MOSCOW, November 1. /TASS/. Poland’s Constitutional Tribunal may resume its work within several weeks, Justice Minister Waldemar Zurek said.

"It's only a matter of a few weeks before we have our first court hearings and the first cases are heard on the merits," he told the TVP Info television channel. According to the minister, priority will be given to claims from citizens that have been neglected for years.

A political crisis erupted in Poland following Prime Minister Donald Tusk’s decision to appoint Marcin Bereka, a former minister in his government, as a judge of the Constitutional Tribunal. Protests have been held regularly outside the court building in recent weeks. On October 30, Zurek filed a motion to suspend Bogdan Swieczkowski, acting president of the Constitutional Court, from his duties and to strip him of his immunity. Additional police forces were deployed to guard the court building. Overnight to October 31, protesters gathered outside the courthouse and attempted to break through the fence. Four people were detained.

Due to the escalating crisis, President Karol Nawrocki cut short his trip to Senegal and returned to Warsaw. A number of opposition politicians described the situation as an attempted coup.

This crisis is a continuation of a long-standing conflict over the Constitutional Tribunal that began back in 2015. Back then, the Law and Justice Party (which Nawrocki is a supporter of) began appointing its own judges to positions that were already filled, paralyzing the court and triggering a years-long dispute with Brussels. After coming to power in 2023, the Tusk government promised to restore the supremacy of law, but its efforts were met with resistance from Nawrocki. He refused to swear in several judges elected by parliament. At the same time, Swieczkowski barred these judges from taking up their posts.