MAIN MATTERS
A mother who is a carer of an adult son with a disability is not entitled to a nursing benefit (which at present amounts to 1477 zł) because she already gets the so-called pre-retirement pension (854 zł). The Supreme Administrative Court dismissed the woman’s cassation appeal supported by the CHR and applied for the regulations’ interpretation in the light of the Constitution. The Court decided that it has no competence to provide such interpretation by itself. It also assessed that the applicant’s constitutional right concerning support for persons with disabilities has not been infringed because her source of income is guaranteed. (more)
THE COMMISSIONER ON CITIZENS’ ISSUES
The Commissioner has applied to the Prime Minister to guarantee to every suspect the right to effective and free contact with a lawyer at the earliest possible stage of the proceedings, as provided for under Directive 2013/48/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council. The directive should have been implemented into Polish law by November 2016 but this has not yet happened. (more)
The CHR has inquired the President of the National Health Fund about the preparations for the implementation of the Act on special measures to support persons with significant degree of disability, which act came into force in July 2018. The solutions provided for in the Act are supportive for such persons but they may still be problems with access to the benefits, believes the Commissioner. (more)
A judge with a disability should have the right to reduced scope of duties, just like other persons with disabilities, believes the CHR. The Ministry of Justice does not see such a possibility, unlike the Ministry of Family, Labour and Social Policy. (more)
The rules for child visits to parents deprived of their liberty vary, depending on whether the visited parent is in prison or in a temporary detention centre. In view of the good of children, the Commissioner has called for the unification of the rules so that there is no unjustified difference. (more)
The Commissioner has appealed to the Minister of Finance with regard to the introduction, by means of the Act on enforcement proceedings in public administration bodies, of the opt-out choice possible for the cooperating authorities. Failure by the creditor to state its position within a specific time limit would mean taking a specific position. (more)
The Code of Criminal Procedure’s chapter concerning compensation for wrongful conviction, arrest or detention fails to take into account the possibility of the so-called extraordinary complaint, stated the Commissioner and has appealed to the Minister of Justice to consider the supplementation of the relevant regulations. (more)
Anti-mobbing procedures in hospitals fail to guarantee detailed examination of cases and appropriate protection of persons against whom mobbing has taken place. The Commissioner has requested the Minister of Health to evaluate the effectiveness of the procedures now in use. (more)
The Commissioner has inquired the Civil Aviation Authority and the Office for Competition and Consumer Protection whether PLL LOT has ensured sufficient protection of the rights of passengers of the cancelled flight to Toronto. The reason for cancelling the flight was no availability of a suitable aircraft. Yet, according to media reports, a new Dreamliner airplane was placed at the venue where the LOT Polish Airlines anniversary gala was held. (more)
The CHR has inquired the Prison Service about the announced comprehensive health education programmes concerning prevention and treatment of hepatitis C among persons deprived of liberty. (more)
Persons who, before October 1990, became members of the apartment saving scheme that existed under the former political system have not suffered loss due to inflation and the increase in apartment prices, as there is a guaranteed compensation amount to make up for the money lost as a result of the inflation and interest, replied PKO Bank Polski to the inquiry of the CHR. (more)
LEGISLATION
Despite the Constitutional Tribunal’s judgment of 2015, no amendment has yet been introduced of the Code of Administrative Procedure’s article according to which there is no time limit for annulment of an administrative decision issued without a legal basis or in gross violation of the law. The CHR has once again applied to the Ministry of the Interior and Administration for introducing such an amendment. (more)