Judgment in the case of a Roma who was refused entry to a club

On Monday, 24 October, the Circuit Court in Poznań ruled in the case of Adam G. who in December 2010 was refused entry to Cuba Libre, a club in Poznań, because of his Roma ethnicity. Having conducted a hearing, the Circuit Court dismissed G.’s claim against the club owner.

In the oral reasons for the judgement, the Court admitted that the fact that G. had been refused entry by club’s security personnel because of his ethnic origin was a breach of claimant’s personal interests. However, it was held in the ruling that under article 429 of the Polish Civil Code, the owner of the club could not be held liable for actions of employees of the security firm.

In raising this argument the Court made reference to the contract between the respondent (the owner of the club) and the security firm and decided that the security staff had acted independently of the owner. The judgment is not final.

In his statement for the media, the counsel for the claimant said he was considering an appeal or action against the security personnel.

The Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights observed the proceedings. The case is included in the HFHR Article 32 Programme.