♦ The HFHR urged EU Home Affairs Commissioner Ylva Johansson to address the issue of the violations of asylum laws and the growing humanitarian crisis at the Polish-Belarusian border in her communication with the Polish authorities. ♦ According to information from NGOs and the media, there are serious violations of asylum laws and the non-refoulment […]

Due to the migration situation on the Polish-Belarusian border, the Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights today published a legal analysis of the situation of foreigners repatriated by Polish Border Guard officers from Poland to Belarus. What’s next for the Usnarz group? For over four weeks, a group of 32 foreigners from Afghanistan has been staying […]

♦ The draft amendment to the Act on Foreigners and the Act on Granting them Protection in the Territory of Poland violate EU asylum law principles. The statutes may also be used to illegally expel from Polish territory foreigners who qualify for international protection – according to the HFHR legal analysis. ♦ The explanatory memorandum […]

On the first anniversary of the unprecedented crackdown on the Human Rights Center Viasna (“Viasna”) in Belarus, 23 international and Belarusian human rights organizations are launching a campaign to demand the release of seven detained Viasna members, and highlight the plight of hundreds of others, who have been prosecuted and jailed solely for exercising their […]

Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights published a report on the functioning of the Constitutional Court. The report describes the work of the Constitutional Court in years 2016-2021.   The role of the Constitutional Court   Before 2017, the Constitutional Court was a crucial element of the human rights protection system in Poland. The Court was the only body entitled to examine the compatibility of laws with the Constitution. Decisions issued by the Constitutional Court used to have a decisive impact on fundamental rights protection and the development of standards of a democratic state.   The constitutional crisis in Poland  The constitutional crisis in Poland resulted directly from legislative changes regarding the […]

For almost 30 years, the European Convention on Human Rights has been a cornerstone of the protection of the rights and freedoms of Polish citizens. The European Court of Human Rights has decided several Polish cases involving such fundamental issues as the right to life, personal liberty, the right to a fair trial, freedom of […]

More than 50 leading lawyers’ organizations, promoting the standards of rule of law and human rights have signed a joint letter on the continuing repressions against lawyers in Belarus and on the disbarment of Dmitriy Laevski. The statement was prepared by the Helsinki Foundation for Human Right, OMCT, Article 19 in partnership with the Council […]

29 July 2021 – Brussels, London, Oslo, Warsaw, Paris and Geneva – Last week seven human rights organisations submitted a complaint to the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention on the case of Belarusian journalist Raman Pratasevich. Mr Pratasevich has been held in arbitrary and inhuman conditions since 23 May 2021. As it is not […]

According to over 93% of the lawyers participating in a survey of the Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights, the Polish justice system does not make adequate use of new technology solutions, shows a report prepared by the HFHR in cooperation with Clifford Chance. At the same time, the vast majority of the respondents (96%), claim […]

In a joint statement, Human Rights House Foundation (HRHF) and more than 30 Belarusian and international human rights organisations call on UN Human Rights Council member States to renew the mandate of the Special Rapporteur on the human rights situation in Belarus during the Council’s upcoming 47th session. Full text of the statement:   To Permanent […]

After more than a decade of serving as President of the Board and more than thirty years of work at the Helsinki Foundation, its co-founder Danuta Przywara steps forward to become Chair of the Council, replacing Professor Janusz Grzelak in this role. On 15 June, the former Deputy President of the Board of the Helsinki […]

We present you the first of a series of discussions about digitisation of courts. The debate participants included: Ewa Ivanova, journalist, Gazeta Wyborcza Marcin Ciemiński PhD, Clifford Chance Warsaw Piotr Kładoczny PhD, Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights.   The debate is part of ‘New Technologies — New Justice’ – a joint project of the Helsinki […]

♦ The ECtHR will consider a case (no. 47834/19) involving crucial aspects of the right to a fair trial, i.e. the right to access a lawyer in the initial stages of criminal proceedings. ♦ International bodies, including the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture, the UN Committee against Torture or the Subcommittee against Torture, […]

Warsaw, 6 May 2021 STATEMENT We have received comments made by the President of the Republic of Poland regarding the Commissioner for Human Rights with indignation and distaste. Not only due to the fact that we know the Commissioner well and hold the incumbent in high esteem. Regrettably, we perceive these words as constituting an […]

♦ According to a video released to the media, a police officer arresting a protester appears to have used force disproportionate to the behaviour of the person detained. ♦ In a letter sent to the head of a provincial Police department, the HFHR noted that only the necessary and least oppressive measures of direct coercion […]

♦ Protests have erupted in Warsaw after the Constitutional Court delivered the so-called judgment on the Ombudsman’s term of office. ♦ Once again, the police have engaged in abusive conduct that may have violated the guarantees under the European Convention on Human Rights. ♦ The Helsinki Foundation sent another letter to the Chief Commissioner of […]

As representatives of social organisations, we object to the hostile takeover of the office of Ombudsman by the ruling parliamentary majority.  We do not accept the de facto settlement of our rights and freedoms by Julia Przyłębska’s politically dependent tribunal, the disregard of the fundamental principles of reliable proceedings, including the independence and impartiality of […]

♦ The HFPC was approached by the counsel of a person detained on remand despite ill health, suffering from the consequences of hospitalization and severe COVID-19). ♦ The counsel emphasised that their client, who speaks only Italian, is unable to communicate any symptoms or abnormalities resulting from his ailments. At the same time, his access […]

Ursula von der LeyenPresident of the European Commission Věra JourováVice-President of the European Commission Didier ReyndersMember of the European Commission Dear President,Dear Vice-President,Dear Commissioner, Further to the letter of December 2020, endorsed by more than 5,000 judges and prosecutors of the Member States, we, the representatives of Polish civil society organisations and European scholars specialising […]

The COVID-19 pandemic has amplified the long-standing calls for more extensive digitisation of the justice system. “E-trials” provide an example of the use of new technologies in the courts. They can not only become a solution to such problems as access to courts or lengthy court proceedings but can also help the judiciary to deal […]

Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights has delilvered a statement on the High Commissioner report on the situation of human rights in Belarus. HFHR emphasises the monumental crisis of the rule of law and human rights in Belarus and the intensification of political repressions. HFHR is deeply concerned about increased practice of disbarment of lawyers, including […]

HFHR with the partners, prepared the statement in the support of lawyers in Belarus. We invite you to sign the statement, as well as elaborate your own position on the situation, which can be sent directly to the Ministry of Justice, the Belarusian Republican Bar Association, Minsk City Bar Association, and/ or other places, as […]

♦ The Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights has published another report on the excessive length of court proceedings. ♦ Although most of the changes introduced to the general system of common courts are officially justified as means designed to accelerate judicial proceedings, protracted trials have remained a major weakness of the justice system. ♦ The […]

♦ The Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights has written to the Chief Commissioner of the Police in connection with the incidents that occurred on 20 and 28 January 2021 during protests of the National Women’s Strike. ♦ According to press accounts, the police have cordoned off and used chemical agents on some protesters who were […]

Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights published the report Poland: Business, Judicial Independence and the Rule of Law, prepared in cooperation with the American Bar Association, the main objective of which was to highlight the impact of legal and policy changes introduced by the governing majority since its coming to power in 2015 on conducting business […]

In March 2020, the World Health Organisation announced that the coronavirus epidemic reached the level of a global pandemic. In Poland, the state of pandemic emergency was initially introduced1, and a week later, the state of pandemic was declared. The last ten months have been a time of concern for the health of ourselves and […]

♦ On 21 February 2020, the Secretary General of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe sent a letter inviting Poland to submit a list of three candidates for the post of judge of the European Court of Human Rights by 8 March 2021. ♦ On 9 October 2020, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs […]

The Intersessional meeting of the Human Rights Council regarding the situation in Belarus took place on December 4, 2020, in Geneva. In accordance with Council Resolution 45/1 ‘Situation of human rights in Belarus in the run-up to the 2020 presidential election and in its aftermath,’ the High Commissioner Michelle Blachelet, speaking at the meeting, presented […]

♦ The Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights has submitted an amicus curiae brief to the European Court of Human Rights in the case of Żurek v. Poland. ♦ The applicant, judge Waldemar Żurek, complains that his rights guaranteed by the European Convention on Human Rights were violated as a result of early termination of his […]

♦ This year marks the 70th anniversary of the European Convention on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, which was signed on 4 November 1950 in Rome. ♦ The Convention guarantees everyone’s fundamental rights and freedoms, including freedom of assembly, thought, conscience and religion, the right to liberty and security of person, the prohibition of discrimination […]

On 30 October 2020, the Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights has submitted a report on the situation with lawyers in Belarus to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights under the Human Rights Council Resolution 45/1 entitled “Situation of Human Rights in Belarus in the run-up to the 2020 Presidential Election […]

The undersigned organisations call for the Belarusian authorities to drop their criminal defamation lawsuit against editor-in-chief of Nasha Niva, Yahor Martsinovich and to immediately release him from custody. On 23 September 2020, Yahor Martsinovich was taken to the Investigative Committee after his apartment had been searched by the police. His detention is linked to the […]

September 10, 2020 We express our deep concern at the detention of lawyers Ilya Salei and Maksim Znak on September 9, 2020, in Belarus, in a criminal case which is undeniably politically motivated. We consider this to be a gross violation of professional rights and privileges and improper interference with their professional legal activities and […]

The Supreme Administrative Court has allowed the Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights to intervene in a case concerning access to the source code of a program that randomly allocates trials to judges of common courts. The HFHR applied for the court’s leave to intervene in the proceedings in May 2020. The proceedings in the case […]

♦ The Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights has published a report summarising the crucial role of the institution of amicus curiae in its practice. The report presents the key cases pending in 2018-2019 before Polish courts, the ECtHR and courts of countries of Central Asia in which the Helsinki Foundation has submitted its amicus curiae […]

♦ The Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights has published a report by Dr Katarzyna Wiśniewska and Dr Marcin Szwed on rule of law cases brought against Poland before the European Court of Human Rights. ♦ The authors identify the key ECtHR standards relevant to the protection of the rule of law (and specifically of the […]

We, the undersigned members of the network of Human Rights Houses, urge European governments to call on the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights to immediately launch an international commission of inquiry into human rights violations in Belarus in relation to the 9 August presidential elections.   The challenges facing Belarus in […]

The undersigned organizations, members of the Civic Solidarity Platform, express their shock and outrage about the way the 9 August presidential elections in Belarus have been manipulated by the government. We support peaceful protests of Belarusians against this flagrant violation of standards for the conduct of elections agreed in the OSCE. We strongly denounce disproportionate […]

We, the undersigned NGOs, bring the information on the disruptions of Internet services in Minsk and other cities of the Republic of Belarus, in the context of the presidential elections of 9 August 2020 to the attention of the mandate holders. After setting out the general context of the limitations on freedom of expression, this […]

The Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights has petitioned the Senate to amend the Electoral Code and to allow incapacitated persons to participate in the European Parliament elections. The disenfranchisement of incapacitated persons is contrary to international law and human rights standards. No right to vote without full legal capacity Currently, legally incapacitated persons in Poland […]

Chechen asylum seekers, who had repeatedly been refused an opportunity to file an application for international protection by the Border Guard, have successfully challenged Poland before the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg. On 23 July 2020, the ECtHR delivered the judgment in the case M.K. and Others vs. Poland (applications nos. 40503/17, 42902/17 […]

The case of the Ministry’s unpaid subsidy to the Malta Festival has been pending since 2017 when Oliver Frljić was one of the Festival’s curators. The Malta Foundation filed the lawsuit in 2018 represented by attorneys of Hogan Lovells, who agreed to take on the case pro bono following a request from the Helsinki Foundation […]

♦ On 21 February 2020, the Secretary General of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe sent a letter inviting Poland to submit a list of three candidates for the post of judge of the European Court of Human Rights by 8 March 2021. ♦ On 21 May 2020, the Helsinki Foundation for Human […]

♦ 7 July 2020 marks the fifth anniversary of the judgment of the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg in Rutkowski and Others v. Poland, a case concerning the excessive length of court proceedings. ♦ In an attempt to assess the changes that have taken place in the justice system in the aftermath of […]

In the opinion of the CJEU Advocate General, EU law prohibits employers from favoring one set of employees over another within a group of disabled employees. The Advocate General’s opinion was issued in a Polish case in which the Kraków Regional Court petitioned the CJEU for a preliminary ruling. The request to refer a question […]

More than 500 political, civil leaders, Nobel Laureates and pro-democracy institutions have signed an open letter to defend democracy, warning that the freedoms we cherish are under threat from governments that are using the crisis to tighten their grip on power. The coronavirus pandemic poses serious threats to democracy. Many governments around the world have […]

The presidential election in Belarus is scheduled for 9 August 2020. From the very beginning, the election campaign has been held in an atmosphere of fear, constant threats and intimidation. There have been detentions and arrests of members of nomination initiative groups and ordinary voters who participate in peaceful pickets to collect signatures. The deadline […]

In February 2020, the Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights lodged a complaint with the European Commission concerning the absence of proper domestic implementation of the directive of 22 October 2013 on the right of access to a lawyer in criminal proceedings. The HFHR decided to prepare a complaint to the European Commission in response to […]

The European Court of Human Rights has communicated to the Polish Government the applications of persons denied judicial appointments by Presidents Lech Kaczyński (in 2008) and Andrzej Duda (in 2016). The applicants claim that Polish authorities have infringed Articles 6, 8 and 13 of the European Convention on Human Rights. The proceedings before the ECtHR […]

Human rights organizations in XXX EU countries, members of the Civil Liberties Union for Europe (Liberties) network, are simultaneously filing freedom of information requests to their national authorities regarding the new contact-tracing, symptom-tracking and quarantine-enforcing applications introduced to control the spread of Covid-19. The initiative, first of its kind, aims to ensure that EU governments […]

♦ Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights has published a report on the right to social security assistance of civilians who became disabled as a result of the hostilities in Donbass. ♦ The authors of the report analyzed current legal situation regarding the right to social security assistance of civilians who became disabled as a result of […]

♦ In an opinion presented to the Senate, the Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights has noted that the special electoral law passed by the Lower House (the Sejm) contains measures which undermine the equality of elections and legal certainty. ♦ The Foundation has also expressed concerns over how the electoral packages are to be distributed. […]

Rights Behind Bars During Covid-19 JUSTICIA recently called for action to address the unjustified and excessive use of pre-trial detention which remains all too common in the EU. In the grip of COVID-19, the need to address overcrowding and systemic rights abuses in Europe’s prisons (unjustified detention and inhumane conditions) has taken on new urgency. Incarcerated people are some of the most vulnerable to infectious […]

Possible non-compliance with the principle of universal, secret and personal ballot, the undermined role of the State Electoral Commission (SEC) and numerous inaccuracies and gaps leading to, among other things, inability to specify detailed rules of voting, are among the objections raised by the Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights in its comments to the bill […]

The Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights prepared a leaflet with recommendations from various documents to help personnel of place of deprivation of liberty to counteract COVID-19 and ensure the rights of prisoners. The information contained in the leaflet will also be useful for NGOs monitoring places of detention. In the leaflet, we emphasize that people […]

On 10 April 2020, numerous messages about a riot in the FKU IK-15 (Federal Government Institution, Prison Colony – 15) in Angarsk, Irkutsk region, as well as about the fire in the industrial area there appeared in Russian media, social networks and on YouTube. For subjection of the prisoners, the special forces of Main Directorate […]

Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights has published an analysis on access to court in times of coronavirus outbreak.  The Polish justice system does not widely use means of electronic communication. Due to this fact, when the pandemic-driven restrictions on the operations of the courts were announced, it was impossible to automatically switch to electronic communication between […]

In view of the state of epidemic announced in Poland, the Foundation wishes to draw attention to the situation of persons who have been deprived of their liberty, who are currently incarcerated in penitentiary facilities. From media reports as well as information provided to the Foundation by prisoners and their families, the conditions of detention […]

Statement of the international civil society platform CivilM+ The coronavirus pandemic impacts every live. One of the most vulnerable in Ukraine are more than three million residents of the armed conflict zone in the east. For six years already, women, men and children live in dire economic conditions, under the threat of shelling or mine-related […]

Restrictive measures adopted worldwide to fight COVID-19 intensify the risk of domestic violence; Governments must uphold the human rights of women and children and come up with urgent measures to the victims of such violence. “It is very likely that rates of widespread domestic violence will increase, as already suggested by initial police and hotline […]

Position of the HFHR on the bill regarding the special principles of holding general elections to the office of President of the Republic of Poland ordered in 2020. The Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights expresses its adamant objection to the bill presented by a group of MPs introducing voting by post in the general election […]

The current situation in Poland and the world is unprecedented, even for the last few decades. The coronavirus pandemic has paralysed social and public life in nearly every aspect. What is more, there are solid grounds to believe that the peak is still ahead of us, as confirmed by new infections reported every day. As […]

The Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic has created extraordinary challenges for the authorities of all member States of the Council of Europe. In the CPT’s view, all authorities should take all possible action to protect the health and safety of all persons deprived of their liberty. Protective measures must never result in inhuman or degrading treatment of […]

The signatory organisations, which are involved on a daily basis in the protection of the right to health of prisoners, are alarmed at the unpreparedness of penitentiary administrations to deal with the spread of the coronavirus on the continent and, in most countries, the lack of consideration of the specific situation of prisons in national […]

The European Court of Human Rights is taking a number of exceptional measures to respond to the unprecedented global health crisis, having regard to the recent decisions of the French authorities and the Council of Europe. The Court’s essential activities will in principle be maintained and especially the handling of priority cases. For that purpose, […]

A group of civil society organizations from Poland has submitted a letter to Director of DG Migration and Home Affairs about new financial perspective providing funding in the areas of legal migration, asylum and integration of migrants, which is currently under consideration.   Download:  Full letter

♦ In March, the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe will consider Poland’s implementation of the ECtHR Al Nashiri and Abu Zubaydah judgments. ♦ According to the HFHR, given the current state of affairs, it is not yet possible to conclude that the ECtHR judgments issued in cases involving CIA secret prisons in […]

♦ The Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights has sent a communication to the Council of Europe’s Committee of Ministers, commenting on the case Bednarz v. Poland, which involves charges of violent behaviour made against police officers. In the Foundation’s opinion, the measures implemented by Poland to execute the judgment are insufficient. ♦ According to the […]

♦ On a hearing held on 2 March, a court pronounced judgment in the case of a Romanian national detained at the Warsaw airport and held in pre-trial detention for 14 months on the basis of Interpol’s red notice, who demanded compensation for his moral and financial losses from Polish criminal justice authorities. ♦ In […]

After years of treating asylum and migration in crisis mode, we believe the proposed Pact on Asylum and Migration is an opportunity for the EU and its Member States to change direction. It is an opportunity to develop a rational and rights-based asylum and migration policy. Recent cooperation among Member States signals the possibility of […]

The years 2015-2019 saw the greatest decline in human rights protection in Poland after 1989. Despite the lack of a sufficient vote to amend the Constitution, the ruling majority introduced a number of changes to the state system, endangering the rule of law and the principle of the triple division of powers. With laws being […]

♦ In March, the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe will consider Poland’s implementation of the ECtHR judgment in cases concerning access to abortion. ♦ According to the HFHR, the current legislation still does not guarantee effective access to legal abortion. The Committee of Ministers is a body of the Council of Europe […]

♦ It is impossible to transcribe a foreign birth certificate in which two women are listed as parents, ruled the Supreme Administrative Court. The ruling follows the line of authority expressed in a SAC resolution from December 2019. ♦ The HFHR participated in the proceedings. The case concerned the refusal to transcribe the birth certificate […]

♦ The Supreme Court ruled on the Ombudsman’s cassation appeal, upholding the judgment of the Court of Appeal in Łódź issued in the high-profile case of Piotr M., a man with an intellectual disability convicted of double homicide. ♦ For more than 6 years, Piotr’s case has been handled by Innocence, the HFHR-operated programme devoted […]

There are no human rights without independent courts. The law disciplining judges aims to limit the independence of the courts, whereas Article 173 of the Constitution stipulates that the courts “shall be a separate authority, independent from other branches of government”. No human rights will be upheld, and no minority will be protected without independent […]

The Parliamentary Assembly of Council of Europe (PACE) adopted a resolution concerning the functioning of democratic institutions in Poland. The adoption of the resolution ends 4-year proceedings focusing on rule of law developments in Poland, however at the same time, the resolution opens full monitoring proceedings of Poland. Currently, the monitoring proceeding is applied to […]

♦ The Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights has sent a communication to the Council of Europe’s Committee of Ministers, commenting on the case Mierzejewski v. Poland. In the Foundation’s opinion, the measures implemented by Poland to execute the Mierzejewski judgment are insufficient. ♦ According to the HFHR, pre-trial detention is used too often in Poland […]

The Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights has submitted an amicus curiae brief to the European Court of Human Rights in the case Xero Flor v. Poland. The Xero Flor case is the first one in which the Strasbourg Court will have to decide whether the defective appointment of a person to sit in the Constitutional […]

The Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights is launching Sports and Human Rights, a project dedicated to the study and identification of human rights standards that could help in the development of new regulations in sports. The project is carried out in cooperation with the Centre for Sports Law, Faculty of Law, University of Warsaw, and […]

Events of recent days, including, above all, the clearly unfounded request submitted by the Speaker of the Sejm to the Constitutional Court in a matter allegedly involving “a dispute of competence”, a number of statements made by key politicians of the ruling parliamentary majority, which demonstrate their ignorance of the principle of the triple division […]

Where: Supreme Court HQ (Main Hall), plac Krasińskich 2/4/6, Warsaw When: January 11th, 14:00 We invite you to a press conference to comment on “March of a Thousand Robes” – a silent march against the government’s court reforms, which include strict new disciplinary measures against judges. In press conference will take part polish judges (organizers […]

♦ The Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights has submitted an amicus curiae brief to the European Court of Human Rights in the case of Ástráðsson v. Iceland concerning the impact of irregularities in judicial appointments on the individual’s right to a court. Proceedings in the case are pending before the Grand Chamber of the ECtHR, […]

♦ On 30 December 2019, the Court of Appeal in Łódź will consider a motion for the reopening of proceedings in the case of a printer from Łódź who refused to produce a roll-up for an LGBT organization. ♦ The prosecution service moved to quash the printer’s conviction. ♦ The HFHR has submitted an amicus […]

Restrictions on the self-governance capacity of the judicial profession and judges’ freedom to adjudicate, creation of measures to project the chilling effect on judges and provision of the current parliamentary majority with means to influence the election of the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court – these are the key changes that the recently proposed […]

Civil Rights Defenders, along with the Committee to Protect Journalists, International Partnership for Human Rights, the Norwegian Helsinki Committee and the Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights – urge Kyrgyz authorities to take all steps provided under the national law to guarantee protection to journalists, lawyers, and activists. The recent pressure against civil society members stems […]

The European Court of Human Rights demanded the Polish government to provide an explanation on surveillance by intelligence agencies. It’s a result of complaints filed with the Strasbourg court in late 2017 and early 2018 by activists from Panoptykon Foundation and Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights as well as attorney Mr. Mikołaj Pietrzak. The attorney […]

♦ The Court of Appeal in Warsaw has reversed a decision of the first instance court and dismissed the motion for an interim injunction prohibiting Mariusz Zielke’s publications about Krzysztof Sadowski. ♦ Mr Zielke initially received a one-year ban on disseminating information on the paedophile acts allegedly committed by Mr Sadowski, imposed in September by […]

We, the members of the Helsinki Committee in Poland, strongly object to the manifestly unconstitutional bill that seeks to abolish the independence and dignity of the Judicial Offices. The bill, tabled by Law and Justice Parliamentarians on the exact anniversary of the introduction of Martial Law in Poland, is consistent with the rhetoric of this […]

Where: Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights, Zgoda 11, Warsaw When: December 18, 12:00 On Wendesday, December 18 at 18:00 demonstrations against the bill proposed by the members of Law and Justice (parliamentary document no 69) will be held all over Poland and in front of the Sejm building. The bill codifies repressions against the judges […]

♦ A carer for an adult with a disability is unable to claim a nursing benefit on account of receiving a minimum early retirement pension.   ♦ Helsinki Foundation lawyers say the carer has been discriminated against. The case was brought before the European Court of Human Rights. ♦ The ECtHR application was drafted by […]

The international conference Amicus Curiae: Achievements, Perspectives, Challenges took place on 14-15 October 2019. The conference aimed to promote the institution of amicus curiae, present best practices regarding the application of the amicus curiae mechanism in domestic and international proceedings, discuss existing problems and challenges related to the application of this legal instrument, as well […]

Ever since the European Commission initiated a third infringement procedure in respect to the recurrent attacks on the rule of law by Polish authorities last April, the situation has continued to seriously deteriorate. We have now reached the unprecedented and frightening stage where Polish judges are being subject to harassment tactics in the form of […]

The Civil Liberties Union for Europe (Liberties) launched the petition ‘Your Data. Your Business.’ today calling on Google and IAB Europe, the standard-setters of the online advertising industry, to change real-time bidding (RTB) and develop a data protection-friendly solution for online advertising.  In real-time bidding, users’ personal data – including gender, age, location, and browsing […]

♦ The Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights has submitted an amicus curiae brief with the European Court of Human Rights in the case Grzęda v. Poland. ♦ The case concerns a judge elected to the National Council of the Judiciary whose term of office has been early terminated. ♦ The judge complains he could not […]

On 18 November, the Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights hosted a meeting attended by Richard Gere, an American actor and a long-standing advocate for human rights, in particular in Tibet. Mr Gere is the chairman of the International Campaign for Tibet and was invited to Warsaw by the HFHR. The event was an opportunity for […]

The Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights has presented a position statement on the appeal against the disciplinary judgment imposed on judge Alina Czubieniak. Given the unclear legal status of the Court’s Disciplinary Chamber, the letter was addressed to the President of the Supreme Court. Alina Czubieniak is a judge of the Regional Court in Gorzów […]

Today, thirteen NGOs presented a report on the impact of the judgment of the Court of Justice of the European Union of 19 November 2019, in which the CJEU ruled on the status of the Disciplinary Chamber of the Polish Supreme Court and the National Council of the Judiciary. The signatory NGOs noted that the […]

Civil suit by Prawo i Sprawiedliwość i.e. Law and Justice Party (plaintiff) against Professor Wojciech Sadurski (University of Sydney and University of Warsaw). Case number II C21/19, suit lodged on 21 January 2019 in the District Court for Warsaw, 2nd Civil Law Department. Court hearing set for 27 November 2019 at 9:00 am, Warsaw, District […]

The Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights, in partnership with the World Organization Against Torture, prepared a report on the situation of legal profession in Belarus. This report is being submitted to the 36th session of the UN Human Rights Council.