Assemblies Act still waiting for amendment

May 2011 marked the fourth anniversary of the European Court of Human Rights judgement Bączkowski and Others v. Poland. In the Bączkowski case the ECHR found, among other things, a violation of the freedom of assembly and ordered that the Polish law governing this issue be amended. The Polish Government has not yet implemented the ECHR’s judgement.

The Ministry of Interior and Administration reported that the draft amendment to the Assemblies Act had already been developed. The new law is to provide for more effective appeal procedure.  The Government Legislation Centre presented the critical remarks to the draft amendment. In November last year the remarks were commented by the Minister of Interior and Administration, yet legislative process has been in a deadlock since then.

The Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights has intervened with Prime Minister Donald Tusk concerning the reasons for delay in completing the legislative process.

The Foundation would like to remind that Poland is a member of the European Convention of Human Rights is under obligation to enforce ECHR judgements. ‘Legislative works on the draft amendment to the Assemblies Act should be completed as soon as possible since this piece of legislation is of a crucial meaning for the development of the civic society’, reads the intervention request sent by the Foundation.