THE COMMISSIONER ON CITIZENS’ ISSUES
The government remains uninterested in taking part in the works of the UN Working Group to draft the Convention on the Rights of Older Persons, as can be concluded from the replies provided to the CHR by two ministries. (more)
The police in Szczecin considered that putting T-shirts with the word “KonsTYtucJA” on the monument of Lech Kaczyński was not an offence. A different approach was taken by the police from Biała Podlaska, who considered it a reason for putting charges, as can be concluded from the replies sent to the CHR by the police from the two cities. (more)
The system of emergency access to drug technologies does not work as planned. The victims of this fact are patients who fight for their lives, including children whose rights to such treatment are limited. The Commissioner has requested the Minister of Health to change the regulations. (more)
If the municipality residents feel threatened by an existing illegal landfill, they are still unable to remove such a threat as local governments cannot afford the closure of a landfill by themselves, when the owner does not want to do it. The CHR has appealed to the National Fund for Environmental Protection and Water Management to take steps. (more)
Persons who appeal to a court against a social insurance institution’s decision regarding their disability pension are in a lost position if the ZUS Social Insurance Institution, or the pensions department of the Ministry of the Interior and Administration or the Ministry of National Defence fails to forward their appeal to the court within 30 days. The Commissioner has appealed for a solution ensuring that citizens can effectively react to the delays. (more)
The Commissioner calls for urgent amendment of the Act on housing cooperatives of 2017. It has led to the closure of rural housing cooperatives (entities managing residential buildings) that existed in villages where farming cooperatives used to operate in the past, under the communist system. (more)
The Prison Service may not handcuff persons who are mentally ill in psychiatric wards in prisons. This may worsen the condition of the patient. The Commissioner appealed for the cessation of such procedure. (more)
The Commissioner is checking whether the public media follow the principles of pluralism, impartiality and independence in presenting local election campaigns. He has inquired whether the National Broadcasting Council has received any complaints and whether it intends to monitor the campaigns in the public media. (more)
LEGISLATION
The state will not refund to a citizen an excessive amount of tax paid by him, although the Minister of Finance’s regulation interpretation has been changed to the benefit of the citizen. The Supreme Administrative Court dismissed the related cassation appeals submitted by the Commissioner. It concluded that the overpaid amount is not subject to refund, despite the change in the interpretation, as the deadline for claiming the refund has expired. (more)
Ms Elżbieta has been refused a council flat because she is the owner of a house where her ex-husband, who used to abuse her, lives, and she also owns two farmland plots. The authorities of the Praga district of Warsaw concluded that she may either live with her ex-husband or sell the land to buy a flat for herself. Her complaint to the Provincial Administrative Court was supported by the CHR. (more)
THE CHRONICLE
At the CHR Office, a workshop on human rights was held for winners of the competition for the best short movie about the Constitution. The competition was organized within this year’s edition of the Pol'and'Rock Festival. (more)