PR0 // pay.eth

Poland’s constitutional court is currently being raided by government directed police. The opposition claims the developments represent an orchestrated coup d’état by the government or Prime Minister Donald Tusk. (Yes, you’re right, that does sounds like an oxymoron.) The official line is that police have been called to attend to escalating threats to public safety at the premises. For those not up to scratch on the story surrounding the Polish constitutional court, the context is below, courtesy of Grok. The escalation is the latest stage of a long-running political and institutional conflict over control of Poland’s Constitutional Tribunal (TK). After the 2023 change of government, the Sejm (under the Tusk-led coalition) elected several new judges to the Tribunal in 2026, including Anna Korwin-Piotrowska (March) and Maciej Berek (September). President Karol Nawrocki refused to receive their formal oaths at the Presidential Palace. The judges instead took a non-standard oath “before the President” in the Sejm (sometimes with notarial involvement), which they and the coalition treat as valid. Tribunal President Bogdan Święczkowski and the President do not recognise these judges as properly sworn in and have blocked them from adjudicating; there have been physical confrontations inside the building. This has created a deadlock over the Tribunal’s composition, leadership and ability to function. Since mid-September/October 2026, sustained protests by PiS supporters, Gazeta Polska Clubs and other groups have taken place outside the building. Protesters aim to stop what they describe as an illegal takeover of one of the last major institutions not controlled by the current government. These demonstrations have involved blocked access, scuffles with police, objects thrown at officers and arrests. The 30 October events follow earlier statements by the new judges that they might seek police help to enforce access, combined with the Prosecutor General’s request for heightened security amid the protests and Korwin-Piotrowska’s letter citing risks linked to “planned activities” on the premises. Concurrent reports indicate the new judges are asserting control (including claims that Korwin-Piotrowska is now directing the Tribunal and that Święczkowski’s duties have been suspended), while the existing leadership describes this as an unlawful seizure. In short, the police presence is the practical flashpoint in a deeper dispute over who legitimately sits on and leads the Tribunal.