Two weeks ago we talked to Katarzyną Batko-Tołuć, the board member of the Citizens Network Watchdog Poland about the project sprawdzamyjakjest.pl. that has recently been launched. Gerere Foundation, experts in gamification, helped them design the tool. Jacek Siadkowski – president of the Gerere Foundation talked about the creation process of the new tool and how…
In times of disinformation and political marketing, citizens need someone to watch their hands. It can be difficult and time-consuming to check how an authority, especially one at a local level, functions. Citizens Network Watchdog Polska, the winner of the Polish-American Freedom Foundation’s “Sector 3.0” award, wants to help us carry out this task.Technology can…
In 2018, we carried out our regular activities related to the improvement of transparency – we submitted requests for public information, wrote texts and appeared in court. We promoted knowledge about transparency and tried to reach new target groups. We used the rights vested in public benefit organisations, entitling us to free broadcasting time. We…
The Provincial Administrative Court in Warsaw ruled that the source code of the Random Case Allocation System in common courts does not constitute public information. According to the court, overseeing the functioning of tools used by the administration is not the role of the society but of professional bodies. The introduction of computer random allocation…
The Citizens Network Watchdog Poland was established by a group of local actvists on October 28th, 2003. The court registered the organization on November 27, 2003. In 2018 we celebrated our 2018 anniversary. We also prepared a report from our activities and their results over 15 years. From the report you will learn: On our…
Within the past 15 years, we have participated in about 650 court cases. Some we initiated ourselves, some we supported, and some we joined. We have selected a number of examples, focusing on cases that have changed Poland. And how have we impacted Poland? We have changed it into a country where citizens have a…
In 2018, a book by prof. Rafał Matyja, conservative political scientist, entitled “Emergency Exit”, brought a new outlook on the events in the political life. The author of the book recommends generational change in political life and rejection of the main divisions connected with two strong parties – Civil Platform and Law and Justice. However,…
38 Polish NGOs called upon prof. Jacek Czaputowicz, Polish Minister of Public Affairs and Zbigniew Boniek, the President of Polish Football Association (PZPN) to undertake urgent actions leading to releasing persons arrested or convicted for political reasons by the Russian Federation. Organizations present alarming facts and figures: Lists of the Memorial Human Rights Defence Centre…
What can be done when voters cannot identify with any of the candidates in the elections? Is there a threat that the next elections in Poland will be manipulated? Is it worth doing local debates for small groups of participants? These and other questions were asked during a three-hour debate in Lubartów (Est of Poland,…
Being concerned with the future of our country and influenced by the Rafał Matyja’s book entitled “Emergency Exit”, we decided to listen how the youth see Poland. Matyja writes on the need of the generational change and improving governance and transparency, as the current political elites are unable to stop harmful destruction of state. While…
Interventions On June 12, 2017, a law came into force in Poland, according to which institutions should correspond with each other exclusively by electronic means. We have noticed, as an association, that the public institutions with whom we correspond often reflexively respond with a traditional letter. It’s the power of habit, which costs taxpayers a…
A group of 16 organization requested Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki to withdraw from proceeding the law on transparency of public life. Each of us sees different dangers brought by this law. They derive from the fact that the law was made without prior discussion, reflection and assumptions. On the way some amendments recommended by citizens…
By conducting legal considerations about whether something is or is not public information, we lose the essence of transparency. This is neither necessary from the point of view of the law applied in Poland nor in accordance with the standards set by the European Court of Human Rights. Polish laws on the right to information…
Where is Poland today? The most important challenges for 2018: local government elections and the change of the law on access to public information, and in the years to come – elections to the parliament as well as presidential elections. These make natural opportunities to take actions directed to politicians. Elections to local governments –…
They came from Hungary, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Belarus to discuss how citizens can influence the decision making. They were curious how Poles use their rights, how the rights are guaranteed in laws and how citizens take stands on public issues. Why do we call them “Rebels”? After all, they wanted to know how…
Can public authorities have their own media? What is the difference between media whose head is the mayor of a city and the politicized public television? Is it possible to make efficient regulation around active citizens’ activity in the Internet? Do parties have any idea how to make public media independent? Do they want to…
In violation of Article 61 of the Constitution, the judgments of the courts create the possibility of avoiding transparency and create restrictions that have neither a constitutional nor a statutory basis. Courts have allowed for great discretionary power, so the sense of responsibility for the way the law is created has not been generated in…
One of the goals of the draft Act on Openness of Public Life presented by Minister Kamiński (coordinator of special intelligence services) on October 23rd, 2017 is increasing the openness of the legislative process. Such idea may only be applauded, unfortunately the Minister misdiagnosed problems of the transparency of legislative processes, and the Act picks…
Public Information: Persistent Non-transparency The draft opens another door to limit the right of access to information: government may refuse to disclose information if it deems the request has been filed in a ‘persistent’ manner and it would ‘significantly burden the operation of the target entity’. Access to information secured in the constitution of democratic…
The Citizens Network Watchdog Poland presents its opinion on the new legislation entitled: Openness/Transparency of Public Life. This opinion mostly focuses on the part of the draft act that concerns access to information. The draft bill concerns much broader phenomena. Overview of the opinions on that by Polish NGOs can be read on the Citizens…
Citizens are constitutionally entitled to observe and record plenary sessions of the Sejm and Senate [the two chambers of the Polish parliament]. Arguing such rights with the Marshal’s Guards barring a citizen from entering, however, is another matter altogether. The Senate Marshal, Mr Stanisław Karczewski, published on the Senate’s website a statement claiming that [opposition]…
The Law and Justice’s government maintains that it wishes to build a strong civil society. Contrary to these declarations, this is not reflected in the shape of the newest piece of legislation – an Act on the National Institute of Freedom. The Act on the National Institute of Freedom – Centre for the Development of…
Interventions In July 2016 Warsaw hosted a NATO summit. As there were multiple estimates regarding the cost of organising the event, we decided to send a request for public information to its main organiser, the Ministry of National Defence. We asked for disclosure of the report that the Ministry submitted to the prime minister after…
Since October 2016 I have observed that as regards the attitude of the authorities to free society we are moving dangerously close to the path taken by Russia and Hungary. The moment of particular importance was the month-long attack of the public television on civic organisations in which children of persons perceived by the government…
Martyna Bójko (Citizens Network Watchdog Poland): You have just defended your Master’s thesis at the University of Łódź, entitled “Local journalist vs local government – methods of wielding influence”. Was the choice of such subject motivated by your experiences as a local journalist? Are the pressures exerted by local governments on local press significant? Justyna…
2014 The first series of requests concerning Ministers’ schedules was sent by the Citizens Network Watchdog Poland on 1 July 2014. We asked 17 Ministries and the Prime Minister’s Chancellery to provide us with Ministers’ schedules, or at least information about meetings they have taken part in, their dates and participants. We became interested in…
Papers prepared for the European Centre for Not-for-Profit Law to be used during workshop session in Moldova “Implementation of the percentage mechanism: Practice and lessons learned from Central Europe” (September 13, 2016). In case of Poland it specifically concerned Good practices of reaching out to taxpayers in Poland by human rights and watchdog organizations. Learning…
A publication prepared for the Central European University describing the situation as regards fighting corruption in Poland in the years 1997-2015 from the Watchdog Poland’s perspective.
As we have been dealing with the transparency of political parties’ activity for quite a while, the time has come now for a short review. What have we managed to achieve? There is no clear-cut evidence of how (if at all) parties’ attitudes towards the right to information have changed. Nonetheless, it can be stated…
The English version of the short publication presenting the situation of local watchdogs in their local communities, prepared to provide more accurate and goal oriented support for this group of activists, journalists and organizations.
We live ever faster. In a multitude of everyday duties, we frequently lack time to stop and reflect on things around us that do not function very well – in our relationships, in a local community or in our town – and what we can do to make them work better. This is why, as…
The film sums up the systemic project aimed at capacity building o watchdog community in Poland. The project was funded under EEA and Norway Grants in the years 2014-2016 and implemented by Citizens Network Watchdog Poland and partners Homo Faber Association, Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights, Court Watch Poland and Center for Citizenship Education.
This interview took place in March 2016. The name of the journalist is Mariusz Szczygieł. The local activits are the following: Alina Czyżewska, Gorzów Wielkopolski and Monika Bienias, village Czubajowizna, gmina Poświętne.
In 2015 Citizens Network Watchdog Poland, Stefan Batory Foundation, Stanczyk Foundation, Fundacja Wolności [Freedom Foundation], The Institute of Public Affairs and Association 61 undertook a topic that has been vivid since 2005 and which is financing of elections. That time the presidential ones. Article 125 of the Election Code states that financing of the election…
Interview of Tomasz Kwaśniewski with Agnieszka Podgórska and Szymon Osowski for Duży Format (a special supplement to Gazeta Wyborcza). We can share the translation thanks to the kind approval of Gazeta Wyborcza. *** We asked all provincial marshals and governors about the salaries of managers. And while we were at it, we also asked about…
A farmer, a father of four from the Tricity, a resident of the villa town of Milanówek, a high school graduate from Silesia and a Warsaw hipster – although they have never met in real life, they have been changing Poland for six months. And it’s a good idea to join them! We are talking…
Below you will find translation of our Application to the European Court of Human Rights on Violation of article 10 of the Convention on the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, signed on March 29, 2013. Full Application (in Polish). II EXPOSÉ DES FAITS STATEMENT OF FACTS (Voir chapitre II de la note explicative)…
Comments of the Watchdog Poland on provisions pertaining to re-use of public information, submitted during the legislative process We were concerned that the lack of differentiation between dissemination and re-use of public sector information would result in obliged bodies’ arbitrary interpretation of the purpose of requests submitted by the requesters. This would contribute to limiting…
Below you will find translation of our Constitutional Complaint regarding provisions of FOIA that restrict access to information on legislative process. The Complaint in Polish. Polish Freedom of Information Act before 2011’s amendments. The amendments to Freedom of Information Act introduced in 2011. 2nd January 2013 Warsaw Constitutional Court, Warsaw Complaining Party: Association of…
A study prepared by members of the Citizens Network Watchdog Poland for the Institute of Public Affairs on the situation of watchdog organizations in 2012 – Watchdog Organizations – Current Status, Challenges, Prospects.
First data concerning the disbursement of the Solecki Fund for 2010 are available. Even though the data are incomplete, they show the scale of Solecki Fund separation, its real disbursement as well as the amounts of refund from the state budget, which went back to the communes. It seems that the first year with the…
The Citizens Network Watchdog Poland runs a website funduszesoleckie.pl. Its aim is to collect data, run monitoring and support people and institutions, working with Solecki Fund. Solecki Fund has been established by national law, enacted in 2009. It has been dedicated to rural areas. The smallest administrative unit in Poland is called gmina (commune). Auxiliary…
On the 5th of July 2011, Polish government accepted a draft of a new law on access to public information. The reason for updating the existing Act that is 10 years old, was the implementation of the EC Directive on the Re-Use of Public Sector Information. The promise made by the government after almost three…
