Donald Tusk says dispute over top court has been settled even as President Karol Nawrocki seeks cross-party consultations on Monday
Jo Harper
14 November 2026•Update: 14 November 2026
WARSAW
- ‘Matter of the Constitutional Tribunal has been settled,’ says premier
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said late Friday that he would not attend talks called by President Karol Nawrocki to resolve the country’s escalating constitutional court crisis, insisting that the dispute over control of the institution has already been settled.
Speaking to reporters in Dublin after a European summit, Tusk dismissed the need for further negotiations over the Constitutional Tribunal, whose leadership has been contested since an intervention at its Warsaw headquarters two weeks ago.
“The matter of the Constitutional Tribunal has been settled,” Tusk said, acknowledging that Nawrocki and opposition parties did not accept the new arrangements. “I am not waiting for the approval of those who for years were destroying the justice system in Poland,” he added.
Tusk said the court had resumed work and is on the path towards restoring its proper functioning.
The refusal underscores the deepening confrontation between Tusk’s pro-European governing coalition and Nawrocki, an ally of the opposition Law and Justice (PiS) party, over the legitimacy of Poland’s highest constitutional court.
Nawrocki’s office announced Thursday that representatives of all parliamentary political groups had been invited to consultations at Warsaw’s Belweder Palace on Monday.
The Left (Lewica), a smaller coalition partner, announced that it would not participate, while Civic Coalition, Tusk’s principal governing party, said the same. Representatives of the People’s Party (PSL), Poland 2050, PiS, and the right-wing Confederation have indicated their willingness to attend.
The confrontation escalated on Oct. 30 when police were deployed to the Constitutional Tribunal after a judge reported threats and disputed decisions emerged suspending Tribunal President Bogdan Swieczkowski and Vice-President Bartlomiej Sochanski.
Anna Korwin-Piotrowska, a judge associated with the new majority on the court, subsequently assumed control of the institution.
Swieczkowski and Sochanski rejected their suspension and maintain that they remain the court’s lawful leaders.
Swieczkowski attempted to return to the Tribunal’s headquarters on Thursday but was denied entry. He has also reportedly sought to restrict access to its bank accounts by individuals he considers unauthorized.
Its leadership dispute forms part of a broader confrontation between the government and president over judicial appointments, executive powers and efforts to reform institutions shaped during PiS’s eight years in government.
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