• Analysis
Poland constitutional court overhaul: Tusk vows to push on despite protests
Polish prime minister Donald Tusk has promised to press ahead with a contested overhaul of the constitutional court, defying overnight protests that brought riot police to the tribunal's building. In a prime-time television address on Saturday night, he said "in certain matters, there can be no compromise".
Protests and a police guard at the court
The dispute over Poland's constitutional court overhaul sharpened on Friday, when judges backed by the government moved to take over the tribunal's procedures, suspending the chief judge and deputy appointed under PiS. Street protests followed, and riot police were brought in overnight to guard the building.
President Karol Nawrocki, who earlier in 2026 declined to swear in five judges approved by parliament, went to the court on Friday night and pushed his way inside to intervene, Tusk said.
"No compromise": Tusk's television address
In the Saturday address, Tusk argued the shake-up was needed to bring a tribunal back to life after years of political battles. He pointed to more than a decade of paralysis at the court, which was caught up in disputes over the rule of law between PiS and the EU while the party held power for eight years.
- •He defended the action, saying "there was never any doubt that the court in the form imposed by PiS was not a genuine court", citing adverse European tribunal rulings.
- •He likened the opposition's anger to "a thief snatching an elderly woman's handbag, running off, and when he is caught, he screams that he is subjected to violence".
- •He accused unnamed organisations and politicians in Poland of working against democracy and the rule of law, adding: "It is no coincidence they find support among pro-Russian forces globally".
- •He rebuked the president: "In a democratic state, no politician can enter a court to issue orders or intimidate judges – not even the president".
Tusk also noted that Russia's former president Dmitry Medvedev had added his voice to the opposition outcry, accusing Warsaw of "a constitutional coup" and "hounding the conservatives". "We Poles have succeeded too well in building a strong state to surrender now", he said.
In certain matters, there can be no compromise
Opposition response and presidential talks
Nawrocki's senior aide Zbigniew Bogucki called Tusk "a pathological liar, who is setting Poland ablaze". The president held some cross-party political talks on Saturday, with no apparent breakthrough.
Experts remain divided over whether the government's procedural gambit at the court is lawful. The Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights said on Saturday that the legal basis for the temporary suspension was "questionable", warning it would "not contribute" to restoring the court.
Foreign minister Radosław Sikorski conceded that events outside the court were "not elegant", but argued: "The alternative was to concede an unconstitutional transformation of Poland into a presidential republic".
Brussels and the election stakes
Also on Saturday, the European Commission appealed to Nawrocki to swear in the parliamentary nominees, so that the tribunal could operate in keeping with the constitution and EU law.
Tusk, back in office since 2023, has been trying to reverse PiS's changes to the judiciary but has been held up by vetoes from presidents aligned with the opposition. The clash is drawing the lines of contest ahead of the parliamentary election next year, which polling suggests will be tight between the prime minister's broad coalition and the nationalist right.
Tusk said the government's duty was to ensure the court's security and operating conditions, adding: "And I intend to fulfil that duty".
