Poland’s constitutional crisis escalated over the weekend after the Constitutional Tribunal suspended its president, prompting three ambassadors to resign in protest and renewing debate over judicial independence. The late-night confrontation at the tribunal on Friday drew riot police and protesters, while President Karol Nawrocki abruptly returned to Warsaw after initially departing the country.
Three Polish ambassadors resigned in protest following the tribunal’s decision to suspend its president, Bogdan Święczkowski. Krzysztof Szczerski, Poland’s permanent representative to the U.N., resigned on Monday, according to Marcin Przydacz, head of the International Policy Bureau in Nawrocki’s office. Szczerski’s resignation followed the weekend departures of ambassadors to China and Romania. Przydacz, a former parliament member of the opposition Law and Justice (PiS) party, stated that even lawyers close to Prime Minister Donald Tusk’s government have questioned the legal basis for the suspension.
The tribunal’s decision to suspend Święczkowski has drawn sharply divided reactions. Supporters of Tusk’s government argue the move was necessary to restore judicial independence, while critics describe it as an unconstitutional power grab. Simone Rodan-Benzaquen, senior envoy to Europe at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, noted that Poland has faced a compromised Constitutional Tribunal for over a decade, with ongoing standoffs between the government, presidency, and tribunal over judicial appointments.
Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski accused opponents of Tusk’s judicial overhaul of being assisted by an ‘alliance’ of Russian bots and the ‘global far right.’ The dispute intensified after Nawrocki pushed through police barricades to enter the Supreme Court and denounce judges attempting to seize control of the judiciary. Tusk’s camp has framed resistance to the judicial overhaul as a right-wing fringe influenced by external actors, while nationalist groups have rallied behind Nawrocki’s opposition to the reforms.