Students shouted vulgar slogans outside Poland's top court: inspection launched

Pupils in uniform, a school trip to Warsaw and a protest outside Poland's Constitutional Tribunal (the country's top constitutional court). The mix has ended in an official inspection.

What happened?

The story was first reported by the portal Oko.press. Its journalists found that students from a private school, the Centrum Szkół Mundurowych high school in Zamość, took part in Friday's demonstration outside the Tribunal.

According to the report, they wore uniforms and were accompanied by teachers. They chanted vulgar slogans aimed at Prime Minister Donald Tusk and the TV station TVN. The students had reportedly come to Warsaw for a visit to the Sejm (Poland's lower house of parliament).

What are the authorities doing?

Education Minister Barbara Nowacka wrote on X on Monday that an urgent inspection was under way. The ministry said the regional education authority in Lublin was carrying out inspection activities and would publish the results.

The authority's spokesman, Artur Pawłowski, told the Polish Press Agency that the inspection had begun and would continue on Tuesday. He gave no details and said officials did not want to prejudge the case. Results are expected next week at the earliest.

What does the school say?

Agnieszka Macek, who founded the school and represents its governing body, wrote on Facebook that the children had faced a wave of online hate. She asked people to rein in their emotions and said they were young people who have the right to make mistakes.

Other outlets later reported that Macek stepped down from her role and said she had led the students to the protest herself.

Why was the Tribunal a flashpoint?

The dispute around the Tribunal escalated on 30 October. Judge Anna Korwin-Piotrowska became its acting head as the longest-serving judge and ordered a break in the duties of president Bogdan Święczkowski and his deputy. Święczkowski said he alone administers the building. Protests have been held there since.