Polish PM vows return to ‘rule of law’ following protests at court

Polish prime minister Donald Tusk has been attempting to overhaul a judicial appointment system criticised by European courts. (EPA Images pic) WARSAW: Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk vowed Wednesday to reassert the "rule of law" in a chaotic dispute over the independence of judges that sparked scuffles between right-wing protesters and police outside the country's top court.

The pro-European leader promised decisive action as a years-long crisis over the appointment of judges came to a head with Poland's conservative president rejecting one of the latest nominees.

A brief scuffle broke out when police began dismantling barriers erected by protesters trying to stop judges from entering the Constitutional Tribunal in Warsaw, media reported.

Efforts to swear in new judges, amid attempts by Tusk's government to overhaul a judicial appointment system criticised by Polish and European courts, have driven fierce resistance from the right wing in a dispute that has disrupted the court.

"The Polish state has been functioning for far too long without a properly elected Constitutional Tribunal," Tusk said in a video statement on X.

"We will be restoring legal and constitutional order using the methods available to the state," he added.

He vowed that "Warsaw local authorities, the police, all the services (and) the prosecutor's office" would act "to make the rule of law once again... Polish everyday reality".

'Decisive response' promised

Demonstrators have repeatedly rallied outside the court to protest Tusk's judicial reform and defend the previous overhaul of the court by the conservative former ruling party PiS.

The protesters on Wednesday included several PiS lawmakers as well as members of the conservative Gazeta Polska Clubs association.

Participants waved Polish flags and sang patriotic songs at the rally, in which police removed several protesters.

Justice minister Waldemar Zurek later wrote on X that the "attempt to paralyse the work of the Constitutional Tribunal ... will be met with a decisive response".

He added that "a criminal assessment of these unlawful actions" had been initiated.

'Unlawful'

In 2015, the PiS appointed openly political judges to the tribunal. The parliament ignored appointments made under the previous administration, illegally naming three judges in their place.

The European Court of Human Rights in 2021 condemned the move, ruling the bench "unlawful".

After returning to power following the 2023 election, Tusk's government pledged to resolve the crisis and ensure only neutral judges were appointed by parliament.

However, conservative-nationalist President Karol Nawrocki has declined to confirm its nominations to the court.

The Venice Commission, an advisory body of the Council of Europe, said on Tuesday that the president should swear in the new judges "without delay".

On Wednesday morning, judge Maciej Berek, who was elected to the tribunal in early September, took an oath in parliament in the presence of several government officials.

Nawrocki was not present at the ceremony and has not invited Berek to formally take the oath of office.

"If he failed to carry out that formality... then he is most definitely not a judge of the Constitutional Tribunal," Nawrocki told a press conference on Wednesday, sparking criticism from members of Tusk's government.

Addressing protesters outside the court, Bogdan Swieczkowski, the tribunal's PiS-linked president, insisted that Berek would not be allowed to sit on cases before "receiving a response from the president".

The prime minister insisted however that "newly elected judges will be able to count on protection from the state and will soon be able to begin regular work at the Constitutional Tribunal."