Poland’s Constitutional Court Set to Resume Work Within Weeks, Says Attorney General

Poland’s Constitutional Court will restart its work within the coming weeks, according to Justice Minister and Attorney General Waldemar Zurek, even as the court remains at the center of a deepening political standoff in Warsaw.

Poland’s Constitutional Court is expected to resume its work within a few weeks, Justice Minister and Attorney General Waldemar Zurek said on Saturday.

Protesters Surround the Court Building

On Friday evening, amid an escalating constitutional crisis, demonstrators gathered around the Constitutional Court building. A few protesters tried to break through security barriers. Acting court chief Anna Korwin-Piotrowska warned that judges’ lives were under threat. Police carried out several arrests during the unrest. Polish President Karol Nawrocki cut short a foreign trip and flew back to Warsaw. Opposition leader Jaroslaw Kaczynski described the events as another stage of a creeping coup.

Zurek Promises Quick Return to Hearings

Speaking to reporters, Zurek said the court would be back in action soon. ”It is a matter of weeks before we have the first hearings and the first cases are reviewed on their merits”, he told journalists.

He added that many citizen complaints had piled up for years, left unexamined because the court had focused mainly on political matters rather than public concerns.

”I think what matters most to citizens is that complaints have been sitting there for years. These complaints were shelved because the court was doing politics on behalf of those who are now fueling the unrest outside the court and talking about a coup, while the things that matter most to people were pushed aside”, Zurek said.

Roots of the Political Standoff

The crisis around Poland’s Constitutional Court, several of whose members were appointed under the previous government, worsened after the current administration, led by Prime Minister Donald Tusk, moved to suspend court chief Bogdan Swieczkowski and deputy chief Bartlomiej Sochanski from their duties. Zurek had requested the removal of their immunity so they could face criminal charges for allegedly obstructing justice.

Fight Over Who Leads the Court

On Friday, the Constitutional Court’s website announced that Swieczkowski and Sochanski had been suspended from their official duties. Media reports indicated the decision came from Anna Korwin Piotrowska, who is now effectively running the court. However, the court’s official account on X claimed the website itself had been illegally seized, insisting Swieczkowski remains the rightful chief and that Korwin Piotrowska holds no such authority.