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Police deployed at Poland's Constitutional Court amid stand-off over court control

Three people detained as protesters breached a fence; justice minister seeks immunity removal for two judges.

Updated Oct 31, 2026 · 02:10 UTC5 reports

The short version

  • Riot police moved in at Poland's Constitutional Court in Warsaw as a standoff between the government and the court's leading judges intensified.[BBC News]
  • Justice Minister Waldemar Żurek has asked that court president Bogdan Święczkowski and vice-president Bartłomiej Sochański lose immunity so they can face criminal charges.[BBC News]
  • The court says the two judges remain the legally appointed senior justices and calls participants' conduct a coup d'etat, while Prime Minister Donald Tusk defends the move as restoring the rule of law.[BBC News]
  • Police said three people were detained after protesters breached a fence, and President Karol Nawrocki turned back his trip to Senegal.[BBC News · Associated Press]

Key facts

  • Riot police were deployed at Poland's Constitutional Court in Warsaw amid a stand-off over control of the court.[BBC News]
  • Justice Minister Waldemar Żurek said he requested stripping court President Bogdan Święczkowski and Vice-President Bartłomiej Sochański of immunity so they could face criminal charges.[BBC News]
  • Police said three people were detained after some protesters breached the tribunal's fence and others threw objects at officers.[Associated Press]
  • President Karol Nawrocki ordered his plane turned back to Warsaw while en route to Senegal for the Summer Youth Olympic Games.[BBC News]
  • Prime Minister Donald Tusk defended the move, writing that restoring the rule of law is the government's duty.[BBC News]
  • The Constitutional Court said in a social media post that the two judges remain the legally appointed senior justices and that participants in the actions are committing a coup d'etat.[BBC News]
  • Former Justice Minister Zbigniew Ziobro, of the opposition PiS party, called the suspension a blatant, criminal attack on the constitutional order and called for resistance.[Associated Press]

What remains uncertain

  • The legal basis for suspending the two justices is disputed; the court and PiS-aligned critics contest the government's action, and the reporting does not independently resolve it.[BBC News · Associated Press]
  • It is unclear from the reporting whether the immunity request will lead to criminal charges against the two judges.[BBC News]

Sources

Outlet counts describe coverage, not independent confirmation. Reports may share a wire service or original source.