Police Reinforcements Arrive at Poland's Constitutional Tribunal as Crowds Swell

Police reinforcements gathered outside the Constitutional Tribunal in Warsaw on Tuesday as the number of demonstrators there continued to grow, according to reporting by Fakt. The Tribunal's General Assembly convened at 3:30 p.m. that day, summoned by Anna Korwin-Piotrowska, who took over the duties of the court's president several days earlier in her capacity as its most senior judge. She also suspended Bogdan Święczkowski and his deputy, Bartłomiej Sochański.

Why it matters

The scene outside the building reflects a wider dispute over the court's leadership and its independence. According to Fakt, some of those gathered believe a "coup" took place in Poland on Friday, while supporters of the current government are also present. The competing crowds, the banners and the police deployment all point to how quickly a legal argument over who runs the Tribunal has become a public confrontation on the street.

A mixed crowd and a stage set up by the court president's opponents

Fakt's reporter at the site, Piotr Drabik, described a crowd of several thousand rather than tens of thousands. He reported that officers from riot-prevention units had assembled, that barriers stood in front of the Tribunal's entrance, and that a stage had been erected by backers of Święczkowski and of the right, who are opposing changes at the court. Tents have been in place there for several weeks, he said.

Signs carried in the crowd, as cited by Fakt, included one asserting a right to independent rather than partisan courts and another calling for a clean-up of what it described as the previous ruling party's mess. On footage recorded by the outlet's journalists, an officer could be seen advising people to avoid escalation. Opposition politicians were among those present, including Mariusz Gosek, who was shown telling members of the Border Defence Movement not to give in to provocations.

Coverage of the gathering was not limited to Fakt. WP Wiadomości reported large crowds at the Tribunal and women calling out to female officers to go home. Wyborcza.pl reported that the Civic Defence Committee (KOD) had called silent protests over the Tribunal, and TVP Info reported a silent march under the slogan "A little light for the Tribunal" near the Presidential Palace. Radio Gdańsk reported a rally by the right in Gdańsk amid the dispute.

What to watch is whether the General Assembly produces decisions that calm or sharpen the standoff, and whether the crowds outside the building grow or disperse in the days that follow.