Poland Moves to Ban Communist Party After Court Rules Its Activities Unconstitutional

The entrance to the Constitutional Tribunal in Warsaw, Poland, on June 4, 2023. Omar Marques/Getty ImagesPoland has taken a decisive step toward banning the Communist Party of Poland (KPP) after the country’s top constitutional court issued a unanimous ruling declaring the party’s goals and activities unconstitutional due to its promotion of class hatred and invocation of totalitarian methods to seize and wield power.In its Dec. 3 decision, the Constitutional Tribunal found the KPP in violation of Article 13 of the Polish Constitution, which prohibits political parties that promote totalitarian methods or practices associated with Nazism, fascism, or communism, as well as those that advocate violence to seize power or influence state policy. The party was also deemed inconsistent with Article 11, which requires political parties to be formed freely, operate on equal terms, and influence state policy through democratic means.