News

Second National Congress on Human Rights

PROGRAMME

Date: 14-15 December 2018 (with pre-event on 13 Dec 2018)

Venue: Museum of the History of Polish Jews POLIN in Warsaw

Adam Bodnar, Commissioner for Human Rights and his Office are this year's laureates of the Norwegian Rafto Prize awarded since 1987 to human rights defenders across the world. Professor Thorolf Rafto’s work was focused on defending human rights, in particular in the countries of Central Europe: Poland, the Czech Republic and Hungary.

For the first time UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities examined the report of the Polish government on the implementation of the  Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

Deputy Commissioner for Human Rights Sylwia Spurek in the opening statement said:

Despite his objections to the parliamentary acts on the Supreme Court, the Commissioner for Human Rights filed the first extraordinary complaint to the Supreme Court under the amended regulations. The complaint concerns a family in relation to which, over several years, courts issued two contradictory decisions with regard to succession of property.

The Supreme Court is usually invisible to citizens. On daily basis, an average citizen underestimates the Supreme Court’s important role in the development of the legislative system. Yet, let us look at the Supreme Court’s recent resolution (of 20 June 2018) concerning mortgage loans denominated in Swiss francs.

The Commissioner withdrew from the Constitutional Tribunal his motion regarding the Act of 10 June 2017 on Counter-Terrorism Measures. As the reason, he indicated the change of the formerly determined composition of the Constitutional Tribunal’s adjudicating panel and the fact that the current panel includes three persons not entitled to adjudicate in the Tribunal.

- Without independent courts, there can be no appropriate protection of civil rights and freedoms in Poland, said CHR Adam Bodnar after his meeting with Frans Timmermans.

Deputy Commissioner for Human Rights Hanna Machińska sent a letter of condolence on death od investigative journalist Ján Kuciak and his partner to the Ombudsman of Slovakia.

Ján Kuciak was an investigative journalist writing about tax frauds on Aktuality websit. He was murdered, and it may have something to do with journalist's investigative activities.

• 54 rekomendacje I Kongresu Praw Obywatelskich to lista zadań do wykonania dla Rzecznika Praw Obywatelskich i całego społeczeństwa obywatelskiego.
• Lista rekomendacji została wypracowana w ciągu miesiąca po zakończeniu Kongresu.
• Kongres zgromadził w grudniu 2017 r. ponad 1500 uczestników na 37 panelach współorganizowanych przez organizacje pozarządowe. 
• Konkretne rekomendacje Kongresu dotyczą edukacji i obywatelskiego upodmiotowienia, praw obywateli w kontaktach z wymiarem sprawiedliwości, zdrowia, pracy, domu, miejsca Polski w Europie
• Następny Kongres Praw Obywatelskich odbędzie się  7 i 8 grudnia 2018 r. W stulecie polskiej niepodległości, ale także w 70 lat od podpisania Powszechnej Deklaracji Praw Człowieka i w 25 lat po tym, jak Polska związała się postanowieniami Europejskiej Konwencji Praw Człowieka.

The Parliamentary Committee on Justice issued a negative opinion on the CHR’s draft budget for 2018. The ruling coalition MPs attacked the CHR for being focused “on pathological groups" .

Societies and states, granting themselves the right to sentence people to death, undermine the foundation of human rights: the inalienable dignity of the individual.

In the Czech city of Brno, an annual V4 meeting was held of ombudspersons from Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary. In the adopted declaration "Human Rights for Everyone", the Visegrad Group ombudspersons emphasized their common goals and values, as well as the significance of the institution of ombudsman maintaining independence of the authorities.

The situation with the Supreme Court is a bit as if here, at the Przystanek Woodstock, Jurek Owsiak tried to determine what should be happening at the festival, said Commissioner for Human Rights Adam Bodnar while speaking with judge Jarosław Gwizdak during the “Academy of Truly Fine Arts” at the 23rd edition of the Przystanek Woodstock festival held in Kostrzyń nad Odrą.

Adam Bodnar was present throughout the parliamentary sessions devoted to the work on the bills on courts. He tried to explain the objections and indicated the threats to the rights of ordinary people, caused by the reform which was proceeded hastily, without consultations, and which covered three bills: on Common Courts, on the National Council of the Judiciary and on the Supreme Court.