Polish President Karol Nawrocki entered the Constitutional Tribunal in Warsaw with Supreme Court First President Zbigniew Kapiński, his chief of staff said, according to The Times of Israel, as police and protesters faced off outside the court.
The reported entry came overnight from Friday, October 30, into Saturday, October 31, during a confrontation over control of the tribunal. The Times of Israel reported that police had blocked access to the court. Accounts of whether there was a physical confrontation involving Nawrocki remain disputed; the available reports do not establish that he pushed past anyone.
Police had been deployed after protests followed the suspension of tribunal president Bogdan Święczkowski and his deputy, Bartłomiej Sochański. Al Jazeera, citing police, the Associated Press and Reuters, reported that officers were sent to the court after incidents outside, including objects being thrown at police. The BBC reported that judge Anna Korwin-Piotrowska had been placed in temporary charge after the suspensions.
The rival positions on the court’s leadership remain unresolved. Nawrocki has rejected some judges elected by parliament, while the current government says it is seeking to restore the rule of law and has challenged the conduct of Święczkowski and his deputy. The court’s authority and composition have been at the centre of a prolonged political and legal dispute.
Nawrocki had cut short a trip to Senegal and returned to Poland amid the crisis, according to Reuters. The extent of any physical altercation at the tribunal and the competing claims about who has lawful authority to lead it remain unclear.
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