Polish PM refuses president's talks as constitutional court crisis deepens

WARSAW — Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said Friday that he would not participate in talks convened by President Karol Nawrocki to resolve the country’s escalating constitutional court crisis, insisting that the dispute over the institution’s leadership had already been settled.Speaking to reporters in Dublin following a European summit, Tusk dismissed the need for further negotiations over the Constitutional Tribunal, whose leadership has been contested since a confrontation 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 recognize the new leadership arrangements.”I am not waiting for the approval of those who for years were destroying the justice system in Poland,” he added.Tusk maintained that the court had resumed its work and was moving toward restoring its proper functioning.His refusal highlights the deepening confrontation between his pro-European governing coalition and Nawrocki, an ally of the opposition Law and Justice (PiS) party, over the legitimacy and leadership 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 in an effort to address the dispute.However, the Left (Lewica), a junior partner in the governing coalition, announced that it would not attend. Tusk’s Civic Coalition also declined the invitation.Representatives of the Polish People’s Party (PSL), Poland 2050, PiS and the right-wing Confederation indicated their willingness to participate.The confrontation intensified on Oct. 30 when police were deployed to the Constitutional Tribunal after a judge reported receiving threats and disputed decisions emerged suspending Tribunal President Bogdan Swieczkowski and Vice-President Bartlomiej Sochanski.Anna Korwin-Piotrowska, a judge associated with the court’s new majority, subsequently assumed control of the institution.Swieczkowski and Sochanski rejected the suspension decisions, maintaining that they remained the court’s lawful leaders.Swieczkowski attempted to return to the Tribunal’s headquarters Thursday but was denied entry. He has also reportedly sought to restrict access to the institution’s bank accounts by individuals he considers unauthorized.The leadership dispute is part of a broader political and institutional confrontation between the government and the president over judicial appointments, executive authority and efforts to reform institutions shaped during PiS’s eight years in power.