Commissioner for Human Rights

Newsletter on key activities of the Commissioner for Human Rights 7 – 11 October 2019

EDUCATION WILL DETERMINE PEOPLE’S FUTURE – CHR’S OPEN LETTER TO TEACHERS (more)

  • The CHR warned that soon after the elections, a new act on mining would be adopted which is favourable for business but not for residents. The draft is a deputies one and was not subject to inter-ministerial consultations and arrangements which seek to identify any errors or unintended negative effects of the regulations. (more)

COURTS AND THE SYSTEM OF JUSTICE

  • Certain citizens lost a part of their property as a result of expropriation under the law on roads construction, the so-called Act on Roads of 2003. The property was not returned to the owners despite the fact that it turned out to be not needed for the purpose for which it was taken away from them. This was because the road was finally built only in part. The CHR supported the owner’s constitutional complaint. (more)
  • A 15-year-old boy was entered in the Sexual Offenders Register because he sent a sex-related proposal via the internet to a 13-year-old girl. As a result, he can formally be considered a person with sexual disorders, although he poses no threat to people. He expressed his regret as his action was a single-instance one and resulted from his emotional immaturity. The Commissioner concluded that the entry in the register had disproportionately severe effects for the boy, and filed a motion with the court to delete his name from the list. (more)

EQUAL TREATMENT

  • The decision regarding women born in 1953 should be changed, stated the CHR in his motion to Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki. At the request of the prime minister, the agenda of the Sejm’s latest session in the current term of office was shortened and the discussion on the bill to improve the error in the currently unconstitutional act did not take place. This means that over the next months the women concerned will continue to receive pensions lower than they should. (more)
  • The head of the Pomorskie voivodeship ordered the town of Sopot to refund about 850,000 PLN paid to carers of adults with disabilities, acting pursuant to the judgment of the Constitutional Tribunal of 2014. The Commissioner supported Sopot’s appeal to the Minister of Finance, requesting the voivodeship head’s decision annulment as well as discontinuation of the case. (more)
  • Strategies for counteracting sexual harassment and support systems for students concerned should be developed by every university in Poland,  believes the Commissioner. Not only it is necessary to prevent such cases but also to build appropriate organizational culture. (more)
  • A lawyer of an association which was against the Equality March stated that homosexual communities openly declare views which were contained in plans that SS head Heinrich Himmler had in relation to Jews or Poles. This violation LGBT people’s dignity exceeded the limits of freedom of speech that lawyers have in performing their profession, stated the Commissioner. Disciplinary proceedings regarding the statements were initiated by the District Association of Legal Advisers. (more)
  • Another Congress of People with Disabilities was held in Warsaw. The Commissioner stated that he would continue to fight for the rights of such persons for the next 11 months of his term of office. (report on the event) The key problems are described here: https://www.rpo.gov.pl/pl/kategoria-konstytucyjna/art-69-pomoc-na-rzecz-osob-z-niepelnosprawnosciami

EMPLOYMENT

  • Staff members of the Police, Central Anti-Corruption Bureau and State Protection Service complain that they do not receive cash compensations for unused holiday leave. The situation is the result of not implementing the verdict of the Constitutional Tribunal of 30 October 2018. (more)
  • The Curia Chancellor father Tomasz Szopa explained to the CHR the situation regarding discontinued employment of three staff members of the Curia’s press office, and stated that their marital or private status had no influence on it. The reasons for their dismissal were of purely professional nature. The Chancellor also explained why the Curia may not employ press office staff members under regular employment contracts. (more)

OTHER NEWS

  • Farmers complain to the Commissioner about the lack of competence and lengthy formalities on the side of the Agency for Restructuring and Modernization of Agriculture in processing EU co-funding payments to farmers. The slowness of the Agency’s work may cause a serious risk of losing the funds, warned the CHR and inquired the president of the Agency about how he intends to improve its work for farmers. (more)
  • A prisoner complained about unnecessary and ungrounded personal checks every time he left the prison cell. The Commissioner requested the head of the relevant Prison Service unit to adjust the regulations on personal checks to European standards. (more)
  • Widzew Łódź fans complain that the police have instructed other football clubs in the country not to let into their stadiums those supporters who are the Łódź team fans. This would limit citizens' participation in sporting events because of their place of residence, which is not provided for in the Act on the safety of large-audience events, emphasized the CHR in his application to the City Police Headquarters. (more)
  • Why don't we have chances for medals in karate? The Minister of Sport explained the complicated situation of the Polish sports association’s non-recognition by the relevant international organization. (more)

EVENTS IN THE CHR OFFICE

  • On 9 October the Prophet Elijah hospice foundation and the Office of the Commissioner for Human Rights organized a conference How to create conditions for dignified aging, illness and death of patients in villages. (more)
  • The Commissioner hosted a meeting of representatives of organizations that developed Standards for assistance to children of parents living in separation, and organisations of fathers. The meeting discussed postulates of fathers regarding the change of the Standards. (more)
  • The CHR met with representatives of Law Clinics to speak about implementing the laws on the right to a clean environment and about to cooperate with the Commissioner in matters regarding equal treatment and discrimination. (more)
  • On 8 October in the Royal Castle in Warsaw the prize Teacher of the Year was handed over. CHR Adam Bodnar was among those who congratulated the teachers. (more)