| Poland : Integrity Scorecard Report > Sub-Category: Public Access to Information | ||
| Indicators | Score | |
| 12 | Do citizens have a legal right of access to information? | 100 |
| 13 | Is the right of access to information effective? | 60 |
Indicator and sub-Indicator Details
| 12 | Do citizens have a legal right of access to information? | |||||||
| 12a: In law, citizens have a right of access to government information and basic government records. | ||||||||
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Comments: Article 61 of the Constitution states that a citizen shall have the right to obtain information on the activities of organs of public authority as well as persons discharging public functions. Chapter 2 of the Law on Access to Public Information lists in detail all governmental sources of information. References: The Constitution of the Republic of Poland from 2 April 1997, [ LINK ]. Act of 6 September 2001 on Public Information Access (Dz.U. No 112, item 1198) [ LINK ].
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| 12b: In law, citizens have a right of appeal if access to a basic government record is denied. | ||||||||
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Comments: Article 16 states that a citizen has the right to appeal within 14 days of the issuing of the decision. References: Law on Access to Public Information from 6 September 2001, DZ.U. No112 item 1198, [ LINK ].
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| 12c: In law, there is an established institutional mechanism through which citizens can request government records. | ||||||||
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Comments: Article 7 states that all state institutions are obliged to submit information to the Journal of Public Information (Biuletyn Informacji Publicznej). Article 4 lists in detail the institutions that should display information ( for example the government). Article 10 states if any information was not provided by the Journal of Public Information, it should be made available upon request. References: Act of 6 September 2001 on Public Information Access (Dz.U. No 112, item 1198), [ LINK ].
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| 13 | Is the right of access to information effective? | |||||||
| 13a: In practice, citizens receive responses to access to information requests within a reasonable time period. | ||||||||
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Comments: Bil: I have been intensively researching Polish state institutions for over 5 years. One of the problems of these institutions is that some data is not available because it is not gathered and saved. Another problem relates to time within which the data should be provided when requested. Last year, research was undertaken in three ministries. It took them three to eight months to provide the requested information. Another issue relates to the attitudes of civil servants who treat the providing of any information to a citizen as additional work. Thus, civil servants have little understanding of the right to public information. David SzciBo: Access to public information is often delayed. This was noted when trying to access information while researching the report titled "Secret CIA prisons in Poland." References: Monika Bil, Researcher, University of Sussex, UK Telephone interview, David SzciBo, collaborator, Program Spraw Precedensowych, Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights (Warsaw, Sept, 2008).
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| 13b: In practice, citizens can use the access to information mechanism at a reasonable cost. | ||||||||
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Comments: Fees are are decided by officials or/and civil servants at their own discretion. There is no fee system. This gives officials of state institutions a tool to limit access to public information. References: Telephone interview, David Sz[ciBo, collaborator, Program Spraw Precedensowych, Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights (Warsaw, Sept, 2008). Monika Bil, Researcher, University of Sussex, UK
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| 13c: In practice, citizens can resolve appeals to access to information requests within a reasonable time period. | ||||||||
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Comments: Citizens do not have access to all information that is publicly available by law. The Act on Public Information does not state a precise time period for making the information available to citizens. This allows state institutions to decide how much time they need to provide the information. References: Telephone interview, David Szescilo, Collaborator, Program Spraw Precedensowych, Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights (Warsaw, Sept. 17, 2008). Telephone interview, Maciej Bernatt, Program Head, Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights, (Warsaw, Sept. 17, 2008, Warsaw).
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| 13d: In practice, citizens can resolve appeals to information requests at a reasonable cost. | ||||||||
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Comments: References: Telephone interview, David SzciBo, collaborator, Program Spraw Precedensowych, Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights (Warsaw, Sept, 17, 2008). Lukasz Szurminski, Ph.D., Institute of Political Science and Journalism, University of Warsaw (Warsaw, Sept. 19, 2008).
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| 13e: In practice, the government gives reasons for denying an information request. | ||||||||
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Comments: An institution should provide an explanation for denying access to any public information. References: Telephone interview, David Sz[ciBo, collaborator, Program Spraw Precedensowych, Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights (Warsaw, Sept, 17, 2008). Monika Bil, Researcher,University of Sussex, UK, author of the report.
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