Poland’s constitutional court standoff deepens after crisis talks produce no breakthrough

Poland’s dispute over its Constitutional Tribunal escalated over the weekend after the court’s president, Bogdan Święczkowski, was suspended and police were deployed during protests in Warsaw. Police said three people were detained after demonstrators tried to push through a security barrier, the Associated Press reported. President Karol Nawrocki returned early from a trip abroad and called party leaders to crisis talks on Saturday. Representatives of several opposition and governing-coalition parties attended, but Prime Minister Donald Tusk’s Civic Coalition stayed away. No breakthrough had been reported by Saturday afternoon, according to AFP. The conflict is part of a wider dispute over judicial independence and the court’s legitimacy. Tusk’s government says it is trying to restore the rule of law and enable judges elected by parliament to take their seats; Nawrocki and opposition figures say the suspension is an unlawful attack on the constitutional order. Those are competing political and legal claims, and the dispute remains unresolved. The European Commission has urged the president to approve the new judges nominated by parliament, AFP reported. The immediate question is whether political leaders can agree on a lawful path for the tribunal to function without further confrontation. The next legal and institutional steps have not yet settled the competing claims. [AFP’s report](https://www.afp.com/en/polish-president-holds-crisis-talks-court-standoff) and [Associated Press coverage](https://abcnews.com/International/wireStory/police-detain-3-protesters-overnight-rally-polish-president-137731099) describe the talks, protest and opposing positions.