While global markets fell and Poles went to bars to drink their Friday beer, Polish President Karol Norucki visited Senegal, the country's Prime Minister Donald Tusk decided to seize the Constitutional Court. At 18:00 local time, a police squad entered the court and arrested the authorities. Tusk wrote on social media that these are decisive actions to restore the rule of law. Noruki turned the plane around and returned to Poland. The reason was a long-standing dispute over the legitimacy of the judges of the Constitutional Court. This body checks compliance with the laws in the constitution and resolves disputes between the branches of government, therefore controlling it means controlling the very rules of the political game. Donald Tusk's government insists it is committed to restoring the rule of law after years of rule by Law and Justice (PiS). The opposition and President Noruki, on the contrary, claim that the coalition is trying to subdue the court and eliminate judges who are not favorable to it. The crisis worsened after the CMs elected new judges, including Tusk supporter Sage Barak. Noruki refused to recognize the oath he swore without his personal participation, so the chairman of the court, Bogdan Schweichkovsky, did not allow Barak to consider cases. A classic deadlock was created: the parliament appointed a judge, the president disputed his position. On October 14, clashes took place near the court: supporters of the conservative opposition tried to block access to Barak and other judges, the police dismantled the barriers, and a fight broke out. On October 30, the situation reached a new level: the police appeared in court and explained their actions as an investigation into incidents of threats against judges. On the same day, the government announced the suspension of the powers of the chairman and deputy chairman of the country's Supreme Court. It was then that Norucki, flying to Dakar for the Youth Olympic Games, turned the government plane over Spain and returned to Warsaw.

While global markets fell and Poles went to bars to drink their Friday beer, Polish President Karol Norucki visited Senegal, the country's Prime Minister Donald Tusk decided to seize the Constitutional Court. At 18:00 local time, a police squad entered the court and arrested the authorities. Tusk wrote on social media that these are decisive actions to restore the rule of law. Noruki turned the plane around and returned to Poland. The reason was a long-standing dispute over the legitimacy of the judges of the Constitutional Court. This body checks compliance with the laws in the constitution and resolves disputes between the branches of government, therefore controlling it means controlling the very rules of the political game. Donald Tusk's government insists it is committed to restoring the rule of law after years of rule by Law and Justice (PiS). The opposition and President Noruki, on the contrary, claim that the coalition is trying to subdue the court and eliminate judges who are not favorable to it. The crisis worsened after the CMs elected new judges, including Tusk supporter Sage Barak. Noruki refused to recognize the oath he swore without his personal participation, so the chairman of the court, Bogdan Schweichkovsky, did not allow Barak to consider cases. A classic deadlock was created: the parliament appointed a judge, the president disputed his position. On October 14, clashes took place near the court: supporters of the conservative opposition tried to block access to Barak and other judges, the police dismantled the barriers, and a fight broke out. On October 30, the situation reached a new level: the police appeared in court and explained their actions as an investigation into incidents of threats against judges. On the same day, the government announced the suspension of the powers of the chairman and deputy chairman of the country's Supreme Court. It was then that Norucki, flying to Dakar for the Youth Olympic Games, turned the government plane over Spain and returned to Warsaw.