Interventions A former minister on the Constitutional Tribunal? Nine NGOs say no Watchdog Poland has joined eight other civil society organisations — including the Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights, the Batory Foundation and Panoptykon — in a joint statement opposing the nomination of Dr Maciej Berek to Poland’s Constitutional Tribunal. Berek, a lawyer, until recently…
Poland’s legal profession is not one profession but six, each with its own bar, its own traineeship and its own entry rules. An advocate (adwokat) and an attorney-at-law (radca prawny) do similar work under separate self-governing bodies; notaries, court enforcement officers, prosecutors and judges each form another distinct group. Moving between them is legally possible.…
Interventions After five years of efforts — with our first freedom-of-information requests submitted to the Polish government — the European Commission has disclosed the agreement with Pfizer/BioNTech concerning the purchase of COVID-19 vaccines. However, the document remains partially redacted. The withheld information includes prices, payment and settlement terms, manufacturing and technological details, and some provisions…
Can a sports club owned by a local government conceal salaries funded by public money? Most clubs say yes. We asked eight local government-owned sports companies about their salaries. They all have one thing in common—none of them opted for full transparency. In February, we wrote about our public information requests to Śląsk Wrocław and…
Interventions The President signed the anti-SLAPP law In May, we wrote about our appeal to parliamentarians to adopt the anti-SLAPP law as soon as possible. In June, once the amended bill had passed through the Sejm, we appealed to the President of Poland to sign it without delay. And it worked — on 19 June,…
Interventions Civil Society Calls for Stronger Anti-SLAPP Protections in Poland The deadline for transposing Directive (EU) 2024/1069 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 April 2024 on protecting persons who engage in public participation from manifestly unfounded claims or abusive court proceedings expires on 7 May 2026. Poland has still not adopted…
Interventions The schedule of the First President of the Supreme Court is public information – a landmark ruling by the Voivodeship Administrative Court. The Supreme Court refused to disclose the calendar of its First President, considering it an internal document. We challenged this response in court and won. The court confirmed that, in the part…
Interventions With hunting regards Is it possible to find out how the regional boards of the Polish Hunting Association operate and how they spend funds related to hunting management? We decided to check by submitting information requests to all 49 regional boards. Most either refused to respond or remained silent—only after more than a year…
Interventions Transparency of salaries in municipal football clubs As Citizens Network Watchdog Poland, we asked GKS Katowice and Piast Gliwice about salaries in clubs financed with public funds. In Katowice, we obtained specific data – the club disclosed the remuneration of members of the management board and the supervisory board. In the case of Piast…
Interventions Together with other civil society organisations, we submitted comments on the draft law implementing the European Media Freedom Act (EMFA). Although some of the earlier proposals have been taken into account, the document fails to meet the standards arising from EU law in many key areas. The draft focuses primarily on the current model…
Interventions For several months, our organization has been actively advocating to ensure that the contract registers, which public institutions in Poland will soon be required to maintain, include information on all contracts they conclude. The government, however, proposed a bill introducing a publication threshold of 10,000 PLN, meaning that more than 70% of contracts concluded…
Interventions Central Register of Contracts For the past four years, we have been advocating for the law adopted by the Polish Parliament in 2021 — which requires all public institutions to maintain a central register of contracts — to become a real tool for overseeing public finances. In the meantime, another election has taken place…
Interventions Together with the Institute of Public Finance, we submitted a petition to the Chancellery of the Prime Minister regarding the Central Register of Contracts, which is to come into force in Poland in January 2026. The Central Register of Contracts (CRU) is an ICT system created for entities performing public tasks, whose purpose is…
It is with great sadness that we bid farewell to Zenon Michajłowski, one of the founders and members of the Watchdog Poland Civic Network. He was with us from the very beginning and remained actively interested and involved in transparency issues throughout his life. Few people in Poland can boast such a long and consistent…
Interventions Together with other organizations, we appealed to, among others, the Speakers of the Sejm and Senate as well as parliamentary groups and circles, for the swift disclosure of information about the candidates for the position of President of the Supreme Audit Office (the highest state audit body in Poland) and for the organization…
Summary of the report The entire report is available at this link In 2024, we continued our intensive efforts to protect the right to information, strengthen transparency in public life and support civic engagement. One of the most important events was the ruling of the European Court of Human Rights, which found that the refusal…
In light of public statements by the European Commission and the latest EU Council meetings on 6 and 24 June 2025, civil society organisations have expressed their concerns about the growing pressure for a potential ‘stop the clock’ mechanism to suspend or delay the implementation and enforcement of the AI Act. Attempts to delay the…
On July 2nd over 50 organisations in 18 countries participated in a European Day of Action against SLAPPs, calling on governments to protect us from oligarchs and tech bros who weaponise the law against those speaking out in the public good. The EU anti-SLAPP directive was passed to protect journalists, activists, and public watchdogs. But…
Madrid, 16 June 2025 – Access Info Europe today announces the launch of the Helen Darbishire Award which celebrates those who have used their right to information to have a positive impact on society. The Helen Darbishire Award (previously the Access Info Impact Award) recognises those who have significantly leveraged their right to information to…
Together with over 300 other organizations from across Europe, we have signed an open letter on the Hungarian draft law on “transparency in public life” addressed to the President of the European Commission and the Commissioner for Democracy, Justice, and the Rule of Law. The proposed law is yet another attempt to restrict freedom of…
The international community of civil society organizations working on the right to information has lost one of its most charismatic and key figures – Helen Darbishire. She passed away after several months of illness, fully aware that her time was coming, having said her goodbyes to family and friends. She knew that her life had…
Report presents the key developments in the area of justice system, anti-corruption framework, media freedom and civil society space in Poland in 2022 Submitted by: Citizens Network Watchdog Poland Civil Development Forum (FOR) Free Courts Foundation Institute of Public Affairs Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights Polish Federation of Non-governmental…
On 20 December 2022 – just before Christmas, when Poles are busy with family matters, President Andrzej Duda – silently – signed a law that exempts from liability mayors who broke the law in connection with the organisation of the 2020 presidential ‘envelope elections’. The election finally took place in July 2020, the vote was…
On February 5, 2020, the Speaker of the Polish Sejm ordered the election of the President of the Republic for May 10, 2020, and on March 13, the Decree of the Minister of Health on the declaration of an epidemic emergency in the territory of the Republic of Poland was published. Despite the worsening epidemic…
Recording a local council’s committee meeting in your municipality? Fine, the law allows you to do so. Unless you want to do it in Bielsk Podlaski, in which case expect the councillors to call the police. Such an adventure met Jan Mordań, a resident of the village of Haćki, who went to a meeting of…
In December 2021, we launched the next edition of the Watchdog School (SIS). It is a series of meetings for residents of cities and communes observing the actions of local authorities, speaking out on public issues and standing for the change when problems are diagnosed where they live. For many years the School has gathered…
I. Transparency in the National Report preparation process as an example of insufficient protection of the right to information 1. The National Report should include a description of the methodology and the extensive consultation process conducted, including consultations with civil society [A/HRC/DEC/17/119, Chapter II, 2, A; Guidance Note on the National Report for the UPR…
Detailed information on the amicus curiae opinion of the Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights is available on the Foundation’s website. And the opinion itself, in English, is also available on our webiste. The detailed description of the case.
Detailed information on the amicus curiae opinion of the Access Info Europe is available on its website. And the opinion itself, in English, is also available on our webiste. The detailed description of the case.
On September 6, 2021, as we celebrated 20 years of the Access to Public Information Act, a motion to repeal the decree imposing a state of emergency on the border with Belarus was unsuccessfully pursued in the Sejm. We wrote at the time: “The regulation on introduction of state of emergency is a short act…
The biggest problem in access to information was the situation on the Polish-Belarusian border and the introduction of the state of emergency. On the one hand, the regulation on the state of emergency restricted the Act on Access to Public Information, access for journalists and activists for 3 months (September-November 2021), and then the amendment…
In 2021, almost nothing happened in terms of guarantees for NGOs. It was a crisis year in which there was sustained pressure on democracy and the rule of law. The only positives were that organizations led to public hearings being held on the National Recovery Plan and the election of an independent person as Ombudsman,…
Organizations call on senators for systemic solutions to the lack of control over special services’ activities. The problem of uncontrolled intelligence activities requires systemic solutions. Human rights organizations call on senators serving on the Extraordinary Committee on Pegasus not to stop at investigating the surveillance of senators Krzysztof Brejza, Ewa Wrzosek and Roman Giertych. Not…
9 January 2021 Dr hab. Michal Bernaczyk Associate Professor of the University of Wroclaw Faculty of Law, Administration and Economics Constitutional Law Department To whom it may concern, members of the international community, transparency advocacy groups, journalists, members of international media associations Explanatory Memorandum on the Motion submitted to the Polish Constitutional Tribunal…
Roksana Maślankiewicz: Tell me, which came first in your case – the right to information or animal rights? How did you learn about the right to information? Anna Gdula: I started by advocating for animal rights. In 2012, I met Iza Kadłucka on Facebook. We founded the first “Lex Nova” Foundation. During the first years…
After hearing the case brought by the Opole Voivodeship against Alina Czyżewska for the protection of personal rights, the court dismissed the claim. By criticising and condemning the actions of the authorities of the Opole Voivodeship, Czyżewska did not violate the personal rights of the inhabitants and residents, as alleged by the board of the…
Michał Zemełka, member of the Citizens’ Network Watchdog Poland, interviewed by Roksana Maślankiewicz. Tell us about your activity, how did you get interested in the issues of citizen control and the right to information? When did it start? What pushed you to become a watchdog? For as long as I can remember, human and civil…
Krzysztof Jakubowski, member of the Citizens’ Network Watchdog Poland, Founder and President of the Freedom Foundation (Fundacja Wolności), Man of the Year 2017 according to the Jury of the competition organised by “Dziennik Wschodni” is interviewed by Joanna Gucman-Muż. Joanna Gucman-Muż: As you know, Watchdog is celebrating its eighteenth anniversary this year. How many years…
Jacek Werder, a member of the Citizens Network Watchdog Poland, is interviewed by Paula Kłucińska. Paula Kłucińska: How did you get started as a watchdog? Jacek Werder: I was interested in local politics on a casual basis for about a dozen years, but never consistently or systematically. That changed a bit after I moved…
On 17 September 2021, the Sejm adopted the so-called anti-corruption bill authored by the Kukiz’15 party, and on 6 October it was passed to the Senate committees. Our representatives, Katarzyna Batko-Tołuć and Adam Dobrawy, participated in the session, presenting the our Association’s opinion on the Act (link to the opinion). After we presented our opinion,…
Ewa Majda, member of the Citizens’ Network Watchdog Poland, talks about her activity in conversation with Agnieszka Zdanowicz. Agnieszka Zdanowicz: Ewa, have you always felt the need to be socially engaged? Ewa Majda: Yes, that urge has always been in me. I’ve had periods of increased and reduced activity – I’ve been active in school…
If we want to know what the government is doing, we must have access to all documents concerning its functioning, not just the ones it wants to show us. The European Court of Human Rights has just announced that it has accepted complaint No. 10103/20 lodged by Sieć Obywatelska Watchdog Polska (the Citizens Network Watchdog…
An interview with Marzena Błaszczyk, member of the Board of the Citizens’ Network Watchdog Poland, Chair of the Board of the association MODrzew and Vice-Chair of the Voice of Pedestrians Association. Martyna Bójko: Where did your social engagement start? What pushed you in that direction? Marzena Błaszczyk: When I was on maternity leave, I had…
Interview with Marcin Nieroda, member of the Citizens Network Watchdog Poland. Paula Kłucińska: In one of your first messages, you wrote that you are a member of the local movement that works to improve traffic safety. Tell us about your activity. Marcin Nieroda: It started with the association Akcja Miasto [the “City” campaign], one of…
Firmly convinced that the government should first and foremost serve the residents, he tries to turn this idea into reality. How does he do it in practice? We invite you to an interview with Krzysztof Pietruszewski, a member of the Citizens Network Watchdog Poland. Agnieszka Zdanowicz: Tell me, Krzysztof, how did your adventure with civil…
An interview with Jakub Jaworski, a technical high school student and a member of the Citizens’ Network Watchdog Poland. Agnieszka Zdanowicz: I’d like to start our conversation with the question that intrigues me the most – how did you come to be interested in the control over authorities at such a young age? What was…
Interview with Adam Dobrawy, programmer, member of the Citizens Network Watchdog Poland. Joanna Gucman-Muż: Adam, how did you find yourself in the Network? During my high school years, I became interested in the government’s actions regarding power ups (drugs sold as legal products). The then prime minister, Donald Tusk, took action to protect children from…
An interview with Kinga Kulik, member of the Citizens’ Network Watchdog Poland and a tenant activist. Martyna Bójko: I know that for you and other activists in the Lublin Tenant Action (Lubelska Akcja Lokatorska), the right to information is primarily a tool to fight for tenants’ rights. How did it start? Kinga Kulik: I see…
Objectives of the Association According to § 8 of the Statute, “The objective of the Association is to promote and protect freedom, human rights and civil liberties, as well as activities supporting the development of democracy, and to support monitoring and education activities, in particular those taken by members of the Association and individuals cooperating…
On the Watchdog Poland website, she writes about herself “I am a theatre actress by profession, but I am more and more interested in what the various authorities are hiding behind the scenes. I have found how important it is for democracy and the functioning of society to bring to light what is happening out…
His adventure with the Citizens’ Network Watchdog Poland began in 2013, when he took part in the Civic Sports Monitoring. Obtaining and analysing information about sport in his municipality – Goleniów – sparked a long-lasting interest in transparency. We invite you to read our interview with Bartosz Wilk. Joanna Gucman-Muż: Tell us about your social…
– A citizen was denied the right to enter a session of the Commune Council in Krościenko Wyżne with the government pandemic restrictions cited as the reason – However, these regulations could not establish either a ban or a restriction on citizens attending the commune council’s sessions – the Ombudsman points out to the wójt…
On 9 April 2021, in the Warszawa-Wola District Court, a criminal trial was to commence in which the defendant is the management board of the Lux Veritatis Foundation. One of the members of the Foundation’s board is Tadeusz Rydzyk (from the Order of the Most Holy Redeemer) who, thanks to the media channels he operates…
At the end of May 2021, an unexpected breakthrough took place after ten months of hanging around in the matter of choosing the Ombudsperson in Poland. For the first time, a candidate has been put forward who has a chance to be selected for this position and meets the standard that the Ombudsperson should meet.…
If we were to find a case which constitutes the quintessence of how the system of protection of our rights is being destroyed, it is the criminal case that the Polish state is trying to bring against Judge Igor Tuleya. The judiciary is disliked by other branches. It is because it has a great power…
On 9 September 2020, Poland’s Human Rights Ombudsman Adam Bodnar’s term of office came to an end. The Republic of Poland, if it had a responsible government, should have prepared itself for this by 10 August 2020 at the latest. Unfortunately, the only group to start preparations were the citizens themselves, who submitted a civic…
107 entities signed a petition to the First President of the Supreme Court, appealing for the withdrawal of her motion to the Constitutional Court. The motion concerns the examination of the constitutionality of certain provisions of the Act on access to public information. If the Constitutional Court rules these provisions are unconstitutional, citizens will lose…
We asked the Chancellery of the Prime Minister and the Ministry of Health about the basis for the introduction of the national quarantine and information about the Medical Council, which was supposed to be a subsidiary body of the Prime Minister. Instead of information, we got a demonstration of different ways to inform about… the…
Although Michał Woś, the Minister of the Environment, has set up a working group to promote transparency in NGO funding, he himself gives evasive answers and restricts the citizen’s right of access to public information. For this reason, we are taking legal action and filing a complaint of his inaction. What exactly is it all…
From the beginning of the pandemic local governments had to face up to a difficult problem – how to organise council sessions in a safe way, at the same time without breaking regulations. It turns out it is not that simple. When the pandemic broke out, there were no dedicated regulations in force that would…
