MAIN MATTERS
The regulations on cyclical assemblies should be removed from the Polish legislation as they seriously limit the constitutional freedom of assembly, believes the Commissioner for Human Rights. This is his opinion regarding the draft bill amending the Act on Assemblies, submitted by the PO senators. The draft bill reinstitutes the regulations that were in force until December 2016 when cyclical assemblies were introduced as ones having priority over other assemblies. (more)
THE COMMISSIONER ON CITIZENS’ ISSUES
Freedom of speech may not entail situations in which a person is requested to present his ID document in connection with his attempt to ask a question, emphasized the CHR. He is concerned about instances of police officers requesting ID documents from persons asking questions in open-access meetings with representatives of the authorities. (more)
The governor of the Mazowieckie Voivodeship violated the freedom of assembly when, in January 2018, he closed access to the area adjacent to the Israeli embassy, where a manifestation of the national communities was to be held, stated the Commissioner. According to him, the governor’s decision was issued without a legal basis. (more)
If the system of health care for the elderly does not undergo a revolutionary change, over the next decades, instead of hospitals, we will have numbers of institutions where senior persons will die. This conclusion has been drawn as a result of the discussion of the Commissioner for Human Rights’ Expert Committee on Senior Persons, which concerned the consequences of the hospital network’s establishment and its impact on the system of health care for the elderly.(more)
The Commissioner has applied to the ministry of labour for ensuring appropriate assistance for persons with disabilities in seeking jobs in the open labour market. (more)
The refusal to disclose the names of the judges who supported the candidates for the National Council of the Judiciary limits the constitutional right of access to public information, believes the CHR. He has joined the proceedings conducted before an administrative court as a result of a citizen's complaint against the refusal of the head of the Chancellery of the Sejm to provide such information. (more)
The Commissioner has requested the Prime Minister to urge the Minister of Justice to reply to the letter of intervention concerning the problems with the “register of paedophiles”. The relevant parliamentary act should be amended so as to protect children - victims of the criminals listed in the register. (more)
A physician who, in a disciplinary proceeding, has been considered not guilty has no possibility to claim a refund of the costs of his lawyer. The Commissioner has appealed to the Minister of Health for changing the applicable regulations. (more)
LEGISLATION
Two courts, of two different instances, convicted a person of driving a car while being drunk, not taking into account the already served penalty for the same type of crime. After the CHR’s cassation appeal, the Supreme Court returned the case to the court of the second instance. (more)
The principles of profiled assistance provision to unemployed persons should be regulated in a parliamentary act rather than in the minister’s ordinance because they relate to the rules and procedure of collecting information on individuals, adjudicated the Constitutional Tribunal following the CHR’s application. (more)
The zero VAT rate applies to services consisting in sea shore reinforcement works, adjudicated the Supreme Administrative Court again. Taxpayers that have been required to pay a higher rate are supported by the CHR in courts. (more)
The Commissioner is seeking the upholding of the judgment annulling the “child education allowance” granted by the municipality of Nysa with priority given among others to married couples. The CHR has applied to the Supreme Administrative Court for dismissal of the cassation complaint of Ordo Iuris. (more)
THE CHRONICLE
Exchange of experience and discussion on challenges and obstacles faced by representatives of non-governmental organizations and informal groups in their work were the subjects of the First Forum Against Discrimination, an event for organizations and groups providing support to persons who experience unequal treatment. (more)
Adam Bodnar met with students of the Upper Secondary School No. 1 in Radzyń Podlaski. As part of the 5th edition of the Constitution Week, organized by the professor Zbigniew Hołda Association, he conducted a lesson devoted to the role of the Constitution in everyday life. (more)
Poland’s expert knowledge of the experiences connected with the transformation that took part after 1989 may be a specific “export product” in itself, said Adam Bodnar at the Congress of Polish International Experts in Warsaw. (more)
A meeting with Prof. Andrzej Zoll and Prof. Marcin Matczak was held under the slogan Constitution in courts, courts in the Constitution: reflections on the current situation. (more)
The CHR supports a public campaign entitled I love. I do not drink, which seeks to make all pregnant women aware that even trace amounts of alcohol should be avoided by them. (more)