Newsletter 15-20 February 2018
MAIN MATTERS
The Commissioner is cautious about the adoption of the Act on transparency of public life
In his article published in the TVN channel’s online magazine, Adam Bodnar warned against the effects that may be brought by the system of public disclosure of personal property status by all public administration officials, that has been proposed by the government. After the article’s publication the authorities announced their withdrawal from certain solutions contained in the bill on transparency. According to recent announcements, only persons holding top-level positions in public administration will be required to publish their statements of assets online. The remaining employees will also be required to submit such statements but they will not be made public [article by Adam Bodnar].
The Commissioner calls on the Prime Minister and the Minister of Justice to stop racism and xenophobia increase in Poland
Increasingly frequently, discrimination-related attacks that are recorded in Poland are not limited to the use of insulting words in relation to foreigners or people communicating in other languages, but also lead to physical aggression, in extreme cases even targeted against children. In the Commissioner’s opinion, a new comprehensive strategy against racism and xenophobia should be developed in Poland [more].
THE COMMISSIONER ON CITIZENS’ ISSUES
Persons with disabilities do not have the possibility to enjoy all of their human rights to the full extent and on equal terms in Poland, stated the Commissioner for Human Rights in his report forwarded to the UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. According to the CHR, systemic changes are necessary [more].
The Commissioner for Human Rights, acting ex-officio, is looking into the case of detention of Władysław Frasyniuk, an anti-Communist opposition activist in 1980s, who was detained on 14 February. While being escorted to a hearing at the prosecutor’s office, he was handcuffed. The charges on him concern his actions during the protest against the Smolensk disaster monthly commemoration event [more].
The court took the side of parents who themselves transport their children with disabilities to school
Local governments should refund to parents not only the costs of transporting their children with disabilities to and from school, but also the parent’s trip back from school and the trip to school in order to collect the child. The judgment has been issued by the District Court in Kraków in a proceeding carried out as a result of a lawsuit brought by a disabled child’s mother who was supported by the Commissioner in the trial [more].
The Commissioner for Human Rights raises doubts as to the procedure of awarding subsidies for environmentally-friendly household heating systems [more].
The CHR Office still receives complaints from citizens whose right to tax deduction is questioned. The Commissioner has submitted another letter of intervention to the Minister of Finance with regard to the matter [more].
The Ministry of National Education has replied to the CHR’s letter concerning negative effects of the education system reform [more].
LEGISLATION
A citizen on whom a penalty was imposed for riding a bicycle while being drunk may not be prohibited by a court to drive all vehicles, including motor vehicles, adjudicated the Supreme Court, taking into account the cassation appeal lodged in the case of such a citizen by the Commissioner for Human Rights [more].
A conference held at the Constitutional Tribunal on 2February could be attended only by journalists from state-owned television and radio stations. Before, the Chancellery of the Prime Minister who also took part in the conference sent invitations to all media. The CHR requested the spokesperson of the Constitutional Tribunal to provide explanations [more].
The possibility to block access to gambling websites, provided for in the amendment to the Gambling Act, is a solution that is too far-reaching, warned the CHR again. The Commissioner informed the Minister of Finance about his doubts [more].
THE CHRONICLE
The CHR’s congratulations on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the Catholic social and cultural magazine entitled Więź [more].
Danish students visited the CHR Office [more].