Topic: How to defend human rights?

Author: Anna Rabiega

Addressee:

high school / technical school student

Core curriculum:

• old curriculum:

standard level:

6. Protection of rights and freedoms.

The student:

1) presents the main measures of protection of rights and freedoms in Poland.

extended level

37. Protection of human rights in Poland.

The student:

1) presents the rights and freedoms guaranteed by the Constitution of the Republic of Poland, lists the measures and mechanisms of their protection in Poland.

• new curriculum:

standard level:

IV. Human rights and their protection.

The student:

2) presents judicial measures for the protection of rights and freedoms in the Republic of Poland and the manner of work of the Ombudsman (...).

extended level

XII. Human rights and their international protection.

The student:

3) names the rights and freedoms included in the catalogue of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms and its protocols; writes a complaint to the European Court of Human Rights;

5) characterises the United Nations’ system for the protection of human rights; demonstrates differences in the protection of rights under the provisions of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the International Covenant on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights;

6) characterises the human rights protection system of the European Union (the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, the activities of the European Ombudsman) and the Organization for Security and Co‑operation in Europe.

The general aim of education:

Student explains the specificity of human rights and freedoms as well as the basic mechanisms of their protection.

Learning outcomes:

The student:

• presents constitutional and statutory guarantees of human rights in Poland.

• analyses international obligations of Poland within the scope of human rights.

• recognizes the authorities responsible for verification of the observance of human rights in Poland.

Key competences:

• communicating in a foreign language,

• digital competence,

• learning to learn,

• social and civic competences.

Teaching methods:

• discussion,

• jigsaw puzzle,

• teaching conversation using interactive scheme, interactive exercises.

Forms of work:

• group work,

• whole‑class activity.

Material & equipment needed:

• computers with loudspeakers/headphones and internet access,

• multimedia resources from the e‑textbook,

• interactive whiteboard/blackboard, felt‑tip pen/a piece of chalk.

Lesson plan overview (Process):

Introduction:

1. The teacher presents the goal of the lesson: You will analyse the Polish system for human rights protection.

2. The teacher displays „Rights and freedoms guaranteed in the Constitution of the Republic of Poland” scheme on the interactive whiteboard. The teacher asks students to stand up. The students' task is to explain what one of the rights presented in the scheme consists in and how it is implemented. A student who will answer the question may return to his/her seat. Students choose themselves the order of answers by throwing a ball (a soft toy) at each other. This way the students recall the human rights guaranteed by the Constitution of the Republic of Poland.

Implementation:

1. The teacher informs students that they will work using the jigsaw method in order to learn about the tasks of authorities involved in the protection of human rights in Poland and Poland’s obligations within this scope on the international arena. The teacher asks students to count down to 4 and remember their number. During the first part of the exercise, students will focus on the national bodies that supervise the observance of human rights in Poland. Students form groups according to the assigned number (students with number one, two, etc.). The task of each group is to:

a. identify the tasks within the scope of the protection of human rights of the following:

1. Constitutional Tribunal,

2. Ombudsman,

3. Inspector General for the Protection of Personal Data,

4. Supreme Chamber of Control.

Students can use the abstract or other sources (including online sources).

b. conduct short discussions in groups on the effectiveness of the assigned bodies in the field of protection of human rights in Poland (students should find at least one argument showing the effectiveness of the assigned institution and at least one flaw in the functioning of this institution).

2. The teacher sets the time for completion of the task. After its elapse, the teacher asks students to form new groups of four in such a way that each person in a group has different number (students with numbers 1 to 4). Students exchange information – each student is an „expert” in the field of a selected body involved in the protection of human rights in Poland and their task is to pass this knowledge on to the other members of the group. The teacher informs the students that they should signal if any uncertainties arise during the information transfer. The uncertainties are explained to the whole class.

3. During the second part of the exercise, the students will focus on international obligations of Poland in the field of human rights. Again, students form groups of people with the same numbers and jointly analyse the obligations of Poland in the field of human rights protection resulting from the cooperation of our country with the following (according to the assigned numbers):

1. United Nations,

2. Council of Europe,

3. European Union,

4. Organization for Security and Co‑operation in Europe.

4. The teacher sets the time for completion of the task. After its elapse, the teacher asks students to form new groups of four in such a way that each person in a group has different number (students with numbers 1 to 4). Students exchange information – each student is an „expert” in the field of international obligations of Poland within the scope of the protection of human rights resulting from cooperation within the selected international organisations and his/her task is to pass this knowledge on to the other members of the group. The teacher informs the students that they should signal if any uncertainties arise during the information transfer. The uncertainties are explained to the whole class.

Summary:

1. At the end of the lesson, the teacher asks students questions to sum up, e.g.

• Can you list and explain the exemplary human rights guaranteed by the Constitution of the Republic of Poland?

• What institutions are dedicated to protecting human rights in Poland? What are their tasks?

• What commitments has Poland made by ratifying international human rights agreements related to our cooperation with the Council of Europe, the European Union, the Organization for Security and Co‑operation in Europe and the United Nations?

2. Homework proposal:

a. Exercise 1. Give three examples of specific circumstances in which human rights may be restricted due to the indicated values. What kind of restrictions were introduced in your examples? Do you find such restrictions justified? Why?

b. Listen to the abstract recording to review the material and new vocabulary. Then do the vocabulary exercise at the end of the chapter.

The following terms and recordings will be used during this lesson

Terms

Texts and recordings

Human rights protection in Poland

The catalogue of rights and freedoms was confirmed primarily in Chapter II of the Constitution of the Republic of Poland of 1997. It includes personal and political rights and freedoms, economic, social and cultural rights of Polish citizens, as well as the guarantees for foreigners staying in our country. The vast majority of rights and freedoms guaranteed in the Constitution are subject to various limitations.

Chapter II of the Constitution of the Republic of Poland also guarantees means for the defence of freedoms and rights:

• right to compensation for any harm done by any action of an organ of public authority contrary to law,

• right to appeal against judgments and decisions made at first stage,

• right to appeal to the Constitutional Tribunal for its judgment on the conformity to the Constitution of a statute or another normative act upon which basis a court or organ of public administration has made a final decision on freedoms or rights specified in the Constitution,

• right to apply to the Commissioner for Citizens' Rights for assistance in protection of freedoms or rights infringed by organs of public authority,

• right to a fair and public hearing of one’s case, without undue delay, before a competent, impartial and independent court.

The constitutional provisions guarantee that an individual has the right to compensation if the institutions or organizational structures of the legislative, executive or judicial authorities (i.e. public authorities) act in violation of the law. This provision also includes omission, that is, failure to act. The opportunity to appeal against judgments and decisions issued in the first instance is one of the elements of a fair trial and in practice means the necessity to provide two‑instance proceedings.

An appeal to the Constitutional Tribunal is an instrument of protection of constitutional rights and freedoms of an individual:

• the complaint may be brought by anyone whose constitutional rights and freedoms have been infringed,

• the subject of the complaint must be a statute or other normative act, which was the basis for a decision for the court or administrative authority,

• the provisions of the act must violate rights, freedoms or obligations specified in the Constitution,

• the complaint must be made by a lawyer or legal advisor,

• before submitting the complaint, the applicant must use all judicial and administrative means of appeal or remedies available to him,

• the complaint must be submitted within three months from the date of delivery of a final judgment or other final decision to the complainant.

The Journal of Laws of the Republic of Poland is the only official source of information on the universally applicable law in Poland. The publisher of the periodical is the Prime Minister. The first issue appeared on February 1, 1918. At present, the Journal of Laws is published only in the electronic version. Constitutional provisions are supplemented by statutes. In many places the Constitution refers to the need to adopt a law that will contain more detailed regulations. The statutes contain not only guarantees of rights and freedoms, but also related limitations.

Poland is a member of numerous international organizations of a global and regional nature. It has also ratified many international agreements on human rights. The most important of them were adopted within the framework of the United Nations, the International Labor Organization and the Council of Europe.

However, some of the important international human rights obligations have not been accepted by Poland:

• International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families of December 18, 1990,

• International Convention on the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance of December 20, 2006,

• Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Dignity of the Human Being with regard to the Application of Biology and Medicine of April 4, 1997 (signed by Poland on May 7, 1999, but not yet ratified).

Moreover, Poland has not signed the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the Complaint Procedure of December 19, 2011 and the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities of December 13, 2006. This means that it is not possible to submit a notification of violation by the Polish state of the rights and freedoms guaranteed in these conventions to relevant committees of the Rights of the Child or the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. It is also worth mentioning that Poland has not adopted the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union.

Since 1989, Poland is a democratic state, guaranteeing human rights and freedoms. These rights are guarded by both the legislative and executive organs, administrative bodies, judicial authorities and tribunals, as well as specialized bodies such as the Commissioner for Citizens’ Rights, the Ombudsman for Children, the Inspector General for Personal Data Protection, the Supreme Chamber of Control. However, despite numerous institutions established to protect human rights in Poland, as in any democratic state, the rights are violated. The scale of violations is evidenced by the number of complaints submitted to the Commissioner for Citizens’ Rights or the Ombudsman for Children. The proof of the existence of many human rights violations in our country is not only the number of complaints against Poland to the European Court of Human Rights, but also the number of cases that Poland loses. By 2013, the Court issued 1042 rulings in cases brought against Poland, of which in 885 Poland violated at least one of the rights or freedoms guaranteed in the European Convention on Human Rights. These data show that there is still a long way to go for Poland to fully meet the standards of human rights protection.