Civil Rights Officer

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Current Ombudsman: Adam Bodnar

The Commissioner for Civil Rights ( Polish: Rzecznik Praw Obywatelskich ) is an ombudsperson of Polish politics to protect citizens from illegal state actions and to protect human rights . Created in communist Poland in 1987, the institution, largely independent of the powers of the state, has developed into an important engine for civil society, especially since the democratic transition phase from 1989 onwards, and largely replaces the petition and constitutional complaint institutions in Germany . It became a model for the Eastern European constitutions in the system transformation.

history

The office of the commissioner for civil rights was introduced by a law of the Sejm on July 15, 1987, which is still valid with modifications to this day, and started work on January 1, 1988. The establishment of the office was the first in Eastern Europe and part of an overall failed initiative by the Jaruzelski government to usher in a cautious cultural opening and political liberalization in the mid-1980s. While Poland, after a phase of Stalinization of law in the 1950s, succeeded in connecting with the Western European tradition in private law from the 1960s, such liberalization in public law lasted until the 1980s; the creation of the office was linked to the establishment of an administrative (1980) and constitutional judiciary (1985). The office was “not to be underestimated, also for legal development” and became an important pillar of the civil society that developed after the end of communist rule in 1989 . The office was incorporated into the revised constitution of Poland from April 1989 and integrated into the new constitution of 1997 with a significantly stronger effect from the beginning, where it was incorporated in Art. 208 to 212 is regulated.

Peter Häberle points out that this institution was generally incorporated into the new, post-socialist constitutions of the countries of Central and Eastern Europe after 1989 and suspects that such an ombudsman is particularly suitable for “building up a culture of basic rights, since today [1995] everything is still on The beginning is ". In comparative law, Hartmut Bauer found for the member states of the European Union that such a position, either as an alternative or cumulative to the right to petition , appears in the most varied of forms and with the most varied of names, in Austria as the Ombudsman's Office , in Spain as Defensor del Pueblo or in Slovenia as human rights officer. Among these, the Polish representative has a “comparatively very strong position” and is considered a “prototype” and “pioneer” of the generation of ombudsmen who focus on human rights, especially in Eastern Europe.

Vocation and legal status

The Sejm appoints the representative with a simple majority and the approval of the Senate for a five-year term with the option of one-time extension (Art. 209, Paragraph 1 of the Constitution, Art. 5 of the 1987 Act). He also dismisses him again, but only prematurely in cases of renunciation, illness or failure to fulfill his duties (Articles 3 and 7 of the 1987 Act). The monocratic office of the civil rights commissioner has a strong position that is independent of the three state powers because it is not subordinate to the government, but only subordinate to the Sejm (Article 210 of the Constitution) and is therefore obliged to the freely elected representatives of the people. The independence is also shown in the fact that the commissioner enjoys extensive political immunity . The Sejm Marshal can appoint up to three deputies, one of them for soldiers' affairs, while the commissioner can appoint regional representatives with the approval of the Sejm.

tasks

According to Art. 208 Para. 1 of the Constitution, the central task is to “watch over the freedoms and rights of people and the citizen, which are defined in the Constitution and other normative acts”. The Commissioner acts on his own initiative or on the basis of the possibility of appeal to citizens (and other individuals), the Sejm Marshal, self-governing bodies , private organizations and the Commissioner for the Rights of the Child (Article 9 of the law of 1987); access is not formalized and free of charge. He can refuse applications (Art. 11 of the 1987 Law). After he has dealt with a matter, he can act within his own institution or pass the request on to other organs such as the Sejm, the public prosecutor or supervisory authorities. If the violation of individual rights has been ascertained, the commissioner has many options for action, including statements to the relevant government agency or its respective supervisory authority, requests for action, filing of complaints or referral to the Constitutional Court (Art. 14 of the 1987 Act), which can be made without preliminary examination must be decided and takes place around 20 times a year. It can provide impetus for further legislation up to and including intervention in the legislative process , but without having the right of initiative . The representative also oversees the judiciary, which is based on the Scandinavian ombuds model and means that he can request information during and inspection of files after litigation. Furthermore, the Commissioner must inform the Polish people's representatives annually about his work and the situation of human rights in Poland, which they must take note of without discussion (Art. 212 of the Constitution, Art. 19 of the 1987 Law).

organization

Headquarters at 77 Solidarność Avenue in Warsaw
All previous incumbents still living in the Sejm on September 9, 2015: Irena Lipowicz , Adam Zieliński, Ewa Łętowska, Andrzej Zoll , Adam Bodnar (from left to right)

In addition to the headquarters in Warsaw, there are branch offices in Gdańsk, Wrocław and Katowice.

The previous incumbents were:

The Ombudsman is a member of the International Ombudsman Institute , which brings together and coordinates comparable institutions worldwide.

effect

Since 1993, between 25,000 and 33,000 cases have been received each year; For example, the then incumbent Irena Lipowicz urged the Minister of Justice in 2013 to initiate a bill for gender reassignment in order to end the previous legal uncertainty on transgender issues. The legal scholar Tomasz Milej points out that the protection of the individual rights guaranteed in the constitution is exercised less by the constitutional court than in Germany, for example, but more by civic institutions, in addition to the civil rights commissioner, the Helsinki Human Rights Foundation and the think tank Instytut Spraw Publicznych . This is also due to the fact that Polish constitutional law does not recognize individual constitutional complaints, but only a judicial review procedure , which, however, is open to a wider group of those entitled to apply than in the German case.

The office is generally rated positively. Hartmut Bauer speaks of a “successful work” since the system transformation, and Peter Häberle points out that Poland has “had particularly good experiences” with the office in an international comparison; for Julia Haas, the office has proven itself as a “guarantor for the comprehensive consolidation of Polish democracy”.

literature

  • Georg Jaster: The law on the commissioner for civil rights from 1991 (text with introduction). In: Jahrbuch für Ostrecht No. 1, 1992, pp. 265–280.
  • Georg Jaster: The Polish commissioner for civil rights. An institution for the protection of basic rights in the transition from real socialism to the civil constitutional state (= Frankfurt studies on data protection. Volume 4). Nomos, Baden-Baden 1994, ISBN 3-7890-3274-3 .
  • Andrzej Zoll: The Ombudsman as a constitutional body in the Republic of Poland. In: Claus Dieter Classen , Helmut Heiss, Anna Suproń-Heidel (eds.): Poland's constitutional state on the eve of EU accession. Mohr Siebeck, Tübingen 2004, ISBN 3-16-148198-4 , pp. 35-44 (preview) .
  • Anna Deryng: The work of the Ombudsman as a constitutional body to support civil society in Poland. In: Eastern European Law . Volume 54, 2008, No. 3-4, pp. 168-182.
  • Julia Haas: The ombudsman as an institution of European administrative law. To redefine the role of the ombudsman as an administrative control body on the basis of European ombudsman institutions (= studies and contributions to public law. Volume 13). Mohr Siebeck, Tübingen 2012, ISBN 978-3-16-152228-4 (also dissertation, University of Hanover, 2012), § 4 B: “The Polish Commissioner for Civil Rights as the Pioneer of a New Generation of Ombudsmen”, pp. 215–220 (Preview) .

Web links

supporting documents

  1. ^ Commissioner for Human Rights. In: International Ombudsman Institute (with English translation of the law).
  2. ^ A b Andrzej Zoll: The Ombudsman as a constitutional organ in the Republic of Poland. In: Claus Dieter Classen , Helmut Heiss, Anna Suproń-Heidel (eds.): Poland's constitutional state on the eve of EU accession. Mohr Siebeck, Tübingen 2004, ISBN 3-16-148198-4 , pp. 35–44, here p. 39 .
  3. ^ Dieter Bingen : Poland. 1000 years of eventful history. In: Information on Political Education No. 311, August 2, 2011.
  4. ↑ a b Erhardt Gralla, Tina de Vries: Country report Poland. I. Preliminary remarks. In: International marriage and child law with citizenship law. Verlag für Standesamtwesen, Frankfurt am Main, Berlin, last updated on June 1, 2012.
  5. ^ A b Julia Haas: The ombudsman as an institution of European administrative law (= studies and contributions to public law. Volume 13). Mohr Siebeck, Tübingen 2012, ISBN 978-3-16-152228-4 , p. 215 .
  6. ↑ Andrea Gawrich : Minorities in the transformation and consolidation process in Poland. Associations and political institutions. Springer, Wiesbaden 2003, ISBN 978-3-8100-3775-6 , p. 349 .
  7. ↑ Peter Häberle : Documentation of drafts and constitutions of former socialist states in (South) Eastern Europe and Asia. In: Yearbook of Public Law of the Present . New episode. Volume 43, 1995, pp. 105-325, p. 119 .
  8. ↑ Hartmut Bauer : right of petition. In: Detlef Merten , Hans-Jürgen Papier (ed.): Handbook of fundamental rights in Germany and Europe. Volume 5: Fundamental Rights in Germany - Individual Fundamental Rights II. CF Müller, Munich 2013, ISBN 978-3-8114-5528-3 , pp. 389–462, here pp. 407–410: “The right of petition in a legal comparison within the Union”, especially p 409 .
  9. ^ A b c Julia Haas: The ombudsman as an institution of European administrative law (= studies and contributions to public law. Volume 13). Mohr Siebeck, Tübingen 2012, ISBN 978-3-16-152228-4 , p. 216 .
  10. ^ A b Andrzej Zoll: The Ombudsman as a constitutional organ in the Republic of Poland. In: Claus Dieter Classen , Helmut Heiss, Anna Suproń-Heidel (eds.): Poland's constitutional state on the eve of EU accession. Mohr Siebeck, Tübingen 2004, ISBN 3-16-148198-4 , pp. 35–44, here p. 41 .
  11. ↑ The overview of tasks follows Andrea Gawrich : Minorities in Poland's transformation and consolidation process. Associations and political institutions. Springer, Wiesbaden 2003, ISBN 978-3-8100-3775-6 , p. 350 f.
  12. ^ Andrzej Zoll: The Ombudsman as a constitutional organ in the Republic of Poland. In: Claus Dieter Classen , Helmut Heiss, Anna Suproń-Heidel (eds.): Poland's constitutional state on the eve of EU accession. Mohr Siebeck, Tübingen 2004, ISBN 3-16-148198-4 , pp. 35-44, here p. 38 f. and 41.
  13. ↑ Julia Haas: The ombudsman as an institution of European administrative law (= studies and contributions to public law. Volume 13). Mohr Siebeck, Tübingen 2012, ISBN 978-3-16-152228-4 , p. 217 .
  14. ^ Andrzej Zoll: The Ombudsman as a constitutional organ in the Republic of Poland. In: Claus Dieter Classen , Helmut Heiss, Anna Suproń-Heidel (eds.): Poland's constitutional state on the eve of EU accession. Mohr Siebeck, Tübingen 2004, ISBN 3-16-148198-4 , pp. 35–44, here p. 41 .
  15. ↑ a b c Tomasz Milej: Constitutional Court and Legislature. An ambivalent relationship in an international comparison. In: Carmen Schmidt, Bogoslaw Banaszak, Tomasz Milej (eds.): Constitutional case law in Poland. Documentation and analysis of the decisions of the Polish Constitutional Court 2000–2009. Institute for Eastern Law at the University of Cologne, Cologne 2014, ISBN 978-3-7322-9338-4 , pp. 31–98, here p. 59 .
  16. ^ Anna Grodzka : Poland: No rights for the LGBT community. In: Boell.de , July 1, 2013.
  17. ↑ Hartmut Bauer : right of petition. In: Detlef Merten , Hans-Jürgen Papier (ed.): Handbook of fundamental rights in Germany and Europe. Volume 5: Fundamental Rights in Germany - Individual Fundamental Rights II. CF Müller, Munich 2013, ISBN 978-3-8114-5528-3 , pp. 389-462, here p. 410, fn. 152.
  18. ↑ Peter Häberle : Documentation of drafts and constitutions of former socialist states in (South) Eastern Europe and Asia. In: Yearbook of Public Law of the Present . New episode. Volume 43, 1995, pp. 105-325, p. 119 .