Im Rahmen der Vortragsreihe des Arbeitskreises der kritischen Jurist_Innen Freiburg im Wintersemester 2016/2017 „Recht und Faschismus“ hält am 25. Januar um 20 Uhr c.t. in Hörsaal 1199 (Kollegiengebäude I) Dr. Adam Bodnar, Polnischer Beauftragter für Bürger_innenrechte, einen Vortrag zum Thema "Protection of human rights in times of constitutional crisis in Poland"
Since December 2015, Poland has been going through a constitutional crisis related to the functioning of the Constitutional Tribunal. The crisis poses a serious threat to the rule of law, democracy and human rights protection – The Commissioner for Human Rights submits over 20 applications in various cases every year. Every new regulation effectively paralyzes Tribunal, i.e. the introduction of a veto that allows four judges to postpone hearing a case guarantees the constant possibility of not hearing those cases inconvenient to the court and the leaders of the ruling party. The rights would become an element of the political diktat and not a reliable and independent constitutional reflection. Despite these unfortunate events, the judiciary should continue to be a stronghold of the legal order, however challenging the times may be. Now we should constantly refer to international solutions – international human right courts, agreements and commitments – and there look for tools to protect rule of law.
Dr. Adam Bodnar is a Polish constitutional scholar and human rights activist. Between 2010 and 2015 he was the vice-president of the Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights (HFHR) in Warsaw. Since September 2015 he holds the office of the Commissioner for Human Rights of the Republic of Poland („ombudsman“), elected by the votes of today‘s opposition parties.
