoring the rule of law is our duty," Tusk wrote on X. "After years of PiS-led lawlessness, this is a difficult process, sometimes painful, and it requires decisive action. There is no other way."
Justice Minister Waldemar Zurek, who is also attorney general, said he had requested the lifting of Swieczkowski’s and Sochanski’s immunity. "This court has become private property; we must restore its proper functioning," he said.
Zurek said he hoped prosecutors would act over the president’s conduct. "It is unacceptable for a person protected by presidential immunity to behave this way, forcing his way in, attacking judges," he told TVN24.
Judge Anna Korwin-Piotrowska, who announced Swieczkowski’s suspension and said she had assumed control of the tribunal, said a democratic state "cannot function without a constitutional court."
"Police outside the Tribunal have acted professionally and calmly for many hours. They are not escalating," Interior Minister Marcin Kierwinski wrote on X.
Police said officers had not entered the building, and three people were arrested trying to enter the complex.
Law and Justice (PiS) leader Jaroslaw Kaczynski urged supporters to "win the battle for Poland," while Solidarity union head Piotr Duda told the government: "Do you want a war? Then you shall have one."
U.S. Ambassador Tom Rose called the situation "very serious," urging all sides to avoid violence while saying Washington would not interfere.
Tusk’s government has sought for weeks to remove tribunal judges appointed under the previous PiS government.
The Constitutional Tribunal crisis now heads to Nawrocki’s talks later Saturday.
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