In 2008 Polish authorities began working on the law that would guarantee compensations for those whose properties were nationalized after World War II. Regulations were supposed to provide for the compensation of 20 percent of the property’s value. It was estimated this would amount to 20 billion zloty. However due to Poland’s bad financial situation and the high public debt, the preparations of the law were halted. Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk explained that in the current situations awarding high compensations would be fair to those who are entitled to them, but unfair to the rest of Poles.
This does not convince the experts who believe that Poland may soon be forced to award compensation to all the persons entitled to it. The legal basis is provided for in the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms. According to article 1 of the Protocol to the European Convention on Human Rights and concerns the protection of property “every natural or legal person is entitled to the peaceful enjoyment of his possessions. No one shall be deprived of his possessions except in the public interest and subject to the conditions provided for by law and by the general principles of international law.
The relevant cases have been awaiting trial by the European Court of Human Rights since 2005. At that time the Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights sent to Strasburg its legal opinion highlighting the importance of the problem in question. ECHR waited with deciding them because works on the law were ongoing. Now that the government declares they were stopped, the Court has no reasons to postpone the adjudication.
The case in question concerns Mr. Henryk Pikielny, whose grandfather’s factory in Łódź was nationalized after the Second World War. However this is just one of the numerous similar situations. According to lawyers the cases that are already in Strasburg may serve as the so called “pilot cases”. This could facilitate awarding compensations to other applicants.
