Commissioner for Human Rights

Newsletter on key activities of the Commissioner for Human Rights 28 October – 8 November 2019

Report Social significance of and reactions to the Poland’s Independence march that took place in Wrocław on 11 November 2018 (details)

IMPORTANT: SAVE THE DATE. On 13-14 December, the 3rd Congress of Civil Rights, organized by Commissioner for Human Rights Adam Bodnar, will be held. The registration for the event is open.

CONSUMER RIGHTS

  • At the request of legal representatives of the Dziubak family, the CHR has joined the proceedings before the District Court in Warsaw regarding their bank loan denominated in Swiss francs. (more)
  • Banks’ suggestions that the CJEU judgments do not apply to Polish regulations but only to European ones are incorrect and may violate the rights of Polish consumers. In his letter to the Polish Banks Association the CHR explained the significance of CJEU judgments and referred to the example of the Lexitor company’s case. (more)
  • On 7 November the CJEU replied to two questions submitted by Polish courts (from Warsaw and from Opole), regarding blank promissory notes. The judgment of the CJEU is of importance for the Polish proceedings concerning payment orders related to blank promissory notes issued by consumers. (more)

As regards the significance of the CJEU judgments for people in Poland, we recommend reading an interview with CHR deputy Maciej Taborowski, Ph.D., at the Oko.press website. (full text of the interview)

EQUAL TREATMENT

  • Ms Katarzyna was refused entry, into her daughter's Polish civil status files, of her birth certificate issued to the single-sex couple in Ireland. The Commissioner for Human Rights has called upon the court to ensure the protection of her rights. (more)
  • Zakopane is the only municipality in Poland that has not adopted a programme for preventing domestic violence. This is against the Act on counteracting domestic violence, the Constitution and international law, and represents disregard for victims. (more)
  • Unequal treatment of candidates for professional soldiers, caused by the "good repute" criterion. The CHR has written to the Ministry of National Defence. (more)

OTHER NEWS

  • The city fails to pay sufficient attention to pedestrians’ safety, wrote the CHR to the head of the Warsaw Municipal Roads Authority. The CHR has inquired about any actions taken by the Authority after the accident at Sokratesa street. (more)
  • Following residents’ complaints, since May 2019 employees of the CHR Office have been verifying the course of administrative proceedings regarding the construction of 4 chicken breeding farms in the villages of Górka and Kruszyniany in Krynki municipality included in the Nature 2000 area. (more)
  • The scopes of responsibilities of the female employees with whom the Krakow diocese dissolved employment contracts were in accordance with the applicable legislation, concluded the National Labor Inspectorate. (more)
  • Polish hospitals have a shortage of the marker which makes it possible to diagnose, during oncological operations. the presence of cancer cells that have spread to lymph nodes. (more)
  • The verification of how many times the PKO BP employees smile at their customers is not a form of employee evaluation. Every smile is a one-grosz (comparable to one-penny) donation for a charity purpose, explained the bank's president. (more)
  • Students of one of Kraków high schools who have not registered for religion lessons attend them as passive participants, anyway. According to the media, in those teaching hours the school has no other teacher to ensure the care for the students. (more)
  • Judges’ disciplinary representative Piotr Schab denied the accusation that he is not impartial in the case of the defamed judges. (more)
  • A juvenile offender was entered in the register of pedophiles, although the court issued only a warning to him. The CHR intervened in the case. (more)
  • Will the Ministry of Family, Labour and Social Policy reply to the questions of the chairman of the UN working group that is drafting the Convention on the Rights of Older People? The Commissioner encouraged the government to become more involved in the international debate on the new convention. (more)
  • TVP President provided a justification of the refusal to broadcast the spot of the Regional Association of Physicians during the campaign "Poland is a sick country". (more)
  • The CHR has asked Warsaw mayor Trzaskowski whether the city will sign the Charter of Homeless People’s Rights. (more)
  • One of the reasons of the shortage of medicines is their illegal export from Poland by businesses that act against the law. To fight the illegal export effectively, the Commissioner recommends, among others, to introduce a comprehensive system to monitor trade in highly demanded medicinal products; higher prices of exported medicines, and better cooperation of relevant services. (more)
  • A female prisoner will get underwear sets. An effective intervention of the CHR. (more)
  • The CHR is looking into the case of death of a man against whom a stun gun was used by the police in Inowrocław. (more)

THE CHRONICLE

An outstanding Hungarian constitutional law specialist, at present a lecturer at Harvard University and a retired judge of the European Court of Human Rights has been awarded the Badge of Honour by the CHR.

Professor Andras Sajo delivered a lecture on non-liberal democracy; he had been invited by the Commissioner and the Osiatyński Archives. (more)

An extensive report on the lecture has been published by the Oko.press portal: https://oko.press/prof-sajo-wladza-wikla-nas-w-oszustwo-sprawia-ze-jestesmy-wspolwinni-co-na-to-letowska-i-bodnar/