Tusk vows to press ahead with Poland's constitutional court overhaul
Poland's prime minister, Donald Tusk, vowed on Saturday night to see through a contested overhaul of the country's constitutional court, even as protests continued. In a prime-time television address, he said that "in certain matters, there can be no compromise." The Guardian
The dispute centres on who controls the court, which rules on whether laws comply with the constitution. President Karol Nawrocki refused earlier this year to swear in five judges approved by parliament, a step that allows judges to take up their posts. Tusk said the overhaul was vital to restore a tribunal crippled by years of political disputes.
The dispute escalated on Friday. A group of government-backed judges attempted to take procedural control of the tribunal, suspending its chief judge and deputy, both of whom were appointed under the Law and Justice (PiS) party. Street protests followed, and overnight riot police were deployed to guard the court's building. The Guardian
Nawrocki was on his way to Senegal on Friday when he turned back to Poland after the chief judge was suspended. Reuters Tusk criticised the president for joining the protests on Friday night and for forcing entry into the court's building to intervene. On Saturday, Nawrocki accused Tusk of staging a forced takeover of the top court. Reuters
Tusk later posted the message "W Polsce prawo wygra z przemocą" on his official X account, which can be rendered in English as "In Poland, law will win over violence." The Guardian
On Saturday, the European Commission, the executive arm of the European Union, urged Nawrocki to approve the new judges nominated by parliament. It said this would allow the court to function in line with the constitution and EU law. The Guardian
The text of Tusk's address, published on the prime minister's chancellery website, describes the attack on the tribunal and its judges as another episode in the destruction of the rule of law in Poland by the Law and Justice party and by Presidents Duda and Nawrocki. Chancellery of the Prime Minister
