The constitutional provisions on freedom of assembly (The Constitution of the Republic of Poland of 2 April 1997) are as follows:
Article 57. The freedom of peaceful assembly and participation in such assemblies shall be ensured to everyone. Limitations upon such freedoms may be imposed by statute.
Article 59 (3) Trade unions shall have the right to organize workers' strikes or other forms of protest subject to limitations specified by statute. For protection of the public interest, statutes may limit or forbid the conduct of strikes by specified categories of employees or in specific fields.
Other acts, which regulate freedom of assembly:
- Ustawa z dnia 5 lipca 1990 r. Prawo o zgromadzeniach (Dz.U. z dnia 1 sierpnia 1990 r. Nr 51, poz. 297 ze zm.) - Law on Assemblies - entry into force: 1 August 1990
- Ustawa z dnia 12 wrzesnia 1990 r. o szkolnictwie wyzszym (Dz. U. z dnia 27 wrzesnia 1990 r. Nr 65 poz. 385) - Law on Higher Education - entry into force: 27 September 1990
- Ustawa z dnia 20 czerwca 1997 r. Prawo o ruchu drogowym (tekst jednolity: Dz.U. z 2003 r. Nr 58 poz. 515) - Road Traffic Law - entry into force: 1 January 1998
- Ustawa z dnia 7 maja 1999 r. o ochronie terenów bylych hitlerowskich obozów zaglady (Dz.U. z dnia 10 maja 1999 r. Nr 41 poz. 412) - Law on the protection of the areas of the former nazi extermination camps. - entry into force: 25 May 1999
Restrictions or suspension of the freedom of assembly
The Constitution ensures each person the freedom of organising peaceful assemblies and participation therein. Limitations of this right may be imposed only by means of a law. The freedom of assembly may be suspended during the introduction of the state of public emergency.
Constitution:
Article 233 of the Constitution of the Republic of Poland allows for limitation of the freedom of assembly in times of martial law and states of emergency, but not during states of natural disaster. Limitations of the right to strike are allowed in all three above mentioned types of extraordinary situations.
The limitations forming a part of the extraordinary measures may be introduced only by regulation, issued upon the basis of statute, which regulates the principles for activity by organs of public authority as well as the degree to which the freedoms and rights of persons and citizens may be subject to limitation for the duration of a period requiring any extraordinary measures, and which shall additionally require to be publicized. (Article 228)
Other acts:
According to the art.2. of the Law on Assemblies "freedom of assembly may be subject to limitations only if those limitations are provided by law and are necessary for the protection of state security or public order or public health or public morality or rights and freedoms of other people, as well as the protection of the Monuments of Extermination in the meaning of the Law of 7 May 1999 r. on the protection of the areas of the former Nazi Extermination Camps."
Freedom of assembly - basic description
According to the law, an assembly is a gathering in which 15 persons participate, in order to confer over something or with an aim to express their position.
Everybody, except for persons carrying with them a gun, explosive materials or other dangerous devices, can participate in an assembly.
The right to organize assemblies is granted only to persons, who have full capacity to legal acts, to legal persons, other organizations, as well as groups of persons.
Freedom of assembly covers all types of gatherings (static, in motion, held in private and public property, including streets etc.).
There are no explicit provisions excluding certain places from the exercise of freedom of assembly. However, legal acts mentioned in point 2 provide specific additional procedural requirements:
- if the assembly is to be held in the neighbourhood of a diplomatic representation/mission, consular offices, special missions, or international organizations which are covered by diplomatic immunities and privileges, organ of a commune is obliged to notify the responsible Police commander and Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Law on Assemblies, art. 6.2);
- assembly which create difficulties in the road traffic or require specific use of the road, may be held upon prior permission issued by authority, which manages traffic on the given road, and on condition of providing security and order during the whole time of the assembly (Road Traffic Act, art. 65-65i). Application for a permission has to be brought at least 30 days before the planned assembly to the relevant authority;
- assemblies held in the buildings of universities require prior consent by a rector of the given university. Otherwise university staff/employees and students have right to organize assemblies on the territory belonging to university upon a prior (minimum 24 hours in advance) notification of a rector.
- assembly in the area of an Monument of Extermination or in its protection area, requires prior consent - in a form of an administrative decision - of a responsible voivode.
The commune council may decide that in certain areas, organization of an assembly does not require notification (art. 6.3 of the Law on Assemblies).
Organizers are obliged to notify the relevant commune council (Rada Gminy) about the planned gathering. Organizer of an assembly is obliged to notify the relevant commune authority not earlier then 30 days and not later then 3 days before the date of the planned assembly. The notification should include: name, birth date, address of an organizer and name and address of a legal persona or other organization, if he is organizing assembly on its behalf; goal and agenda and language in which the participant of the assembly will communicate; place and date, exact hour of a beginning of an assembly, planned duration of an assembly, planned number of participants, planned route of march, in case a change of place of assembly if planned; description of measures, which organizer is planning to undertake on his/her own in order to ensure peaceful run of an assembly and measures which organizer requests from the commune authorities.
According to the Law on Assemblies, an organ of a commune prohibits a public assembly if its goal or holding is incompatible with this law or violates provisions of penal laws or if the holding of an assembly may pose a substantial threat to the life or health of people or to property. The decision about the prohibition of a public assembly issued by a commune organ may be appealed against to the voivode competent rationae loci. Complaints about decisions on assemblies, in turn, are filed directly to administrative courts. The appeals system allows for an efficient exercise of one's rights.
According to the Law on Police of 6th April of 1990 Police has a duty to ensure the public safety and order. To that end Police must ensure the peace in public places, in the means of public transport, in road traffic and on waters of public access. This duty concerns also ensuring the public order in case of the organization of an assembly. Main responsibility for the safety stays with the organizer of the event. The role of police force includes the following:
- execution of the law;
- acting accordingly to the need of the safe continuation of the assembly - these activities are to be undertaken on the call of the authorized persons;
- restoring the disturbed public order under the condition of prior disbanding of the gathering by its president or the representative of the commune (gmina).
In case of recognizing the assembly as illegal or in case of the assembly being disbanded by its lawful president or commune representative in the situation when the its continuation constitutes the threat for the life or health of people or the threat to the property of the great value or when the assembly disturbs the regulations laid down in the Law on Assembly or the regulations of the criminal laws, when the gathering refuses to disband, Police may undertake the action to restore the disturbed public order. Police undertakes its action under the provisions of Law on Police and the Regulation of the Minister of Interior and Administration on September 17th, 1990 on the cases, circumstances and ways of use of power.
In case of exceeding the limits of use of power the policeman bears a disciplinary and criminal responsibility (article 132 of the Law on Police and the regulations laid down in Criminal Code).
The case of the death or injury caused by the activity of Police functionary is an offence that is to be prosecuted without motion of the inured person. The person harmed in the course of Police action has a right to bring the civil suit for compensation against a public person.
The analysis is based on information provided by the Permanent Mission of the Republic of Poland to OSCE.
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