Polish court, state institutions evacuated on day of FX mortgage sitting

The buildings of Polish state institutions including the Supreme Court were evacuated due to a bomb threat on Tuesday, the institutions and media said, the day the court's Civil Chamber is due to issue guidance on Swiss franc mortgages.

The press office of the Supreme Audit Office said on Twitter that its headquarters and some offices around the country had been evacuated due to a bomb threat. Polish media reported that the National Council of the Judiciary was also evacuated.

"As a result of information obtained by e-mail that an explosive had been placed in the Supreme Court building, the First President of the Supreme Court ordered the evacuation of the building," the court said.

Postponed twice, Tuesday's Supreme Court sitting was highly anticipated as it will lay out how courts should treat key issues in FX loan cases, such as whether banks can charge interest on a loan with a clause deemed to be abusive and when banks can claim the reimbursement of money.

The court said on Twitter that security checks were to last until at least 1030 GMT.

The Supreme Court and the National Council of the Judiciary could not immediately be reached for comment. The police declined to comment.

Thousands of Polish borrowers took out mortgages in Swiss francs more than a decade ago to take advantage of low Swiss interest rates but faced higher costs when the zloty slumped. Many have decided to take the banks to court.