POLAND: National Laws

Summary: General overview of Poland's national legal provisions on children's rights, including guidance on how to conduct further research.

National laws on children's rights

Status of CRC in national law

Articles 87(1) and 91(1) of the Constitution of Poland provide that ratified international agreements, including the Convention on the Rights of the Child, are sources of law in Poland and can be directly applied in national courts. Article 91(2) provides that treaties take precedence over competing domestic legislation.

Constitution: Chapter II of the Constitution of Poland contains a number of rights provisions that apply regardless of age, and a number of provisions throughout the Constitution specifically address the rights of children:

• Art. 18: provides that marriage, the family, motherhood and parenthood are placed under the protection and care of the State. The article also defines marriage as a union of a man and a woman for the purposes of the Article.
• Art. 48(1): provides that parents have a right to rear their children in accordance with their own convictions and that such upbringing shall respect the degree of maturity of a child as well as his freedom of conscience and belief and his or her own convictions.
• Art. 53(3): with respect to the freedom of conscience and religion guaranteed to all people, declares the right of parents to ensure their children a religious and moral upbringing and teaching in accordance with their own convictions.
• Art. 65(3): prohibits the full-time employment of children under the age of 16 and requires the State to to legislate with regards to the type and nature of work children are permitted to carry out.
• Art. 68(3): requires public authorities to ensure that there is special health care for children, pregnant women persons with disabilities and persons of advanced age.
• Art. 70(1) and (2): guarantees the right to education, compulsory education until the age of 18 and free education in public schools.
• Art. 71: requires the State to take into account the good of the family and for public authorities to make provision for families in difficult material or social circumstances. The Article specifically highlights families with many children or with single parents.
• Art. 71(2): provides that a mother shall be entitled to the special assistance of public authorities before and after birth.
• Art. 72(1): requires the State to ensure the protection of the child and enshrines a right for anyone to demand that organs of public authority defend children against violence, cruelty, exploitation and actions which undermine their moral sense.
• Art. 72(2): entitles a child who is deprived of parental care the right to care and assistance provided by State authorities.
• Art. 72(3): provides that public authorities responsible and persons responsible for children shall consider, and insofar as it is possible, give priority to the views of the child when establishing the rights of the child.
• Art. 72(4): requires the competence and the procedure for the appointment of the Commissioner for Children to be specified in Statute.

Legislation: Poland does not have a comprehensive or consolidated Children's Act, rather legislation relevant to children is found throughout national law. Legislation particularly relevant to children includes, but is by no means limited to:

• The Penal Code (6 June 1997, Legislative Gazette No. 88, item 553)
• The Code of Criminal Procedure (6 June 1997, Legislative Gazette No. 89, item 555)
• Executive Penal Code (6 June 1997, Legislative Gazette, No. 90, item 557)
• The Family and Guardianship Code (26 May 1995, Legislative Gazette, No. 83, item 417 with amendments)
• The Civil Procedure Code (17 Nov. 1964, Legal Gazette No 43, item 296 with amendments)
• The Labour Code (1998, Legislative Gazette No. 21, item 94 with amendments)
• Law on Educating in Sobriety and Counteracting Alcoholism (26 Nov. 1982, Legislative Gazette No. 35, item 230)
• Law on Protecting Health against the Effects of Tobacco Products (9 Nov. 1996, Legislative Gazette No. 10/96, item 55)
• Law on the protection of mental health (19 Aug. 1994 Legislative Gazette, No. 58, No. 111, item 535)
• Law on combating drug abuse (24 April 1997 Legislative Gazette No. 75, item 468)
• Law on the medical profession (5 Dec. 1996 Legislative Gazette, No. 28/1997, item 152)
• Law on foreigners (26 June 1997 Legislative Gazette, No. 114, item 152)
• Law on the Education System (7 Sep. 1990, Legislative Gazette No. 67, item 329)
• Council of Ministers Directive on vocational training and remuneration of minors (28 May 1996, Legislative Gazette No. 60, item 278)
• Council of Ministers Directive on listing jobs from which minors are barred (1 Dec. 1990, Legislative Gazette No. 85, item 500, of 1992, No. 1, item 1, and of 1998, No. 105, item 658)

Legal Research:
The lower house of the national parliament (Sejm) maintains a website in Polish (www.sejm.gov.pl) and the upper house, the Senate (Senat), maintains a website in both English and Polish (http://www.senat.gov.pl/en/). The Constitution is available in English through the website of the Senate (http://www.senat.gov.pl/en/about-the-senate/konstytucja/). The ISAP (Internetowy System Aktów Prawnych) database provides access to national legislation in Polish (http://isap.sejm.gov.pl/VolumeServlet?type=wdu). A number of legal acts may also be found through the International labour organization website, NATLEX (http://www.ilo.org/dyn/natlex/natlex_browse.country?p_lang=en&p_country=POL). In addition, the GlobaLex project at New York University has published a guide to legal research in Poland (http://www.nyulawglobal.org/Globalex/Poland1.htm) and the U.S. Library of Congress (http://www.loc.gov/law/help/guide/nations/poland.php) and the World Law Guide (http://www.lexadin.nl/wlg/legis/nofr/eur/lxwepol.htm) provide access to a selection of legal and governmental resources.

Case law

CRC Jurisprudence

Please contact CRIN if you are aware of any cases in Polish law that reference the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

Case Law Research

The website of the Supreme Court of Poland provides access to its decisions in Polish (http://www.sn.pl/sprawy/SitePages/Zagadnienia%20prawne.aspx) and more limited information in English (http://www.sn.pl/en/SitePages/Main.aspx). The Constitutional Court maintains a website in Polish, English and French (http://www.trybunal.gov.pl/) including the texts of decisions.

Compliance with the CRC
Poland has not reported to the Committee on the Rights of the Child since 2002. At that time, the Committee noted the adoption of the Constitution of 1997 and subsequent amendments to domestic law, but nonetheless expressed concern that “domestic laws still [did not] comply with the provisions and principles of the Convention”. The Committee encouraged the State to take all necessary measures to ensure that its domestic legislation conforms fully with the principles and provisions of the Convention, particularly with regards to juvenile justice, unaccompanied asylum-seekers and the sexual exploitation of children.

In depth analysis
The Committee also raised a number of more specific areas of concern with regards to the conformity of national law with the Convention. With regards to violence against children, the Committee noted the establishment of the “Blue Card” programme which aimed to address family violence, but nonetheless expressed concern that child abuse and violence in the home and in schools remained a problem in the State. Corporal punishment also remained widely practised in the home, in schools and in other institutions such as prisons and alternative care contexts. The Committee urged the State to establish a a national system for receiving, monitoring and investigating complaints and to expressly prohibit corporal punishment in the home, schools and other institutions. Corporal punishment has since been prohibited in all settings.

With regards to the justice system, the Committee expressed concern that there was no clear minimum age of criminal responsibility and that children as young as 10 years old could be sentenced to educational measures. The Committee also expressed concern at the high number of children who spent extensive period of time in emergency blocks either as a pre-trial detention measure or as punishment for their actions while in a juvenile reform centre, and that juvenile detention centres did not all guarantee children's right to maintain contact with his or her family or provide adequate living standards.

The Committee also raised concern about the State's efforts to address the plight of refugee children and unaccompanied minors. Specifically, the concerns related to the “cumbersome procedures for appointing a legal representative for such minors applying for refugee status” and that while children were waiting for their claims to be processed, they did no have access to education, and in some cases they were held together with juvenile offenders. The Corresponding recommendations focused on amending legislation on refugee processing so as to ensure that all unaccompanied minors are immediately appointed a legal guardian; to ensure that children temporarily placed in emergency blocks are not held with juvenile offenders; and to ensure that all children awaiting the processing of their refugee claims have full access to education.

Current legal reform projects
Please contact CRIN if you are aware of any current legal reform projects.