How should ombudsman institutions be strengthened and developed? The Venice Commission has drawn up 25 principles of work of the ombudsman institutions that safeguard citizens’ rights. In Poland, the institution is the Commissioner for Human Rights.(more). In order to fulfil his mission, the CHR has to have a sufficient budget and a guarantee of freedom of expression. report on the press conference
COUNTERACTING HATRED AND PREJUDICE
- A debate of the Great Orchestra for Christmas Charity foundation and the Commissioner for Human Rights, entitled I don’t hate, I rock’n’roll on how to effectively counteract hate speech in Poland (report on the event)
- The Commissioner has sent a notification of a possible offence committed by Jacek Międlar. The reason has been his comments on Youtube after a terrorist attack killing 50 people praying in a mosque in New Zealand. (more)
LIFE AND HEALTH
- The CHR intervenes after the media’s tragic news about the death of a patient who was kept waiting in a hospital’s emergency ward for too long to be saved. (more)
- The poor state of children’s psychiatry needs to be underlined, said the CHR at the conference organized by the Patients Ombudsman. Mental health is one of the Commissioner's main priorities. (more)
- The Ministry of Health intends to start cooperation with the Prison Service in the field of hepatitis C treatment for former prisoners. (more)
- Dying prisoners should not have to pass away lonely in prison hospitals. The law makes it possible to release them to die at home or a hospital where they may be visited by family members, wrote the CHR in his letter of intervention to the Prison Service. (more)
SYSTEM OF JUSTICE
- The Sejm’s election of the 15 judges - members of the National Council of the Judiciary has been consistent with the Constitution. Yet, it has been against the Constitution when persons whom the Council had not elected as Supreme Court judges challenged their non-election before the Supreme Administrative Court. This is the opinion of the Constitutional Tribunal regarding the Act on the National Council of the Judiciary. (more)
- A farmers family’s problem concerning inheritance has been solved. The first extraordinary complaint of the Commissioner for Human Rights has been considered. The complaint concerned two conflicting court judgments relating to property inheritance, that were issued at a five-year interval by the same court. (more)
- A citizen could not challenge a court’s judgment because the court failed to take into account the Corpus Christi Day when calculating the deadline. The CHR filed a cassation appeal in the case. (more)
- An activist of an animal saving organization was accused of stealing four dogs that he took away from people who ill-treated them. The Commissioner is looking into the case and has filed an appeal with the competent prosecutor's office. (more)
- During property division, how should the value of an apartment bought on mortgage be determined? Resolution of the Supreme Court. (more)
- A compensation in the amount of 4 thousand zł for ungrounded detention by the police: the compensation has been awarded to a participant of a counter-manifestation held in 2017 against the March of Independence. The Commissioner had been suggesting the group was detained without a reason. (more)
RIGHTS OF PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES
- No adjustments for the elections: the CHR’s report on polling stations’ adjustment to the needs of persons with disabilities. (more)
- The Municipal Social Welfare Department in the city of Sopot is required to repay 846310.26 zł plus interest to the state budget. The amount was paid to carers of adults with disabilities in accordance with the Constitutional Tribunal's judgment of 2014 but against the Parliamentary Act that has not yet been amended. The Commissioner is protesting against the governmental measures taken with regard to the local government of Sopot. (more)
RETIREMENT PENSIONS
The terms “open-cast” and “long-wall” are not defined in the regulations. As a result, the ZUS social insurance company may freely interpret regulations on miners’ retirement pensions. The terms are of key importance for calculating their pensions and thus need to be defined. This has been a conclusion of the discussion held by Adam Bodnar with miners from the Turek and Konin mines, who came to see the Commissioner at the CHR Office. (more)
THE CHRONICLE
"About fear" – Adam Bodnar’s lecture at the Polish PEN Club. (text of the CHR’s speech)