The protests were sparked by the passing of the bill commonly referred to as "Lex Tusk", which critics argued would disrupt the constitutional separation of powers by giving the ruling party of PiS excessive judicial oversight.

The Polish opposition in the national Parliament, as well as numerous foreign commentators, considered the law's approval an extension of the perceived constitutional crisis under the presidency of Andrzej Duda and the government headed by Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki.

[25][30] On 2 June 2023, Duda announced that he sent an urgent amendment containing several proposed revisions of the bill to the Polish Parliament, encouraging lawmakers to "act swiftly" and stating that he was reacting to the public outrage surrounding the law's initial passage.

[27][31] According to the Polish president, the proposed amendments would ensure that the law was subject to non-partisan review, that no parliamentary members would be allowed to be part of the commission, and that none of the politicians who would face charges as a result of the investigation could be banned from public office.

[32] Despite having maintained a more cautious approach in the weeks preceding the event,[20] many other opposition groupings, with the exception of far-right party Confederation,[32] eventually sent their respective representatives to Warsaw,[19][20][32] in response to the approval of the "Lex Tusk".