Since Friday evening, a coup d’état has been under way in Poland. The gate of Poland’s Constitutional Tribunal has been chained shut, units of masked police officers have taken up positions around it, and people who have never taken the oath of office before the President entered the building from the side of the Chancellery of the Prime Minister – with the consent of its head, Jan Grabiec. A usurper announced that she would direct the work of the Tribunal and “suspended” its lawful President, who could not pass through the Tribunal’s gate, as he was being unlawfully held back by police cordons. On Saturday, I addressed the Poles gathered in front of that gate and saw with my own eyes the police units in white helmets and with shields.

In recent days, our lawyers have shown that they are reaching opinion leaders around the world with reliable information about the coup. We all changed our plans for All Saints’ Day. We sent hundreds of letters to think tanks and friendly politicians, and we gave interviews to media from the United States, Canada, Norway, Switzerland, Belgium, France, Hungary, the Czech Republic… But that is not all. Our attorneys are once again defending detained patriots. Through a series of rapid interventions, they have proven that they can effectively protect protesters detained by the police outside the Tribunal.

Trained protesters knew what to do

Last weekend, Andrzej, Dariusz and Piotr entered the grounds of the Tribunal with a white-and-red flag, stood still and sang the national anthem. They were detained on charges of “trespass.” We know how a detention ends when people are unprepared. We all remember the case of Piotr W. – handcuffs, refusal of access to a lawyer, custody… This time, too, one of the three protesters ended up in the hospital after being detained. Three of our attorneys shuttled between the police station and the hospital until late at night so that none of the detainees would be left without a defense lawyer. I would rather not think how this would have ended without them.

Fortunately, a few days earlier we had organized legal training for those protesting outside the Tribunal. The detainees knew that they were to demand contact with an Ordo Iuris attorney. That is what they did. This helped immensely in mounting an effective and swift defense. As a result, the three brave patriots who sang the national anthem on the Tribunal’s grounds have already returned home. All three were the first victims of the unlawful assault on the Tribunal. The offense of “trespass” is prosecuted at the request of the lawful host of the premises. The host of the Tribunal is not the self-proclaimed usurpers, but its President, Bogdan Święczkowski, who publicly invited the protesters. We will prove this in court, providing free legal assistance to each of the detainees.

The assault on the Tribunal continues, but those in power are already preparing further blows against our democracy and the law. Thanks to the support of the Friends and Donors of Ordo Iuris, we can protect the protesters and also ensure that the evidence of the coup is collected and brings those responsible to the dock. At the same time, our team of analysts has been continuously reporting on the events of recent days – not only in Polish but also in English – in order to bring the truth about what is happening in Poland to the foreign media whose opinion matters so much to Donald Tusk.

The culmination of this work was the signing, outside the Tribunal, of a joint statement by legal and civic organizations containing specific demands addressed to the government and to the usurpers in judicial robes. Since Saturday, the coalition of non-governmental organizations has grown by several dozen entities, and further signatories can still join by signing the statement on the website obronic-trybunal-ngo.pl. Our experts have already begun collecting the data needed to draw up ready-to-file motions to the State Tribunal – the Polish body that tries top state officials for constitutional violations – concerning all those responsible for the assault on the Tribunal.

The full mobilization of dozens of lawyers, of our communications team and of the experts essential to our effectiveness is possible only thanks to the generosity of the Friends and Donors of Ordo Iuris.

As a result, the great movement in defense of the law and the Constitution has an effective support base that guarantees security and makes it possible to give this social movement concrete proposals and demands.

The Supreme Court is next

Roman Giertych – a member of the Sejm, Poland’s lower house of parliament, from the ruling coalition – wrote on Saturday, October 31, at 8:31 p.m.:

“The violence and impotent ineptitude displayed by Karol Nawrocki have discredited him. From the myth of a great tough guy, he has become a #DamskiBokser [#WomanBeater]. Now it’s time for the Supreme Court.”

The First President of Poland’s Supreme Court, Zbigniew Kapiński, assessed this unequivocally and, in an interview with Radio Zet on Monday, stated that the current authorities are planning “another forcible takeover, this time of the Supreme Court.” The judge added that such a situation had not occurred in Poland since the imposition of martial law under communist rule in the early 1980s. He asked with emotion: “Is this supposed to be a truncheon tribunal? A police tribunal? A martial-law tribunal?”

Judge Kapiński is not a politician. During the night from Friday to Saturday, he entered the Tribunal building together with President Nawrocki and saw for himself who is “directing” the constitutional court today, and on what terms. His clear position carries great weight for many Poles and for foreign observers.

Why do they want the Tribunal and the Supreme Court?

To understand what may lie ahead, it is enough to point to a few provisions of the Polish Constitution. Under Art. 131, it is the Constitutional Tribunal, at the request of the Speaker of the Sejm, that decides whether there is an obstacle preventing the President of the Republic from holding office. If the Tribunal finds that the President cannot exercise his office, his duties are taken over by the Speaker. Today, that is Włodzimierz Czarzasty – the same man who organized the substitute “swearing-in” in the Sejm for the persons who seized the Tribunal on Friday. And from Speaker Czarzasty taking over the duties of the President, it is only one step to the actual suspension of democracy in Poland.

Under Arts. 228–230 of the Constitution, the President introduces martial law or a state of emergency at the request of the Council of Ministers. No elections are held while these states are in force or for 90 days after they end. In turn, Art. 188 of the Constitution provides that the Tribunal rules on the conformity of the aims and activities of political parties with the Constitution. A government-controlled “Tribunal” could ban an opposition party. Meanwhile, Arts. 101 and 129 entrust the Supreme Court with ruling on the validity of elections to the Sejm and the Senate and on the validity of the election of the President. Whoever controls the Tribunal and the Supreme Court decides whether the President may hold office, which parties may operate and whether next year’s parliamentary elections will take place – and, if so, whether they will be valid. That is what is at stake in this coup.

Legal authorities speak with one voice

A coup d’état? Such a strong statement is no longer merely the assessment of Ordo Iuris lawyers. Within a few days, many independent experts have taken a firm stand – including people whose opinions Donald Tusk’s government has itself relied on:

We took this last voice very seriously and decided to prepare a short legal guide for police officers. The Police Act requires officers to refuse to carry out an order if carrying it out would involve committing a crime. Every officer who refuses to take part in lawlessness will receive free assistance from Ordo Iuris attorneys.

The world already knows what is happening in Poland

Donald Tusk cares more about the opinion of the foreign media than about the opinion of Poles. That is why, since Friday night, we have been documenting violations of the law and reporting on them in English as well. On Friday, between 10 p.m. and 1 a.m., I personally held a dozen or so conversations and sent dozens of messages to partners at European and American think tanks. Our posts achieved a record reach and got through to hundreds of opinion leaders. They were shared by officials of Donald Trump’s administration. Nigel Farage, Liz Truss, Viktor Orbán, Jordan Bardella, Marine Le Pen, Geert Wilders and politicians from Spain’s VOX party wrote about the coup d’état in Poland.

On Saturday and Sunday, the presence of our experts at a conference in Paris made it possible to explain the legal intricacies to the assembled speakers as events unfolded. Some of the speeches were devoted to discussing the situation in Poland. These days, I am in Oslo, discussing Poland with American politicians. I am in contact with George Simion, leader of Romania’s patriotic opposition, and with Balázs Orbán. Our analysis, showing step by step why the seizure of the Tribunal meets the elements of the offense under Art. 128 of the Criminal Code, is already reaching foreign legal organizations and media, together with a request for statements addressed to the Venice Commission, the Council of Europe, the OSCE and the UN Special Rapporteur. The government counted on the world believing in the “restoration of the rule of law.” It miscalculated.

The protest has a program

A protest without a program loses its momentum. That is why, on Saturday evening in front of the Tribunal, I signed a joint statement by eleven legal and civic organizations. Alongside the Ordo Iuris Institute, the signatories included the Lawyers for Poland Association, the Association of Judges “Sędziowie RP” (Judges of the Republic of Poland), the Independent Association of Prosecutors “Ad Vocem,” the association Veritas et Ius – In the Service of the Nation, the association “ORLA ROTA – Independent in the Service of Poland,” the Warsaw Seminar on the Axiology of Administration, the Confederation of Non-Governmental Initiatives of the Republic of Poland, the Polish Center for the Protection of Christians’ Rights, the Gazeta Polska Clubs and the Border Defense Movement.

We formulated six very specific demands:

  • First, the immediate withdrawal of the police and unauthorized persons from the Tribunal building.
  • Second, the disclosure of the orders and of those who issued them – including within the government.
  • Third, the initiation of criminal proceedings and the securing of evidence – including surveillance recordings.
  • Fourth, the cessation of actions based on the “order” of the usurper, Anna Korwin-Piotrowska.
  • Fifth, enabling the Tribunal’s authorities to secure the case files and classified information located in the building.
  • Sixth, the establishment of a Council for the Repair of the State, which will prepare changes to the constitutional system.

This last point is our answer to the question “what next?”

Since mid-October, we have been holding broad consultations on our Plan for the Repair of the State, that is, the outline of 23 laws, resolutions and decisions for the first six months of a new government. One of the Plan’s four pillars is entitled “Legal Culture: The Rule of Law” and concerns precisely restoring the credibility of the law and of state institutions.

What can we do today?

There are two main ways of getting personally involved in the defense of Poland. The first is to take part in person in the peaceful protest outside the Tribunal. We are encouraging Poles to come to Warsaw in person. Our lawyers are on site, and anyone detained for defending the Tribunal – which cannot be ruled out given the scale of lawlessness and arbitrariness on the part of the authorities – will receive free assistance from Ordo Iuris attorneys.

The second way is to support those who are already engaged in defending the law and the Constitution. I know that not everyone can come to the Tribunal. For years, we have been building the Ordo Iuris Institute precisely so that, at a moment like this, it could effectively commit all its forces to the defense of our homeland. The efficient Ordo Iuris machine is working at full steam. One can also still sign the appeal in defense of the Tribunal, available on the website obronic-trybunal.pl.

A great task lies ahead. Together, we will defend our homeland!

The last few hours have required extraordinary mobilization from our team. And this is only the beginning… An enormous amount of work lies ahead. In the coming days, we will publish a guide (and a warning of sorts) for police officers, on which our lawyers are already working. Officers must know that taking part in a coup d’état exposes them to criminal liability; that they have a duty to refuse to carry out unlawful orders; and that they can count on our help if, at this crucial moment, they show courage, patriotism and simply act in accordance with the law – for which they will face repression from the authoritarian government.

We will continuously monitor everything that happens outside the Tribunal and keep opinion leaders around the world informed. On Monday, I flew to Oslo, where I am telling the truth about what is happening in Poland, including during meetings with politicians from the United States. I have been in personal contact with, among others, former Romanian presidential candidate and opposition leader George Simion, Balázs Orbán, former political director to Hungary’s Prime Minister, and journalists from Poland, Belgium and Switzerland. Other Ordo Iuris representatives are also in contact with Polish and foreign media. We are present outside the Constitutional Tribunal.

We also have a number of other actions planned. We have prepared a legal opinion demonstrating the unlawfulness of the General Assembly of Judges of the Constitutional Tribunal convened for Tuesday. We will prepare motions to bring the perpetrators of the coup before the State Tribunal. After the attack on the Constitutional Tribunal, we must also drastically accelerate work on the Plan for the Repair of the State. Everyone is now talking publicly about the need to unite the opposition, and we have ready-made proposals for building a patriotic coalition. Now we must urgently turn these outlines into concrete legal acts.

That is why we warmly encourage you to support our work, which you can do through a one-time donation or by joining the Circle of Friends of Ordo Iuris, which brings together our permanent, regular donors.

Thank you in advance for every bit of support you give us.

Attorney Jerzy Kwaśniewski – President of Ordo Iuris

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Source of cover photo: Ordo Iuris

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