Poland: Recourse available to victims of crime if the police refuse to investigate a complaint; internal and external investigative mechanisms, including in a voivodship, available for complaints submitted against the police for accusations of inaction, abuse, and corruption and effectiveness of these mechanisms

1. Police Refusal to File or Investigate a Complaint of a Crime

1.1 Police Authority to Refuse

In 8 April 2014 correspondence with the Research Directorate, a lawyer in Warsaw, whose practice includes criminal law, stated that the police can only refuse to file a criminal complaint or investigate a case if it is obvious that there was no crime committed or if the issue is related to civil law (Lawyer 8 Apr. 2014). In correspondence with the Research Directorate, a representative of the Association for Legal Intervention (Stowarzyszenie Interwencji Prawnej, SIP), a Warsaw-based "professional watchdog organization" that aims to combat social exclusion by providing free legal services to "people whose rights and freedoms are violated," indicated that a police officer may refuse to initiate an investigation when "it's obvious that there is no reasonable suspicion that a crime had been committed" (SIP 12 Apr. 2014). According to the representative of SIP, "[i]n practice, police may in some cases arbitrarily decide which complaint is worth filing and refuse to accept complaints from persons that they consider not credible or that they are biased against" (ibid.). Without providing details, the representative of SIP stated that "[s]uch a possibility does not occur in case of written complaints sent to the police station" (ibid.).

In 11 April 2014 correspondence with the Research Directorate, a second lawyer in Warsaw, who also practices criminal law, similarly stated that police can refuse to investigate a case but the decision could be appealed to the district court (Lawyer 11 Apr. 2014). According to the representative of SIP, an individual submitting a complaint "is not given written grounds for the decision," and the victim may challenge this decision in court (SIP 12 Apr. 2014). Moreover, the SIP representative said that,

[i]f the investigation had been opened but its results are negative, the police or the prosecutor close the investigation due to the lack of evidence or failure to detect an offender. [...] This decision may also be challenged in court by the victim. (ibid.)

The US Department of State's Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2013 indicates that, "[a]mong the country's principal human rights problems were an inefficient judicial system and lengthy court procedures, which impede delivery of justice" (US 27 Feb. 2014, 1). Corroborating information could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.

1.2 Instances of Police Refusal to File or Investigate a Complaint of a Crime

Information on instances of police refusal to file or investigate a complaint of a crime could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this response. However, the following information may be of interest.

Country Reports 2013 describes a situation in which the local prosecutor's office of the Bialystok-North district refused to initiate investigations or discontinued investigations in eight incidents of "xenophobia and racism" that occurred in Bialystok between 20 May and 26 June 2013 (ibid., 22). Media sources also report that the prosecutor failed to initiate investigations in incidents in Bialystok in which swastikas were painted in public locations (Polskie Radio 5 July 2013; The Jerusalem Post 30 June 2013; RFE/RL 6 Aug. 2013). According to Country Reports 2013, the Bialystok District Prosecutor initiated a procedure to dismiss the head of the Bialystok-North prosecutor's office on 1 July 2013 because he made a mistake in failing to act in the eight cases (US 27 Feb. 2014, 22). Polskie Radio also reported that the prosecutor's office in Bailystok filed to remove the prosecutor from his position (5 July 2013). Further information on the incident could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.

2. Recourse Available to a Victim

2.1 Submitting a Complaint to Police Headquarters

The following notice on the website of the national police outlines how complaints against police officers or suggestions can be filed with the chief police command:

by mail to the address: KOMENDA GLÓWNA POLICJI [KGP, Chief Police Command]ul. Pulawska 148/15002-514 Warszawa

in person -at the KGP Admission Office at ul. Pulawska 148/150 daily between 8:15 and 16:15

by fax - to the number: +48 22 60 135 71

by means of ePUAP - web address www.epuap.gov.pl. [Electronic Platform of Public Administration Services, "a coherent and systematic action program designed and developed to allow public institutions [to] make their electronic services available to the public" (Poland n.d.b)]

by e-mail - to [email protected] ...

orally for the record - at the KGP Admission Office at ul. Pulawska 148/150 02-514 Warsaw.

Daily between 9:00 and 15:00 (Monday 9:00 to 17:00) in the building of the Chief Police Command, address as above. The KGP Control Bureau officers, acting on behalf of the Chief Commander of Police, receive clients in cases of complaints and suggestions regarding the activities of police and provide information by telephone (22) 60 - 122 72.

IMPORTANT!

Complaints / suggestions cannot be filed by telephone.

A complaint / suggestion must contain:

the complete name of the person making the complaint / suggestion,

the detailed address for correspondence,

a detailed description of the incident.

IMPORTANT!

Complaints on behalf of other persons can be filed only if those persons are aware and consenting. In the absence of consent, such a complaint will remain in complaint records with no answer sent to the applicant.

According to § 8, point 1, of the Cabinet of Ministers' decree of 08 January 2002 concerning the procedure of reception and examination of complaints and suggestions, those complaints and suggestions that do not contain the full name and address of the person filing will be left unexamined. (ibid. n.d.a)

2.2 Human Rights Defender

According to the website of the Human Rights Defender, in English,

Human Rights Defender is the constitutional authority for legal control and protection. In his activities, the Defender is integral and independent from other state authorities.

The Defender acts pursuant to the Constitution of the Republic of Poland and the Human Rights Defender Act of 15 July 1987. The Defender is appointed by the Sejm [lower house of Parliament (US 27 Feb. 2014, 1)] and approved by the Senate for a 5 -year term of office.

The Human Rights Defender safeguards human and civic freedoms and rights specified in the Constitution and other legal acts. In order to fulfill this task the Defender investigates whether actions undertaken or abandoned by the entities, organizations or institutions obliged to observe and implement human and citizen rights and freedoms have not led to infringement of the law or the principles of social coexistence and justice, and undertakes appropriate measures. (Poland n.d.d)

The website of the Human Rights Defender indicates that, in order to submit an application to the Human Rights Defender, an individual must provide the following:

the name and surname of the person submitting the application,

address for correspondence (street, house number, flat number, postal code and town/city),

subject of the case (what the case refers to, what rights and freedoms have been violated).

The application should be appended with:

supporting documents (duplicates, copies).

No power of attorney is required to submit an application to the Human Rights Defender (information for lawyers and legal advisers).

The application should include the applicant's identification (name, surname, street, house number, postal code and town/city). This allows to register the case, to find it in the system and reply by the Human Rights Defender.

Pursuant to Article 24(1) of the Act of 29 August 1997 on the protection of personal data (Dz. U. [Journal of Laws] of 2002, No. 101, item 926 as amended), the Human Rights Defender, with the registered office in Warsaw al. Solidarnosci 77, is the data controller.

To allow the Human Rights Defender to examine a given case, the data are processed according to the Act of 15 July 1987 on the Human Rights Defender (Dz. U. [Journal of Laws] of 2001, No. 14, item 147).

The data subject has the right to access his/her personal data and to correct them. (ibid. n.d.c)

Applications can be submitted in the following ways:

in writing (application template),

personally when our Office is open to customers,

using the electronic form,

by email ([email protected]), or

by electronic inbox - ePUAP. (ibid.)

According to the website, the Human Rights Defender office is located in Warsaw and offices of the Human Rights Defender plenipotentiaries are located in Gdansk, Katowice and Wroclaw (ibid. n.d.e). The website provides offices' addresses, phone and fax numbers (ibid.).

2.3 Recourse Available in a Voivodship

Information on recourse available in a voivodship [also spelled voivodeship, a province of Poland, governed by a voivod] could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this response. However, the following information on the organization of the police in a voivodship may be of interest.

Article 6 in Chapter 2 of the Act on the Police of 1990 explains that the "government administration authorities on the territory of the voivodship" shall be the following:

the voivod assisted by the Voivodship Police Commander acting on his behalf or the Voivodship Police Commander acting on his own behalf in matters regarding:

preliminary investigation, criminal investigation and activities related to the prosecution of petty offences,

issuance of individual administrative orders if so required by the relevant acts,

the Poviat (Municipal) Police Commander,

the Police Station Commander. (ibid. 1990, Art. 6.1)

Further information on the investigative mechanisms available for complaints submitted against the police officers, including their effectiveness, could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim for refugee protection. Please find below the list of sources consulted in researching this Information Request.

References

The Jerusalem Post. 30 June 2013. Nissan Tzur. "Polish Prosecutor: Swastika a Symbol of Prosperity." [Accessed 14 Apr. 2014]

Lawyer, Warsaw. 11 April 2014. Correspondence with the Research Directorate.

Lawyer, Warsaw. 8 April 2014. Correspondence with the Research Directorate.

Poland. 1990 (amended 2002). Act of 6 April 1990 on the Police. Translation from the website of the National Police. [Accessed 8 Apr. 2014]

_____. N.d.a. Police. "Information Regarding the Modalities of Filing a Complaint/Suggestion with the Chief Police Command (Informacja dotyczaca sposobu zlozenia skargi/wniosku w Komendzie Glównej Policji)." Translated by the Translation Bureau, Public Works and Government Services Canada. [Accessed 24 Mar. 2014]

_____. N.d.b. Ministry of Administration and Digitization. "What is ePUAP?" [Accessed 10 Apr. 2014]

_____. N.d.c. Human Rights Defender. "Submitting an Application to the Human Rights Defender." [Accessed 14 Apr. 2014]

_____. N.d.d. Human Rights Defender. "About the Human Rights Defender." [Accessed 14 Apr. 2014]

_____. N.d.e. Human Rights Defender. "Contact." [Accessed 14 Apr. 2014]

Polskie Radio. 5 July 2013. "Poland Vows to Fight Racist Crimes." [Accessed 14 Apr. 2014]

Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL). 6 August 2013. Glenn Kates and Anna Zamejc. "Once a Melting Pot, Polish City Sees Uptick in Ethnic Violence." [Accessed 14 Apr. 2014]

Stowarzyszenie Interwencji Prawnej (SIP). 12 April 2013. Correspondence from a representative to the Research Directorate.

United States (US). 27 February 2014. Department of State. "Poland." Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2013. [Accessed 8 Apr. 2014]

Additional Sources Consulted

Oral sources: Attempts to contact the following organizations were unsuccessful within the time constraints of this Response: 15 criminal lawyers in Poland; academics at the Institute of Legal Studies in the Polish Academy of Science; Foundation for Assistance to Crime Victims; Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights in Warsaw; Institute of Public Affairs in Warsaw; "Never Again" Association; Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights in Warsaw; Poland - embassies of the Republic of Poland in Ottawa and Washington, Home Police Command, National Police, Office of the Human Rights Defender in Warsaw, Prosecution General Office; Stefan Batory Foundation in Warsaw.

Internet sites, including: Amnesty International; Association for Legal Intervention in Warsaw; Council of Europe; ecoi.net; Equinet; European Network of Equality Bodies; European Police College; Europol; European Commission for the Efficiency of Justice; European Ombudsman; European Research Center for Anti-corruption and State-building; European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights; Factiva; Freedom House; Globalintegrity.org; Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights; Human Rights House Network; Institute of Public Affairs; International Ombudsman Institute Kancelaria Adwokacka; Interpol; Legislationline; Lexadin; New Poland Express; Nobilis Counsels; Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe; Poland - Consulate General in Toronto, embassies of the Republic of Poland in Ottawa and Washington, Home Police Command, Human Rights Defender, Internal Security Agency, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Malopolski Urzad Wojewodzki w Krakowie, Ministry of Interior, National Police; Polish Institute of Public Affairs, Prosecution General Office, Wielkopolska Voivodship Office in Poznan; Redpress.org; Stefan Batory Foundation in Warsaw; Transparency International; United Nations - Refworld; United States - Central Intelligence Agency, Embassy of the United States in Warsaw, Overseas Security Advisory Council; The Warsaw Voice.