The Commissioner for Human Rights (, RPO) is a Polish

ombudsman An ombudsman ( , also ) is a government employee who investigates and tries to resolve complaints, usually through recommendations (binding or not) or mediation. They are usually appointed by the government or by parliament (often with a sign ...

, an official appointed for a five year term by the

Sejm The Sejm (), officially known as the Sejm of the Republic of Poland (), is the lower house of the bicameralism, bicameral parliament of Poland. The Sejm has been the highest governing body of the Third Polish Republic since the Polish People' ...

with an approval of the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

(respectively lower and upper houses of Polish legislature). Commissioner's responsibility is to protect civil and human rights implied by the

Constitution of Poland The Constitution of the Republic of Poland ( or ''Konstytucja RP'' for short) is the supreme law of the Republic of Poland, which is also commonly called the Third Polish Republic ( or ''III RP'' for short) in contrast with the preceding syste ...

and other legislative acts." Constitution of the Republic of Poland". 2 April 1997. Articles 208–209. . Retrieved 28 November 2023. The post was first established in 1987 by the act of parliament and since 1997 Constitution has been in force it has become a

constitutional body A constitutional institution, constitutional body or constitutional organ is a government institution created by a constitution. As these institutions derives its powers, duties and responsibilities directly from the constitution, which is harder t ...

Responsibilities and powers

Polish law entrusts the

with four responsibilities with respect to citizen rights: * prevention * diagnosis * monitoring * creativity The ombudsman, deputies and the office protect the freedom and rights of the people. They monitor current events. In case they find that due to intentional actions (or lack thereof) by agencies, organizations or institutions which are duty bound to respect freedoms and rights of the people, these freedoms and rights were violated, they undertake action. In such cases, they can act on behalf of the people in courts. The office can undertake such actions only if a thorough analysis of the situation shows that the rights or the freedoms of the people were infringed, and only if such analysis recognizes the need for the ombudsman to be involved in a case. The people have the right to ask the ombudsman for intervention.

Appointment and recall

* The ombudsman is elected by an act of

and has to be accepted by the

. * The term of office is five years long and the same person cannot hold the office more than twice. *

has the right to recall the ombudsman with a 3/5 majority before the end of term.

The ombudsman election and status conflict 2020-2021

In September 2020, the term of office of the incumberent ombudsman (Adam Bodnar) was supposed to expire, but the Sejm and the Senate had not agreed on a successor. This was an unforeseen complication. The Polish law did not provide for an interim office in case the term. The incumbent Ombudsman thus remained in office, awaiting the appointment of a new one. However, for five months, the two parliament chambers did not succeed to agree on a successor, in spite of several tries. Twice the Sejm (where the parties in government were in majority) voted down the opposition candidate, the lawyer . Once the Sejm appointed the government's candidate, Deputy Foreign Minister Piotr Wawrzyk, who however was not confirmed by the Senate (where the opposition parties were in majority). On 15 April 2021 the Polish Constitutional Tribunal which has been controlled by the governing Law and Justice party almost since it took power in 2015, decided that Bodnar could stay in office as a temporary Ombudsman until a new one was elected, but only for a short time, and that he anyhow must vacate the office after at most three further months. The same day, the Sejm appointed government candidate Bartłomiej Wróblewski as new ombudsman, to be considered for approval by the Senate (with 240 MPs voting "for", 201 "against", and 11 abstaining).

List of officeholders

Notes

References

External links

Official site (in English)

Ombudsman's duties
{{Authority control Government of Poland Human rights in Poland Ombudsman posts