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 the impetus for going to the government office website for the first time and looking at what information there is, and then asking questions based on that? 

Jakub Jaworski: The impetus came from irregularities in the operation of the body I was dealing with – by going to its website, I wanted to gain an understanding of how it operated so that I could properly evaluate it.

And what was that body?

The Local Government Appeal Board in Warsaw. These boards are fairly unknown and very unappreciated. I myself had the opportunity, because of my private affairs, to become acquainted with the workings of the Warsaw appeal board. Unfortunately, the case took a very long time to settle, persistent demands had to be made, and the court had to be involved. As a result, I began to take an interest in the law and read about the workings of local government appeal boards and their history, I even purchased specialised literature on the subject. It turned out that the establishment of local government appeal boards is a beautiful idea, because these bodies are supposed to protect residents from irregularities and abuses by local authorities. They do this by, among other things, processing citizen complaints and appeals. At the same time, they can be involved in areas that are very important for the functioning of the local government and the lives of the municipality residents, such as social welfare, building conditions, environmental decisions or access to public information.

Do you remember when you submitted your first request for information? Did you wait until your eighteenth birthday to do this?

I asked my first question to a public institution in 2015 when I was 13 years old. I directed it to the Polish Post Office. At the time, I did not yet know that I was exercising my right to information. I was curious as to why a certain post office was eliminated – and I got a satisfying, factual answer.

It was a good start of your adventure with control over authorities. And at what point did you come across the topic of access to public information?

In one of the subjects at school, we were assigned to draft an administrative decision. During my preparations, I noticed the phrase “access to information” and thought it sounded interesting and might be useful, so I decided to explore the topic. I had just turned 18 and thought I might as well exercise this right, although I was a little worried about what the authorities would say. As it turned out, my fears were not completely unfounded. However, I felt that I first needed to have a good understanding of this law and the questioning procedure itself.

So it was a coincidence that you just turned 18 and started exercising your right to information, not a conscious strategy. Do you think that had you known when you were a minor that it was possible to control the authorities using this law, you would have been willing to ask questions of public institutions? 

I would have been ready to do that, but I don’t know if the institutions would have been ready to take me seriously.

As far as I know, even though you made your first “conscious” request at the age of 18, one of the authorities to which the request was sent, i.e., the Warsaw appeal board, referred to your age in the refusal decision.

That’s right. I asked about the handling of applications for access to information, the records of those applications, and the number of applications received. The appeal board determined that I was requesting processed information and asked me to demonstrate a particularly important public interest. In the end, the board issued a negative decision, stating, among other things, that it was difficult to expect a young person, who was still studying and had no professional experience, to present sensible solutions regarding changes in the appeal board’s work organisation in terms of processing applications for access to information. At that time, for various reasons, I unfortunately did not have the opportunity to appeal this decision.

The local government appeal board notoriously issues decisions on access to information in a three-member composition, while the Local Government Appeal Boards Act stipulates that such decisions should be issued by the president of the board. In three other cases, where I filed complaints against decisions of the Local Government Appeal Board refusing to provide information, the voivodeship administrative court annulled the appealed decisions as having been issued in violation of the rules of jurisdiction, agreeing with my position (judgements of the voivodeship administrative court in Warsaw: of 14 April 2021, file ref. II SA/Wa 1797/20; of 30 April 2021, file ref. II SA/Wa 2136/20; and of 22 June 2021, file ref. II SA/Wa 2263/20). In the last case mentioned above, the Ombudsman, who agreed with me, declared his participation. Despite the three rulings, the authority continues to stand by its position and has filed cassation appeals against them. The cases are being proceeded.

I should emphasise that I did not address my requests for information only to the Warsaw appeal board, but they were also sent to other appeal boards, which were much more willing to answer my questions.

So you were able to get satisfactory answers from other boards?

Yes, I was, although these weren’t always completely satisfactory. However, there weren’t as many problems as in the Warsaw appeal board.

And I believe that the story with the Warsaw appeal board does not end with issuing refusals and disputes in administrative courts?

Unfortunately, no. In October 2020, the police came to me with questions about whether I had submitted applications to the local government appeal board in Warsaw, what they were about, how many, etc. I answered all the questions and emphasised that there is no provision that would stipulate any “abuse” of the right to information. I find this allegation, raised in the decisions issued by the appeal board, very hurtful, as I am driven solely by concern for the public good and compliance with the law.

Nothing happened in the case for a long time, then on 30 April 2021, Friday, at 6 p.m., I was again visited by the police and summoned to be interviewed as a witness at the police station on Sunday, 2 May, at 6:20 a.m. The hearing concerned a complaint filed by the Warsaw appeal board about a suspected petty offence under Article 65 par. 1 and Article 66 of the Code of Petty Offences. It affected me a lot, but I had nothing to reproach myself for. At the hearing, I was asked a lot of questions related to my applications to the Warsaw appeal board, like the last time. I think there was an attempt to verify that I was definitely the author of the requests, which I confirmed. Theoretically, it was all about my welfare and seeing if someone was impersonating me. But even if that were the case, I don’t see much harm here in terms of making requests for information.

I reported the case to the Ombudsman, who applied to the President of the Warsaw appeal board and to the Chief of Police. Unfortunately, I do not know at what stage the proceedings are currently.

Have you controlled other bodies as well?

Yes, definitely. I have sent requests to, among others, the President of the voivodeship administrative court in Warsaw, the District Family Assistance Centre in Legionowo, and the State Commission for Paedophilia – unfortunately, in the case of these bodies I have not been able to obtain a response and had to turn to the courts for a ruling.

And on that occasion, you came across the Citizens’ Network Watchdog Poland?

Yes, I was looking for information on how to effectively ask questions to the authorities and found the website informacjapubliczna.org with sample letters and a link to the Watchdog Poland’s advice centre, which I started using. And after a while, once I knew that civic control had drawn me in and I wanted to be involved in it but without being completely alone, I thought I would love to become a member of the Watchdog Poland.

Then, as a member, you have to tell me what the right of access to information is for you.

Without the right to information, there is no rule of law. We need to know what those in power are doing, and every one of us, no matter how old we are, what gender we are, whether we’ve already asked 20 questions or this is our first request, absolutely everyone has the right to have their questions answered by the authorities. Any restrictions on this right must be justified in detail – both in the law and in the refusal decision. I would like government offices to treat citizens as partners and be aware that it is the citizens who create our state and pay taxes to support it. And offices are set up to serve and help citizens – and it’s not just about the right to information.

And do you try to spread the word to friends your age, for example?

I try to talk to my friends about controlling the authorities, but unfortunately, they don’t understand the issue. People ask why I need it and say it’s a waste of time. I think that on the one hand, they are afraid of the reaction of the offices, and on the other hand, they think that really a lot of information should be unavailable. They don’t understand how we can all benefit from transparency.

Having said that, surely you have some transparency successes to your credit already?

Yes, despite the fact that the Family Assistance Centre in Legionowo did not want to answer the first request in part and defended itself with processed information, it answered the next one (after the case in the voivodeship administrative court) in full, at once. Therefore, it is worth fighting for the right to information, as it may in some cases positively influence the officials’ attitude to and awareness of this right.

What do you wish the Watchdog Poland for its 18th birthday?

Above all, that it lasts as long as possible, and that the statements and recent actions of politicians against the right to information do not affect the further functioning of this right.

It’s worth asking and you don’t have to be afraid, because the right to information is everyone’s right, it is a human right. When things don’t go our way, it’s a good idea to seek help instead of getting discouraged right away. We need to remind the authorities every day that we, the citizens, are the ones who create this country, and the offices are there to serve and help us.

Thank you for this conversation!