Newsletter 23-30 January 2018
MAIN MATTERS
The action aimed at helping citizens whose mortgage loans are denominated in Swiss francs has been more effective than expected, said Adam Bodnar
Over the last year, experts of the CHR and the Financial Ombudsman held 17 information meetings in 14 cities. In the meetings, citizens whose mortgage loans are denominated in Swiss francs were provided with information about the legal solutions: in the first place, the right to file a complaint with the bank, as this is a pre-condition of achieving free-of-charge assistance from the Financial Ombudsman. After a year, the number of people using this right has clearly increased, which may lead to improving their situation [more].
The CHR’s regional meetings in the Świętokrzyskie and Podkarpackie voivodeships
On 22-26 January, Commissioner Adam Bodnar met with residents of Skarżysko-Kamienna, Starachowice, Ostrowiec Świętokrzyski, Sandomierz, Stalowa Wola, Tarnobrzeg and Kielce.
The Commissioner also visited Zakład Aktywności Zawodowej [craft products manufacturing plant that employs disabled persons] in Stykowo and Kałkowo [more], and Świętokrzyski Bank Żywności [food bank] in Ostrowiec Świętokrzyski [more]. He met with the Local Activity Group „Krzemienny Krąg” in Bałtów [more]. He spoke with Saint Brother Albert children’s home in Stalowa Wola [more]. He also met with artists from the theatre group Teatr Zbożowy Fundacji Studio TM in Kielce [more] and with youth from the Szklany Dom education centre in Ciekoty [more].
After the media report about nationalist movements in Poland, Adam Bodnar presented eight recommendations for politicians, that may be helpful in fighting extremist attitudes [more]. Already in July 2017, the Commissioner submitted a cassation appeal against the leader of the association Duma i Nowoczesność [more]. The CHR spoke about hatred-motivated crime also in the TV programme „Fakty po faktach” [more].
THE COMMISSIONER ON CITIZENS’ ISSUES
The Voivodeship Administrative Court in Gdańsk issued a judgment in the case of female officers of the Customs Service, whose employing institution was closed down and who were not offered jobs in the National Tax Administration
The Court decided that despite the lack of specific regulations, the National Tax Administration should have issued a decision terminating the employment relationships of the officers in question. Such a decision i.e. the termination of their employment contracts would make it possible for the officers to take the case to court [more].
The CHR on the rules of applying for the position of a senior assistant judge [more].
LEGISLATION
The CHR’s opinion on the draft Act on Transparency of Public Life
In the opinion of the Commissioner, the draft act fails to meet the adopted objective. In its present form, the act will not strengthen the transparency of public authorities but, instead, will contribute to the verification of financial status of certain citizens. Moreover, given the number and scope of legislative deficiencies in the document it should not be further considered in its present form. The CHR wrote to Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki with regard to the draft act [more].
The Act on the State Security Service should be amended still before its entry into force, within the scope of the provisions concerning the personal search procedure [more].
The Commissioner wrote to the Prosecutor's Office with regard to dissemination of racial segregation ideas by the ONR organisation. The CHR’s concern was caused by the references to restoring the primacy of the white race and to the theory of supremacy of the white race, included in the website of the Mazowsze branch of ONR [more].
The Ministry of Justice has replied to the CHR’s intervention regarding the protection of debtor spouse’s money in the case of debt enforcement concerning money kept in a jointly owned account. The ministry announced that the time limits will be extended so as to better protect the assets of persons who are not indebted [more].
THE CHRONICLE
The 13th debate of the National Mechanism for the Prevention of Torture was held in Łódź [more].
Pupils from Czosnów have visited the CHR Office [more].
Important!
New function of the rpo.gov.pl portal
From now on, it is easier to share the content of the rpo.gov.pl website. When you click on a box over a given text, you can place a link to it on your social media page.
The website rpo.gov.pl also contains a calendar of the upcoming meetings with the Commissioner for Human Rights and of events held under his patronage.
Information about the Commissioner’s work on cases relating to citizens’ issues is available under the “What we do” tab. An interactive map indicates cases in which the Commissioner has intervened.