On Friday, 30 October, a notice appeared on the Constitutional Tribunal’s website announcing the suspension of President Bogdan Święczkowski and Vice-President Bartłomiej Sochański. The Tribunal’s official account on X insists that the website was “unlawfully seized” and that the Tribunal’s leadership has not changed.
At around 6 p.m., a notice ordering the suspension of Bogdan Święczkowski and Bartłomiej Sochański from their official duties was published on the Tribunal’s website. As TVN24 reported, the legal basis cited was Article 130 of the Act on the Organisation of Ordinary Courts. This provision allows an immediate removal of a judge from duties when the dignity of the court or important service interests require it, for a period until a disciplinary court resolves the matter, and for no longer than one month. For a court president, the decision rests with the Minister of Justice.
According to information given to the Polish Press Agency (PAP) by judges Maciej Taborowski, Magdalena Bentkowska and Maciej Berek, the Tribunal’s leadership is to be taken over by Judge Anna Korwin-Piotrowska (RMF24/PAP). The Sejm elected her to the Tribunal in March, and she took the oath on 9 April in the Sejm.
Tribunal statement: “unlawful takeover”
The Tribunal’s official account on X contradicted the notice on its website. It stated that the president remains Bogdan Święczkowski, the vice-president is Bartłomiej Sochański, and Anna Korwin-Piotrowska is not a judge of the Tribunal. According to the post, as quoted by RMF24, those taking part in these actions “are committing the crime of coup d’état”.
Vice-President Sochański, as WP reports, waited in front of the building’s gate and demanded that police officers let him inside.
Police at the Tribunal building
The Capital City Police Headquarters (KSP) said its officers were carrying out statutory tasks on the Tribunal’s premises, but were not inside the building. The intervention was justified by a letter from Judge Korwin-Piotrowska, who pointed to a possible threat to the life and health of Tribunal judges and staff and the risk of public order disturbances. The National Police Headquarters also received a letter from Prosecutor General Waldemar Żurek asking for special attention to the Tribunal’s security because of protests around the building (Police post on X).
In the evening, the KSP said that dangerous objects had been thrown at officers on Aleja Szucha, and that three people had been detained after climbing over the fence onto Tribunal grounds. Proceedings against them are being conducted under Article 193 of the Criminal Code, which concerns violation of domestic peace (WP). The detainees are suspects, which does not determine their guilt.
President’s reaction
President Karol Nawrocki has cut short his flight to Senegal and is returning to Poland.
At the time of publication, neither the government nor the Chancellery of the President has issued an official position on the legal effects of the notice. Judge Korwin-Piotrowska has not publicly responded to the Tribunal’s post about a “coup d’état”.
What it means
Until it is clear who is effectively running the Tribunal, the validity of its actions remains an open question: assigning panels, publishing rulings and issuing communiqués on the institution’s behalf. The notice, if upheld, is time-limited: the suspension may last one month at most, and a disciplinary court would decide the judges’ future. Notification of that court must take place within three days of the notice being issued. Next steps depend on the president’s position after his return to Poland, and on whether Święczkowski and Sochański are allowed into the building.
