Commissioner for Human Rights

On 11 September 2025, the Office of the Commissioner for Human Rights hosted a delegation of judges, officials and MPs from Kosovo, Montenegro and Ukraine visiting Poland as part of the Council of Europe's partnership exchange programme.

During the meeting, the Commissioner for Human Rights was represented by: Anna Białek, Director of the Constitutional, International and European Law Team, Cezary Węgliński, acting Head of the Fundamental Personal and Political Rights Department, and Kacper Nowina-Konopka, a lawyer specialising in freedom of expression issues.

The purpose of the visit was to exchange experiences in combating abusive actions targeting social activism, including broadly understood strategic lawsuits against public participation (SLAPP).

Representatives of the CHR outlined the scope of the Commissioner's powers and means of action to the participants of the meeting, and presented the most important issues in the field of freedom of expression and media freedom that are the subject of the Commissioner's activities. During the meeting, the Commissioner’s interventions in individual cases aimed at supporting journalists and activists threatened by actions targeting their participation in public debate were highlighted, as were general statements aimed at protecting media freedom and media pluralism in Poland. The problems of ensuring the proper performance of the public mission by public radio and television entities were also discussed.

During the discussion, the opportunities offered by the implementation of the Council of Europe's recommendations, including the Committee of Ministers' recommendation on SLAPP, and the implementation of European Union legislation such as Directive 2024/1069 (the so-called anti-SLAPP directive) and the European Media Freedom Act, were highlighted.

https://bip.brpo.gov.pl/pl/content/brpo-spotkanie-delegacje-kosowo-czarnogora-ukraina-slapp