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, the President signed the Act on Special Measures for the Protection of Persons Participating in Public Debate. This is an extremely important day for journalists, activists and everyone engaged in public life. It means that after years of negotiations, advocacy, media campaigns and proposals for legal changes, Poland finally has an anti-SLAPP law.

Meeting at the Chancellery of the Prime Minister

Also in June, we took part in a meeting organised by the Chancellery of the Prime Minister. The meeting concerned the functioning of the Act on Access to Public Information. Representatives of individual ministries pointed to the growing number of public information requests received by public institutions. Another clearly present topic was state security. Representatives of ministries responsible for security and defence noted that obtaining dispersed information from various institutions may make it possible to reconstruct data relevant to state security, even if individual pieces of information are not classified.

Civil society representatives primarily drew attention to the lack of uniform definitions of the problems being raised. The examples presented did not concern specific data, but rather anecdotal cases. They also pointed to the lack of proactive disclosure of information and the difficulties in finding information in Public Information Bulletins or on municipal websites. It was also stressed that it is very easy for the administration to refuse access to information. And even if, after several years, a case is won before the administrative courts, this still does not guarantee that the information will actually be obtained.

We also recalled that, alongside the Act on Access to Public Information, there is the Act on the Re-use of Public Sector Information, which enables information held by public bodies to be used for commercial purposes, such as creating applications, analyses, databases, information products or services.

Representatives of the Chancellery of the Prime Minister emphasised that the meeting was exploratory and consultative in nature. No ready-made proposals for legislative changes were presented.

At the local level

Over the past few months, our organisation has been carrying out a project examining the phenomenon of local lobbying: “Local Influences, Shared Oversight”, funded under the PROTEUS project — Protecting EU Values and Fundamental Rights through Public Participation and Civil Society Assistance in Central Europe — of the Transatlantic Foundation, co-financed by the European Union.

As part of the project, we conducted research based on 34 in-depth interviews and seven civic workshops attended by 109 people from across Poland. Respondents represented various groups: local councillors, public officials, social activists, business representatives and non-governmental organisations.

The conversations show that lobbying is perceived much more broadly than the formal activities of professional lobbyists. It includes both legal forms of influence, such as consultations or petitions, and informal contacts, social relationships, sponsorship activities or clientelist practices. The main problem is not the existence of lobbying itself, but the lack of transparency and unequal access to decision-makers.

Respondents most often identified three areas particularly vulnerable to influence:

• spatial planning and real estate, especially local spatial development plans and decisions concerning development projects;

• tenders and public procurement, where influence may appear already at the stage of preparing documentation;

• environmental and renewable energy investments, such as wind farms, photovoltaic installations, biogas plants and waste incineration plants.

The main targets of lobbying activities are heads of municipalities, mayors and city presidents, because they make the most important decisions concerning the functioning of a municipality or city. Respondents point out that without greater transparency of contacts between decision-makers and interest groups, it is difficult to effectively monitor public decision-making processes and build residents’ trust in local government.

This activity is funded by the PROTEUS project — Protecting EU Values and Fundamental Rights through Public Participation and Civil Society Assistance in Central Europe — of the Transatlantic Foundation, co-financed by the European Union. The views and opinions expressed are solely those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.

Daily life at Watchdog Poland

In June, we once again took part in the Science Picnic. This annual event is held at the National Stadium, where Warsaw residents can visit stands run by scientific institutions as well as non-governmental organisations.

This year, at the stand of Sieć Obywatelska Watchdog Polska, we showed children and their guardians that curiosity about the world, asking questions and looking for answers can be a fascinating adventure.

We are also planning to expand the legal team of our legal advice service, and in June we launched a recruitment process. We are considering both lawyers and final-year law students.