EXPLAINER: What you need to know about Poland’s constitutional crisis

Poland is facing a growing constitutional crisis over the appointment of judges, deepening divisions between the country’s center-right government and conservative opposition. The dispute dates back to 2015, when the Law and Justice Party rejected several judicial appointments made by the previous government and appointed its own candidates to the Constitutional Tribunal. Since Prime Minister Donald Tusk’s coalition came to power in 2023, it has sought to restore judicial independence, but tensions increased after conservative-backed President Karol Nawrocki took office in 2025.
The latest confrontation began after Nawrocki refused to swear in several judges elected by parliament. On October 30, Judge Anna Korwin-Piotrowska suspended the tribunal’s president and deputy and assumed control of the court. The government described the move as an effort to restore the court’s proper functioning, while Nawrocki and the opposition called it unlawful. The dispute has sparked demonstrations and the deployment of riot police in Warsaw, raising further questions about the country’s constitutional system.

Source: CGTN