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On 11 May 2007, the Polish Constitutional Tribunal ruled the partial inconsistency of the new lustration law with the Constitution. According to the President of the Tribunal, Jerzy Stepien (right), the lustration law is feasible despite the necessity to introduce amendments. (14-MAY-07)

On 3 May 2007, the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg made a judgment in the case Baczkowski and Others versus Republic of Poland. The Court stated that Republic of Poland violated Article 11, Article 13 and Article 14 of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms. The Applicants did not claim any compensation for damage and deemed that they will be sufficiently satisfied, if the Court states the violation of the Convention. They lodged the complaint in the public interest. (04-MAY-07)

On 24 April, the European Court in Strasbourg, right, issued a judgment in the case Matyjek versus Republic of Poland stating the violation of Article 6 of the Convention. The case of T. Matyjek was the first Polish case concerning lustration proceedings considered by the Court. (27-APR-07)

The inauguration of the activity of the Committee for Solidarity with Cuba took place on 24 April 2007 at the Museum of John Paul II Collection – Janina and Zbigniew Porczyñski Gallery in Warsaw. The meeting provided an opportunity to present the ideas behind the establishment of the Committee and its planned activity, as well as to pass an appeal directed to Cubans. (25-APR-07)

A round-table discussion concerning the issue of how to improve the protection and promotion of human rights in present-day Europe was held on 17 April in Strasbourg at the invitation of the Council of Europe Human Rights Commissioner, Thomas Hammarberg, and the President of the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly, Rene van der Lindenround. (20-APR-07)

On 4 April, a coalition of three organizations – The Stefan Batory Foundation, The Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights and The Polish Section of the International Commission of Jurists appealed to the Polish Sejm and legal circles for transparency in electing judges for the Polish Constitutional Tribunal. (06-APR-07)

On 20 March, the European Court of Human Rights issued a judgment in the case of Alicja Tysiac, right, vs. Republic of Poland. The Court announced that Republic of Poland violated Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights defining the right to respect for family life. It awarded her damages in the amount of 25,000 EUR, as well as returned the costs of proceedings in the amount of 14,000 EUR. (24-MAR-07)

The Polish Ministry of National Education (MEN) has new ideas aimed at protecting students against the so called “propaganda of homosexuality”. They include the concept of dismissing homosexually-oriented teachers. Polish organizations involved in protecting the rights of homosexuals are lodging protests and Human Rights Watch is writing a letter to the Polish Prime Minister Jaroslaw Kaczynski, right, concerning the violation of the rights and liberties of individuals belonging to sexual minorities. (23-MAR-07)

On the occasion of the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, the Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights has prepared a short overview of the situation in Republic of Poland. Republic of Poland remains a relatively homogenous country ethnically and racially. According to the General Census, in 2002, Poland´s population was 38 230 thousand, of which 96,74% declared their nationality to be Polish. However, since accession to the European Union, the number of foreigners and migrants settling in the Republic of Poland has been increasing. Agnieszka Mikulska, right, of the Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights, reports. (21-MAR-07)