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Statement of the Ordo Iuris Institute for Legal Culture on the Forcible Seizure of the Seat of the Constitutional Tribunal The Ordo Iuris Institute for Legal Culture expresses its gravest concern at, and firm opposition to, the forcible takeover of the seat of the Constitutional Tribunal. On 30 October 2026, police officers took control of the empty building of the Tribunal and have since been denying the Tribunal’s security staff, the Vice-President of the Tribunal and its Director entry to the premises. We recall that under Article 128 § 1 of the Polish Penal Code (Kodeks karny), anyone who, with the intent of removing a constitutional organ of the Republic of Poland by force, engages in activity directly aimed at achieving that objective is liable to a penalty of up to 20 years’ imprisonment. The Ordo Iuris Institute demands: 1. The immediate withdrawal of police officers from the seat of the Constitutional Tribunal and the restoration of full access to the building for the Tribunal’s organs and staff; 2. The disclosure of the legal basis for the actions taken and of the identity of those who ordered them, together with the political accountability of the members of the Council of Ministers concerned; 3. The immediate initiation of proceedings by the public prosecutor’s office in respect of the attack on a constitutional organ of the State (Article 128 of the Penal Code) and the abuse of powers by public officials (Article 231 of the Penal Code). We call upon all fellow Poles, at the moment of the gravest constitutional crisis in the history of the Third Republic of Poland, to stand in defence of the constitutional order and to repel the coup d’état. In this hour of trial, the eyes of citizens are turned towards the President of the Republic of Poland, who, upon receiving news from the capital, turned back his flight to Senegal and is now returning to his Homeland. It is in his hands that the Constitution places the task of guaranteeing the continuity of State authority (Article 126(1) of the Constitution) and of ensuring observance of the Constitution (Article 126(2) of the Constitution). With no great hope, the Institute calls upon the Venice Commission, the institutions of the European Union, the Council of Europe and the OSCE/ODIHR to respond urgently to the forcible assault on the constitutional court of a Member State. The very institutions which for years have declared their concern for the rule of law in Poland cannot remain silent when the executive, using armed units, seizes the seat of the constitutional court. Full Statement: ordoiuris.pl/en/press-newsde…