Żurek says Constitutional Tribunal hearings are weeks away as Nawrocki visit draws criticism

Leadership change at the Tribunal

Anna Korwin-Piotrowska took over running the Constitutional Tribunal on Friday, 30 October, and suspended Bogdan Święczkowski from his duties as president. Motions to lift the immunity of Święczkowski and of Bartłomiej Sochański, the suspended vice-president, were filed the same day. Żurek, who serves as justice minister and prosecutor general, said he had lodged several cases with the Tribunal concerning Święczkowski, including criminal matters. He argued that Święczkowski acts as if the law does not apply to him, and he wants the motions decided as quickly as possible.

Korwin-Piotrowska convened a General Assembly of Tribunal judges for Tuesday, 3 November, where the court's budget for 2027 is to be adopted. Żurek said the previous leadership had failed to bring that budget to completion, and he welcomed the decision to convene the assembly.

Hearings a matter of weeks away

On Sunday, 1 November, Żurek told TVP Info that the first hearings and the first cases on the merits are a matter of weeks away. He described the pace as quick and said he was pleased with it.

“It is a matter of weeks until we have the first hearings and the first cases are decided on the merits. It is already quick, and I am glad.”

Żurek also blamed the Tribunal's focus on politics in earlier years for complaints from citizens that were left unresolved for a long time. Doubts remain over whether the assembly can meet at all. Adopting resolutions requires two-thirds of the 15 judges, which means 10 present, while only eight judges elected by the current Sejm are certain to take part.

Quorum needed (2/3 of 15 judges)10

Sejm-elected judges certain to attend8

Quorum needed (2/3 of 15 judges)

10 judges

Sejm-elected judges certain to attend

8 judges

Data from the article text

Nawrocki's night visit to the court

President Karol Nawrocki interrupted a trip to Senegal and returned to Warsaw. After consultations with the First President of the Supreme Court, he went to the Tribunal building on Aleja Szucha during the night between 30 and 31 October. Footage of the entry was posted online, and Polsat News reported pushing with people standing in the doorway. Protests outside the court had intensified after the leadership change.

Żurek called the entry a bandit raid and said prosecutors must draw consequences. He said Nawrocki's aides had behaved in the building with impunity, and he thanked the police for keeping a cool head in a crisis. He added that the Tribunal building's inviolability had been breached.

“I already assess his entry into the Tribunal in criminal-law terms. It was a violation of the inviolability of the Tribunal's building.”

What happens next

The General Assembly on Tuesday, 3 November is the next scheduled step, and its quorum and the 2027 budget will show whether the Tribunal can resume its work. Żurek has pressed for the immunity motions against Święczkowski and Sochański to be decided quickly. The articles do not give a date for the first hearings, so the timing rests on the assembly and on the pending motions.