Police had grounds to secure the Constitutional Tribunal building and its surroundings in Warsaw on Friday if they had received a report of possible danger to judges and dangerous objects were being thrown. But an intervention alone cannot substitute for a public account of the risk. At an institution whose authority is already fiercely contested, security requires both effectiveness and transparency.
Warsaw police said on 30 October that they were carrying out “security operations” outside the Tribunal. TVN24 reported that the intervention followed a report by Judge Anna Korwin-Piotrowska and an escalation of aggression among people at a gathering, who were said to have thrown dangerous objects. Polsat News reported, citing a police statement, that officers were also conducting statutory activities inside the Tribunal building. Poland’s national police said the judge’s letter raised the possibility of a threat to judges’ life and health.
Those are serious reasons for preventive action. The state should not wait for an attack before protecting people in public office, and the right to assemble does not extend to violence or conduct that endangers others. The strongest answer to criticism of the intervention is therefore straightforward: when police receive credible warning signs and observe dangerous conduct, inaction would be difficult to justify.
At the same time, the information available so far consists of police communications and a judge’s report, not findings from a completed investigation. It is not publicly known what objects were thrown, whether anyone was injured, whether anyone was detained, or whether specific threats were verified. The operation must therefore not be presented as proof that a confirmed plan to attack judges already existed.
That distinction is the real test. Once the immediate operation ends, police should explain its legal basis and scope as specifically as safety permits. The next facts to watch are any findings on suspected perpetrators, injuries or detentions, and whether investigators confirm or rule out direct threats to judges.
Sources
- TVN24 · Source date: 2026-10-30
- Polsat News · Source date: 2026-10-30
Independent editorial content. WUA is not affiliated with any political party. 2026-10-30