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The Foundation presented its proposals to streamline parliamentary public hearing procedure. In practice, the process is rarely used. So far, the 7th Term Sejm of the Republic of Poland has held only four public hearings. “Adopting a resolution to hold a public hearing of a bill is a difficult task in its own right: it requires a majority of votes in a committee which debates on the bill. In consequence, proposals sponsored by the Opposition are unlikely to succeed”, observes Michał Szwast, a lawyer with the HFHR.

The HFHR has requested the Chief Commissioner of the Border Guard to disclose information on the application of provisions concerning the right of entry to Poland for third country partners of EU citizens. Recently, the Provincial Administrative Court has returned two judgments revoking decisions of the Border Guard denying entry to Poland for non EU-partners of two Poles.

The HFHR has sent a letter to the General Director of the Prison Service, responding to the reluctance of prison authorities to provide prisoners with a diet that meets their religious requirements. The Foundation referred to the ECtHR judgment in the case Jakóbski versus Poland, issued in 2010.

The HFHR has filed a complaint with the Provincial Administrative Court in Warsaw. The pleading concerned a decision of the Minister of Finance to deny the Foundation access to the document entitled “Responsibilities of Tax Audit Offices for 2013”. In its decision, the Minister argued that the requested document was covered by fiscal confidentiality, and as such was not subject to disclosure under the Access to Public Information Act.

Mr Łukasz Gorek of Greenberg Traurig Grzesiak sp.k., a pro bono lawyer representing HFHR clients, the spouses D., skilfully negotiated a settlement with the municipality of Kowale Oleckie which agreed to execute a notarial deed, effectively repurchasing a property earlier sold to D.

In 2010 the Equality Act was adopted to implement certain EU laws in the area of equal treatment. From the beginning, the new legislation was met with reservations by non-governmental organisations. This week the Sejm will debate on the draft amendment to the act proposed by deputies. The Coalition for Equal Opportunities, including the Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights, presented its position on the issue.

Dominika Bychawska-Siniarska, director of the Observatory of Media Freedom in Poland has been awarded the Article 54 Journalists’ Prize by the Polish Journalists Association. Article 54 of Poland’s Constitution stipulates that “The freedom to express opinions, to acquire and to disseminate information shall be ensured to everyone. Preventive censorship of the means of social communication and the licensing of the press shall be prohibited”.

According to a media report, later confirmed by parliamentary sources, a delegation of the Sejm, the lower chamber of the Poland’s Parliament, is to pay an official visit to the People’s Republic of China and meet representatives of the ruling Communist Party on 4 June, the date marking an anniversary of the bloody crackdown of pro-democratic demonstrations in Beijing as well as the Polish “Freedom Day”, or the country’s first partially free elections. Both events took place in the same, memorable 1989 year.

The Circuit Court in Poznań dismissed the appeal of two journalists working for the Wiadomości Wrzesińskie weekly, brought against the judgment of a Poznań District Court in the case of disclosure of secret information. The appellate court upheld the first instance decision to conditionally dismiss the criminal proceedings instituted against the defendants and set the 12-month probation period. The journalists were also ordered to pay the costs of the proceedings. The judgement is final.