(UN)FORGOTTEN CEMETERIES. THE CHR EMPHASIZES THE PROBLEM
People are not thinking about this when shopping, playing with their children in a playground, walking in a wood or buying a piece of land for a holiday home. Yet, there are old but (un)forgotten burial places on which roads, public utility buildings or playgrounds are built, or which are used in villages as grassland. Old gravestones were removed to make space for a shopping centre. There was a case when a 200-year-old graves disappeared within one day and the gravestones were used for fencing the cemetery’s space for waste bins.
The situation of abandoned cemeteries was discussed on 23 October in Warsaw by participants of the conference (Un) forgotten cemeteries, initiated by the CHR and the Christian Theology Academy.
Representatives of churches, religious associations, public authorities, the State Forests, the National Heritage Institute, the Association of Military Historians, as well as university students were talking about how to save forgotten cemeteries.
They gave examples from all over the country.
More details are available at: https://www.rpo.gov.pl/pl/content/jak-wspolnie-ratowac-zapomniane-cmentarze-konferencja-rpo-i-chat
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION VS ONEROUS CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS
- The CHR requested the head of the Lubliniec powiat [county] to demand the owner of one of the local plants to carry out an environmental audit. This has been a result of the meeting in Lubliniec, in which residents complained about the negative impact of the glass processing plant called Krynicki Recycling, which is located in the vicinity of their housing estate. The plant generates odours, noise and glass dust. (more)
- In reply to a complaint from students, the head of the school explained that students who intend to leave school to take part in the Youth Protest for Climate should have the consent of their parents. (more)
COURTS AND THE SYSTEM OF JUSTICE
- Pursuant to a court judgment, Mr Sylwester was placed in a psychiatric institution as an insane person. However, the court did not hold a hearing of the patient, although medical experts determined that he was able to take part in court proceedings. (more)
- Persons who intended to become the Supreme Court judges but were not presented as candidates to the President by the National Council of the Judiciary have no title to appeal against it. This means they have no right to court, emphasized the CHR in his comments to the Court of Justice of the European Union. (more)
- According to the Commissioner, it is possible to request a judge’s exclusion from a given case because of how he/she was appointed to the judicial position, and it is consistent with the adjudication panel in connection with how he was appointed to it, may be requested to be excluded from the case because of his appointment - this is in accordance with the Constitution. (more)
- The police tried to verify the identity of a judge in a court in Poznań. This caused serious objections of the CHR. (more)
- Persons deprived of liberty, who may have suffered damage because of the actions of their lawyer, do not have access to the files on disciplinary proceedings, so there is a gap in the regulations. (more)
EQUAL TREATMENT
- We will make every effort to ensure equal chances of girls and boys in access to the municipal sports facilities, declared the municipal authorities in Warsaw. This has been the reply to the Commissioner’s letter expressing concern about discrimination in sport on the grounds of gender. It could be found in the dispute in the Mokotów district about access to the Orlik pitch for a local girls' football team. (more)
- Before the "Rainbow Friday" the Commissioner reminded the Ministry of National Education why the rights of students and parents should be respected and why anti-discrimination education is important. (more)
RIGHT TO PRIVACY
- In questionnaires at some schools students and their parents are asked about their family situation or the frequency of going to church services. (more)
- A question about religion and church membership will be included in the census to be carried out in 2021. The previous 2011 census included such as question a voluntary one. (more)
- PKO BP employees are evaluated by a system that monitors how many times they smile during a conversation with a customer. In the opinion of the CHR, this s against their privacy and dignity. (more)
OTHER NEWS
- Since 24 October, on the initiative of the Ministry of National Education, a 24/7 free advice helpline funded by the National Health Programme has been operating for children, youth and their carers. The number is 800 080 222. (more)
- Widzew Łódź fans complained to the CHR that the police recommended other football clubs in the country not to let these fans into their football stadiums. (more)
- The word "homeless", used in a heading contained in the list of the police National Map of Risks to Security, could have been stigmatizing for people in the crisis of homelessness. After a request of organizations providing assistance to such people, supported by the Commissioner, the police changed the terminology into „homeless persons in need of assistance”. (more)
- The works on drawing up a clear definition of the term of "building structure" for tax settlement purposes is still ongoing. In 2011, the Constitutional Tribunal indicated the need for formulating such a definition. (more)
- The Internal Security Agency’s female former officer was granted the maternity leave directly under the Constitution. (more)
- The CHR is looking into the case of the death of a man against whom the police in Inowrocław used a stun gun. (more)
- The TVP president does not share the opinion that the news bars during the Wiadomości news programmes are not in line with the Act on the public television. He also emphasized that after the comments, the bars were improved so as not to raise any doubts as to the implementation of the statutory obligations of the public broadcaster. (more)
- The Commissioner is looking into the issue of withdrawing Piotr Zychowicz's publication from the competition for the History Book of the Year. (more)