Latest

The Provincial Administrative Court in Warsaw admitted the complaint of a homosexual Ugandan national who challenged the decision denying him a refugee status and other forms of legal protection. The HFHR joined in the proceedings as a community organisation. If no cassation complaint is filed, the foreigner won’t be expelled from Poland and the Council for Foreigners will reconsider the foreigner’s application with the court’s directions.

The United Nations Human Rights Committee issued a decision on Mr Kovalev’s case. In March this year, Vladislav Kovalev was executed for his alleged complicity in carrying out a bomb attack on the Minsk metro in April 2011. The Human Rights Committee found violations of the human rights treaty obligations of Belarus laid down in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the Optional Protocol to the Covenant.

The IGPPD supported the proposal of the HFHR which advocates that the type of information included on case lists should be regulated by universally applicable legislation. n October 2012, the Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights addressed the Inspector General for the Protection of Personal Data on the issue of entering personal data in case lists displayed in courts. The HFHR requested the IGPPD to consider bringing this problem to the attention of the Minister of Justice.

Open Society Foundations and the Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights have the pleasure to announce the next of the series of Marek Nowicki memorial lectures. Lecture entitled “Constitutional Interdependence between the Constitutional Tribunal and the Human Rights Defender. Human Rights Protection” will be held by Professor Ewa Łętowska.

On 7 December 2012, the 12th edition of the International Film Festival WATCH DOCS. Human Rights in Film will be launched. The Festival’s Programme includes nearly 90 films divided into five permanent sections, three retrospectives and a competition.

The European Court of Human Rights delivered the judgment in the case of Joanna Szulc v. Poland. The ECtHR found that the right to respect for private life set out in Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights had been violated by denying the applicant access to all the security service documents concerning her deposited with the Institute of National Remembrance. This is the first case on access to INR files lost by Poland in the ECtHR.

The Constitutional Tribunal held that certain provisions of the hunting law governing disciplinary proceedings are contrary to the Constitution. The Tribunal examined the regulations that prevent a member of the Polish Hunting Association from seeking judicial review of a disciplinary board’s decision other than the termination of the membership.

European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg published a judgement in the case of P. and S. v. Poland (application no. 57375/08). The case concerned a girl who became pregnant at the age of 14, hence as a result of a criminal act, and who was denied the right to lawful abortion.

Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights received the Honorary Leader of Trust title awarded by the Law & Partners Foundation. The Leader of Trust recognition is the first designation in Poland presented to professional entities offering legal services and media sources and organisations operating on the market of dedicated legal services which are awarded from the perspective of clients, recipients and society.