What's happening in Poland. Judge Anna Korwin-Piotrowska (a supporter of Tusk) has suspended the Chairman, Bogdan Święczkowski, and the Vice-Chairman, Bartłomiej Sochański (both supporters of Nowacki) for one month, and appointed herself as acting head (also for one month). Święczkowski, Sochański, and Nowacki have stated that this is illegal, and they have called their supporters to protest outside the Constitutional Tribunal. Nowacki has cut short his visit to Senegal and returned to Warsaw. Why did she do it? In short, because Święczkowski and Sochański were obstructing the court's work - they refused to approve the draft budget for 2027, without which the tribunal effectively ceased to function, and Nowacki refused to administer the oath to 4 out of 6 judges legally elected by the Sejm (parliament) in March of this year. Nowacki's refusal to administer the oath to the four judges (and later a fifth) created a constitutional crisis: according to the Constitution, judges are elected by the Sejm, which is perfectly legal, but in order for them to take office, the President must administer the oath. So, the judges are legally elected, but they cannot start working - that's the situation. Moreover, Nowacki's refusal looked very clumsy - he simply didn't show up for the oath-taking ceremony. And so, four judges (Marcin Dzurda, Christian Marciewicz, Anna Korwin-Piotrowska, and Maciej Taborowski + later Maciej Berec, the fifth) tried to start working, despite Nowacki's absence, arguing that they had still taken the oath in the office of the Marshal of the Sejm, and that Nowacki's absence was not their problem. And the two supporters of Nowacki in the court - Chairman Święczkowski and Vice-Chairman Sochański - did not recognize the legality of their taking office, because Nowacki was not present at the oath-taking ceremony. In short, it's a typical case of sabotage. And since March, the work of the Polish Constitutional Tribunal has been practically paralyzed. What happened today? While Nowacki was in Senegal, Korwin-Piotrowska, using Article 130 of the law on the organization of the common courts, and based on her seniority as the most experienced judge in the current composition (she has been working since 1999), announced the temporary suspension of Święczkowski and Sochański, appointing herself as acting head for one month (the law does not allow for a longer term). What happens next? Korwin-Piotrowska has called a general meeting of the judges of the Constitutional Tribunal for November 3rd. Now, everything depends on whether the other 12 judges (out of a total of 15: eight from the new composition and seven from the old, including Święczkowski and Sochański) will support Korwin-Piotrowska. If they support her, the budget for 2027 will be approved, and the court will be able to resume its full operations. If they do not support her, the court's work will remain paralyzed, and the constitutional crisis will continue. Approval of the budget for 2027 requires the support of 10 out of 15 judges. Korwin-Piotrowska definitely has the support of her colleagues to whom Nowacki refused to administer the oath (that's 5 votes). Also, Korwin-Piotrowska is likely to be supported by three more judges from the previously approved composition (a total of 8 votes in favor). Święczkowski and Sochański have at least three supporters (a total of 5 votes against). And there are two more judges whose position is currently unknown (Jakub Stelina and Rafał Wojciechowski). Their decision will determine everything. P.S. And yes, this is not a coup d'état, so read less of "RIA Novosti" and all those who copy and paste news.
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