Interior Ministry no longer seeks to amend Public Collections Act

The Ministry of the Interior and Administration (MSWiA) has decided to abandon its plans to amend the Public Collections Act. The decision follows a review of comments submitted by social organisations.

According to the Ministry, the amendment was proposed in response to a collection of money for a convicted murderer, which was organised by the association Duma i Nowoczesność (Pride and Modernity). In the opinion of MSWiA, the proposed legislative overhaul was to serve as a tool to block similar public collection actions, whose objectives clearly contravene the public policy.

However, several social organisations, including the HFHR, have issued a joint protest in which they persuaded the authorities that such an amendment is dangerous and empowers officials to arbitrarily and discretionarily decide what causes may or may not be supported with donations given by members of the public. Concerns were expressed in particular over measures that would authorise the Ministry of the Interior to prohibit or block a public collection or change the purpose of the donated monies based on the ambiguous and broadly defined criteria of “a violation of the public policy or an important public interest”.

In response to the planned amendment, which was named “alarming” by the Commissioner for Human Rights, 100,000 persons signed a citizen appeal.