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United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child - States Parties Reports |
UNITED
NATIONS |
|
CRC
|
|
Convention on the Rights of the Child |
Distr. GENERAL CRC/C/70/Add.12 6 February 2002 Original: ENGLISH |
COMMITTEE ON THE RIGHTS OF THE CHILD
CONSIDERATION OF REPORTS SUBMITTED BY STATES PARTIES
UNDER
ARTICLE 44 OF THE CONVENTION
Periodic reports of States parties due in 1998
POLAND*
*
For the initial report submitted by the Government of Poland, see
CRC/C/8/Add.11; for its consideration by the Committee, see documents
CRC/C/SR(s).192-194 and for the concluding observations see
CRC/C/15/Add.31.
GE.02-40406 (E) 220302
CONTENTS
Paragraphs Page
INTRODUCTION 1 -
6 3
I. THE COUNTRY AND ITS PEOPLE 7 - 22 4
II. THE POLITICAL
SYSTEM OF THE REPUBLIC
OF POLAND 23 - 57 7
III. GENERAL
INFORMATION ON LEGAL ACTS IN WHICH
THE CHILD’S RIGHTS ARE CONTAINED
58 - 66 13
IV. DEFINITION OF THE CHILD 67 -
91 17
V. INFORMATION ON IMPLEMENTATION OF
GENERAL PRINCIPLES 92 -
115 22
VI. CIVIL RIGHTS AND FREEDOMS 116 - 129 27
VII. THE
FAMILY ENVIRONMENT AND
ALTERNATIVE CARE 130 - 188 30
VIII. BASIC
HEALTH AND WELFARE 189 - 273 42
IX. EDUCATION, LEISURE AND CULTURAL
ACTIVITIES 274 - 336 58
X. SPECIAL PROTECTION MEASURES 337 -
404 71
CONCLUSION 405 - 409 83
INTRODUCTION
1. On 20 November 1989, the United Nations
General Assembly adopted the Convention on the Rights of the Child. Poland was
an initiator
of the Convention and one of the first States to join; it completed
the ratification process on 7 July 1991.
2. The Convention is referred to
as the world constitution of children’s rights, which defines the status
of children on the
basis of the following assumptions:
3. In
elaborating the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the States parties were
guided by:
4. The provisions of the Convention refer to children
both before and after birth (Preamble to the Convention on the Rights of the
Child). Poland’s legal system, in accordance with the principle of
equality enshrined in the Convention, does not make entitlements
dependent on
age and protects the life of children from the moment of conception until the
age of majority. The Convention recognizes
that children who are mentally or
physically disabled or deprived of a family environment have special rights to
care. It emphasizes
the right of all minorities to retain their own culture,
religion and language.
5. This report is submitted pursuant to article 44
of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, according to which “States
Parties undertake to submit to the Committee, through the Secretary-General of
the United Nations, reports on the measures they have
adopted which give effect
to the rights recognized herein and on the progress made on the enjoyment of
those rights.”
6. The report covers the period 1993-1998 and was
drafted in accordance with the guidelines issued by the Office of the High
Commissioner
for Human Rights (CRC/C/5 and HRI/1991/1).
I. THE COUNTRY AND ITS PEOPLE
A. Socio-economic indicators
Per capita income
7. A
review of the economic situation from 1993 to 1998 has shown Poland to be one of
Europe’s most rapidly developing countries.
Gross domestic product (GDP)
8. After three years (1995-1997) of rapid,
balanced development, with GDP growth in the vicinity of 6 to 7 per cent, GDP
grew by 5.9
per cent in the first half of 1998. Calculated in terms of United
States dollars, GDP amounted to $143.1 billion in 1997.
9. Despite a
slackening of the growth rate, Poland remains one of the most rapidly developing
countries and a leader among the States
of Central and Eastern Europe. As a
result, it is bridging the gap that separates it from the countries of the
European Union.
Per capita income
10. In 1992, the first year of economic growth
during the transformation period, per capita GDP (in terms of purchasing power
parity)
amounted in Poland to $4,700. By 1997 it had risen to some $7,000, an
increase of 31 per cent but a sum that still represents a
mere 40 per cent of
the average per capita GDP in the countries of the European Union.
11. In
per capita terms the figures for the 1993-1998 period were as follows:
|
1993
|
1994
|
1995
|
1996
|
1997
|
1998
|
In Polish zlotys
|
4 051
|
5 459
|
7 938
|
9 981
|
12 144
|
14 240
|
In US$ (in exchange rate terms)
|
2 232
|
2 402
|
3 057
|
3 484
|
3 702
|
ca.4 100
|
In US$ (in currency purchasing
power terms) |
5 114
|
5 459
|
6 350
|
6 663
|
ca.7 000
|
NA
|
Inflation rate
12. An analysis of inflationary trends indicates
an annual decline in the rate of price increase. The rise in the price of
consumer
goods and services in 1990 (calculated in relation to the preceding
year - average annual indicator) amounted to 585.8 per cent;
by 1991 the figure
had dropped to 70.3 per cent and by 1997 to 14.9 per cent. In 1998, an
inflation rate of 11.8 per cent was recorded
over the previous
year.
13. Relatively low food prices and the inflow of imported consumer
goods checked the growth in domestic prices despite high indicators
for service
costs. The declining inflation rate contributed to a growing sense of stability
in business circles and of social security
in the population at large.
Foreign debt
14. Poland’s foreign debt remains a
significant problem. At the end of 1997, the country’s overall
indebtedness amounted
to $38.5 billion. By the end of 1998 it had grown
to $42.7 billion.
15. Nevertheless, in per capita terms this is
lower than in certain other Central European countries. For instance, Poland
recorded
a figure of $1,104 per capita in 1998, compared with $2,710 for
Hungary in 1996, $2,000 for Slovenia and $1,963 for the Czech Republic.
Unemployment rate
16. Since mid-1994, unemployment has dropped
significantly. In December 1993, the jobless rate stood at 16.4 per cent, but
by December
1998 it had dropped to 10.4 per cent. The years 1993-1998 may be
divided into two periods in terms of unemployment:
− An upward trend until mid-1994 reaching a record level of almost three million unemployed. This was due to the transformation of the Polish economy, which had to be adjusted to market requirements;
− The second period began in August 1994 and was marked by a dramatic drop in unemployment. At the end of December 1998 the number of persons out of work amounted to 1,831,400 - a decline of 1,058,200 (37 per cent) compared with the end of December 1993. This was due, on the one hand, to the country’s improved economic performance reflected in a high economic growth rate (in 1998 GDP grew by 4.8 per cent) which increased the demand for labour. The other reason was the State’s active social policy, including the introduction of new legal arrangements and instruments whose main purpose was to create employment for the jobless.
Unemployment data - as at 31
December
Years
|
1993
|
1994
|
1995
|
1996
|
1997
|
1998
|
Registered jobless (in thousands)
|
2 889.6
|
2 838.0
|
2 628.8
|
2 359.5
|
1 826.4
|
1 831.4
|
Unemployment rate (percentage)
|
16.4
|
16.0
|
14.9
|
13.2
|
10.3
|
10.4
|
Indicator of the ability to read and write
17. In the 1990s a considerable expansion of the
scope of education was recorded as a result of both demographic trends and the
Polish
people’s growing educational aspirations.
18. School
attendance indicators, which attest to the universality of education, have shown
a systematic increase in the 15 to 18
age group (from 80 per cent in the
1990/91 school year to 88 per cent in the 1998/99 school year). The
percentage of persons in
the 19 to 24 age group enrolled in institutions of
higher education also grew during that period (from about 13 per cent to 34 per
cent).
19. The nearly two-and-a-half-fold increase in enrolment in higher
education in 1990-1998 has helped to narrow the distance separating
Poland from
many Western countries.
B. Information on the population
20. According to current statistics,
Poland’s population numbered 38,667,000 in December 1998, with women
accounting for 51.4
per cent. Town-dwellers represented 61.9 per cent of the
total. On average, one person in four was under 18 years of age, and one-fifth
of the population had not attained the age of 15. On average, 60 people out of
100 were in the 20 to 64 age group; the remaining
12 per cent were aged 65 and
older. Exact data for current changes in the structure of the population are
shown in the following
table:
Population structure according to place of
residence (in thousands):
Category
|
1993
|
1994
|
1995
|
1996
|
1997
|
1998
|
Total population
(in thousands) |
3 850.5
|
3 858.1
|
3 860.9
|
3 836.9
|
3 866.0
|
3 866.7
|
Urban
|
2 380.8
|
2 386.8
|
2 387.6
|
2 309.3
|
2 392.5
|
2 392.3
|
Rural
|
1 469.7
|
1 471.3
|
1 473.3
|
1 473.6
|
1 473.5
|
1 474.4
|
Population structure according to place of residence in percentage
terms:
Category
|
1993
|
1994
|
1995
|
1996
|
1997
|
1998
|
Urban
|
61.7
|
61.9
|
61.8
|
61.9
|
61.9
|
61.9
|
Rural
|
38.2
|
38.1
|
38.2
|
38.1
|
38.1
|
38.1
|
Population structure according to age (percentage):
Category
|
1993
|
1994
|
1995
|
1996
|
1997
|
1998
|
0-14 years
|
23.7
|
23.1
|
22.5
|
22.8
|
21.1
|
20.3
|
65 years and older
|
10.7
|
10.9
|
11.2
|
11.5
|
11.6
|
11.9
|
21. In 1998, 209,400 marriages were contracted in Poland - a slight
increase over the preceding year. Divorce led to the break-up
of 45,200 married
couples. The number of live births dropped to just below 400,000. In 1998,
396,500 children were born. Calculated
in terms of women in the 15 to 49 age
group, this gives a fertility rate of 1.43. The significant decline in this
indicator from
1.85 in 1993 was chiefly due to the fall in partial fertility
coefficients, calculated by measuring the number of live births per
1,000 women
in separate age groups.
Fertility coefficients (live births) per 1,000 women:
Category
|
1993
|
1994
|
1995
|
1996
|
1997
|
1998
|
15-49 (years of age)
|
50.6
|
48.8
|
43.3
|
42.5
|
40.7
|
38.8
|
15-19
|
27.2
|
25.5
|
22.0
|
21.1
|
19.5
|
18.7
|
20-24
|
138.0
|
128.6
|
113.0
|
107.6
|
100.7
|
92.6
|
25-29
|
114.2
|
113.4
|
104.5
|
103.8
|
100.0
|
96.2
|
30-34
|
57.4
|
59.0
|
53.7
|
54.6
|
53.4
|
52.2
|
35-39
|
25.4
|
26.2
|
23.2
|
23.2
|
22.3
|
21.5
|
40-44
|
6.3
|
6.5
|
5.5
|
5.5
|
5.3
|
4.9
|
45-49
|
0.4
|
0.3
|
0.3
|
0.3
|
0.3
|
0.2
|
Number of live births
|
494 310
|
481 285
|
433 109
|
428 203
|
412 635
|
395 619
|
Number of infant deaths
|
7 995
|
7 284
|
5 891
|
5 228
|
4 194
|
3 776
|
Infant mortality rate (infant
deaths per 1 000 live births) |
16.1
|
15.11
|
13.6
|
12.2
|
10.2
|
9.9
|
Number of maternal deaths
|
60
|
48
|
55
|
33
|
45
|
-
|
22. A positive development has been the increase in average life
expectancy to 68.9 years for men and 77.3 years for women - an increase
of 2.2
per cent and 1.7 per cent respectively from the 1993 figures. The mortality
rate per 1,000 of the population was 9.7, and
the infant mortality rate per
1,000 live births was 9.5. In relative terms, the infant mortality decrease
coefficient amounted to
38.7 per cent compared to 1993.
II. THE POLITICAL SYSTEM OF THE REPUBLIC OF POLAND
23. After the collapse of the communist system
in 1989, the Republic of Poland re-emerged as an independent and democratic
law-abiding
State. The achievement of the political camp centred round
Solidarity and groupings of the former democratic opposition. The political
changes led to the creation of new institutions of State authority. The
Constitution adopted in April 1997 states in article 1 that the Republic is the
commonweal of all its citizens. The Republic of Poland guards
the
country’s independence and territorial integrity, is a guarantor of the
human rights and freedoms and of the security of
its citizens, protects the
national heritage and ensures the protection of the environment.
24. The
Republic of Poland is a democratic, law-abiding State, governed by authorities
elected through free elections who function
within the limits and on the basis
of the law. The economic system of the Republic of Poland is based on the
protection of ownership,
the right to freely engage in business activities and
the State’s commitment to implementing the principles of social
justice.
25. The State’s political system is based on a division
and balance between executive, legislative and judicial organs of authority.
Legislative authority is exercised by the Sejm (lower house of parliament) and
Senate, executive authority is vested in the President
of the Republic of Poland
and the Council of Ministers (the cabinet), and judicial authority is the domain
of the courts and tribunals.
The political structure of the Republic of Poland
may be described as a parliamentary-cabinet system.
26. The Sejm is
composed of 460 deputies elected by universal, equal, direct, proportionate and
secret suffrage. The Senate is composed
of 100 senators elected in voivodships
(provinces) for the duration of the Sejm’s term.
27. Anyone who has
reached the age of 18 and has not been deprived of civic or electoral rights by
a court has the right to vote.
All citizens who have reached the age of 21 may
stand for election to the Sejm. The right to be a candidate for a Senate seat
is
acquired on reaching the age of 30.
28. The Sejm exercises
legislative authority, establishes the Council of Ministers (which is
politically responsible to it) and is
endowed with authority of appointment. It
appoints judges to the State Tribunal and the Constitutional Tribunal and
appoints members
of the National Judiciary Council, the National Council for
Radio and Television Broadcasting, the Civil Rights Spokesperson (Ombudsman),
the President of the Supreme Auditing Chamber and the President of the National
Bank of Poland. The Sejm also exercises supervisory
functions vis-à-vis
the Government and the government administration. Its most important
supervisory procedures comprise
the creation of investigative commissions,
deputies' right to question the Government on its performance and supervision of
the Government's
implementation of the State budget. A supervisory function is
also performed by the Supreme Auditing Chamber which is linked to
the
Sejm.
29. The Senate likewise exercises legislative authority through its
own legislative initiative and can introduce amendments to bills
passed by the
Sejm. The Senate also participates in Parliament’s appointment functions;
the appointment of the President of
the Supreme Auditing Chamber and the Civil
Rights Spokesperson requires the consent of the Senate, and the Senate appoints
members
of the National Council for Radio and Television Broadcasting, the
National Judiciary Council and the Monetary Policy Council.
30. The
President is the highest representative of the Republic of Poland and the
guarantor of the continuity of State authority.
He oversees compliance with the
Constitution and guards the sovereignty and security of the State, the
inviolability of its frontiers and the integrity of its territory. The
President is elected by universal, equal, direct and secret suffrage for a
five-year term and may be re-elected only once. A Polish
citizen who has
reached the age of 35, at the latest on election day, and is fully eligible to
be elected to the Sejm, may be elected
President of the Republic of Poland. At
least 100,000 citizens enjoying Sejm voting rights are required for the
submission of a
presidential candidature.
31. The Council of Ministers
(the Government) is an organ of executive authority. The Constitution states
that “The Council of Ministers shall conduct the affairs of State policy
not reserved for other State organs or local
self-government” (article
146, paragraph 2, of the Constitution). The Government conducts Poland’s
internal and external policies.
32. The Council of Ministers is headed by
the President of the Council of Ministers or Prime Minister. The Prime Minister
represents
the Council of Ministers, directs its activities and ensures
implementation of government policy. In the provinces, it is the voivod
(provincial governor) who serves as the organ of government administration and
representative of the Council of Ministers.
33. The Republic of Poland is a
unitary State (article 3 of the Constitution) with well-developed local
government. In 1990, territorial self-government re-emerged at the gmina
(commune) level. The gmina
is in charge of all local matters not reserved by
law for other entities. In 1998, a far-reaching reform of public administration
was carried out, as a result of which territorial self-government was created at
the powiat (district) and voivodship (province)
levels. In October 1998,
elections were held to gmina and powiat councils and to voivodship assemblies.
The State’s territorial
divisions were also simplified by the reform, and
the number of voivodships was reduced from 49 to 16. The voivodships became
structures
that are both an arm of central government and units of provincial
self-rule.
34. The independence of territorial self-government is
protected by the courts. Local government units, as communities of the
inhabitants
of a given area, are legal entities. They enjoy ownership and other
property rights enabling them to manage common assets. The
revenue of
territorial self-government comprises allocations, subsidies, a share of tax
revenues and local payments and rates. Local
council elections are carried out
by universal, equal, direct and secret suffrage. The gmina, powiat and
voivodship councils elect
representative organs which are subordinate to them
chairmen of gmina, powiat and voivodship councils and executive organs, rural
administrators (in charge of several villages), city and town mayors and
voivodship marshals.
Poland’s judicial system
35. The Republic of Poland recognizes the
independence of courts of law and respects the independence of judges. These
principles
are safeguarded by the constitutionally sanctioned National Judiciary
Council. The principles of independence and irremovability
of judges enjoy
constitutional protection (articles 178 and 180 of the Constitution). Justice
is dispensed in Poland by the Supreme Court, common courts, administrative
courts and military courts. Emergency courts
and summary justice are prohibited
in peace time but may be introduced in wartime.
The Supreme Court
36. The fundamental task of the Supreme Court is
to exercise supervision over the verdicts and rulings of common and military
courts
(article 183 of the Constitution). The purpose thereof is to ensure
proper and uniform interpretation of the law and judicial practices in areas of
its jurisdiction
(article 2, paragraph 2, of the Law on the Supreme Court). The
Supreme Court performs its functions in two basic ways (article 13
of the Law on
the Supreme Court).
37. The first involves the review of appeals against
court rulings. In the case of common courts, this simply involves review in
cassation (because it is the appeal courts that are chiefly responsible for the
appeal process). But the Supreme Court functions
as a court of second instance
in military cases.
38. The Supreme Court is divided into four chambers a
Civil Chamber, a Penal Chamber, a Military and Administrative Chamber, and a
Labour and Social Security Chamber. Each is headed by a president appointed by
the President of the Republic of Poland. An Assembly
of Chamber Judges operates
within each chamber and serves as the judges’ self-governing body. The
Supreme Court is headed
by the First President (chief justice), and the
Court’s judicial self-governing body is the General Assembly and the
Supreme
Court College it elects.
39. The First President of the Supreme
Court is appointed by the President of the Republic of Poland for a six-year
term from among
the candidates submitted by the Supreme Court’s General
Assembly.
Common courts
40. Common courts are courts of a general
nature. They are involved in the administration of justice in all cases not
reserved by
law for other courts. By the same token, they are always presumed
to enjoy judicial competence.
Common courts are divided into:
Municipal courts
Voivodship courts
Courts of appeal
Municipal courts
41. Municipal courts are set up for one or more
municipalities within a single voivodship. When circumstances so warrant, more
than
one district court may be established within a single municipality. The
Minister of Justice establishes and dissolves such courts,
and determines their
seat and area of jurisdiction by decree after consulting with the National
Judiciary Council.
42. Municipal courts review cases subject to the
jurisdiction of the common courts with the exception of those appertaining by
law
to the other courts. They deal with criminal cases (penal departments),
civil suits (civil departments), family and guardianship
issues (family and
juvenile departments) and labour and social security disputes (labour courts).
Within the courts separate organizational
units known as economic courts are set
up for the purpose of business registration.
Voivodship courts
43. Voivodship courts are established for one or
more voivodships. They are established in the same way as district
courts.
44. Voivodship courts deal with problems of penal law, civil law,
family and guardianship law, and labour and social security law,
with the
exception of cases appertaining by law to other courts. Separate organizational
units known as economic courts are set
up within voivodship courts to register
business enterprises.
45. Voivodship courts are courts of first instance
in more serious or complicated cases, and serve as courts of second instance to
review the rulings of district courts. Appeals against rulings handed down by
voivodship courts of first instance are reviewed by
the courts of
appeal.
46. The president of a voivodship court performs judicial
administrative functions vis-à-vis courts under its jurisdiction.
The
president of a voivodship court in the area of judicial administration is an
organ subject to the authority of the Minister
of Justice.
Courts of Appeal
47. Courts of appeals, of which there are 10 in
Poland, are created in the same manner as municipal, district and voivodship
courts.
Within courts of appeal, the Minister of Justice sets up separate
organizational units known as labour and social security courts
to handle cases
involving labour and social security matters.
48. Courts of appeal
perform the function of courts of second instance, since they review appeals
against the rulings of voivodship
courts functioning as courts of first
instance. They also perform the function of courts of cassation, since they can
be provisionally
entrusted with the review in cassation of cases falling within
their sphere of competence.
Supreme Administrative Court
49. The Supreme Administrative Court exercises
supervision over administrative decisions issued by administrative organs. The
Supreme
Administrative Court rules on complaints against administrative
decisions within the scope of and according to procedures set forth
in the Code
of Administrative Procedure and separate regulations.
50. Any citizen who
is dissatisfied with the way in which matters have been handled by an
administrative institution is entitled,
after exhausting appeals to its superior
organ, to lodge a formal complaint with the Supreme Administrative Court and
expect a final
decision.
Military courts
51. Military courts dispense justice in criminal
cases within the Armed Forces of the Republic of Poland. In special cases
indicated
by law, military courts may exercise judicial functions in criminal
cases involving non-members of the armed services. Supreme oversight
over
military courts is exercised by the Supreme Court’s Military Chamber with
respect to court rulings and by the Minister
of National Defence with respect to
organizational matters and military service.
Constitutional Tribunal
52. The Republic of Poland has entrusted the
task of ruling on the compatibility of legal acts with the Constitution to a
Constitutional Tribunal specially created for the purpose. The Constitutional
Tribunal issues rulings in the following cases:
1. The compatibility of laws and international agreements with the Constitution;
53. The rulings of the Constitutional Tribunal are
universally binding and final. Proceedings in the Tribunal may be instituted by
the President of the Republic of Poland, the Marshal of the Sejm (speaker of
the lower house), the Marshal of the Senate, the First
President of the Supreme
Court, the President of the Supreme Administrative Court, the President of the
Supreme Auditing Chamber,
the Civil Rights Spokesperson, the Prosecutor-General,
50 Sejm deputies or 30 senators. Other entities entitled to submit motions
to
the Tribunal to verify the constitutionality of a legal enactment include local
government, the National Judiciary Council, trade
union federations, churches
and religious associations.
54. The Constitution also grants citizens the
right to submit citizens’ constitutional complaints calling on the
Tribunal to verify the consistency
with the Constitution of legislation or other
legal enactments on the basis of which court rulings or administrative decisions
have been issued.
Civil Rights Spokesperson
55. The Civil Rights Spokesperson (ombudsman) is
the guardian of civil rights and freedoms as set down in the Constitution of the
Republic of Poland and other legal regulations. The Civil Rights Spokesperson
protects civil rights and freedoms by checking
whether the activities or
inactivity of organs, organizations and institutions committed to the respect
and implementation of those
rights and freedoms may constitute a breach of the
law and/or of the principles of social coexistence and justice.
Supreme Auditing Chamber
56. The Supreme Auditing Chamber, the supreme
State supervisory organ, is subject to the authority of the Sejm. The Supreme
Auditing
Chamber supervises government administration and that of other State
institutions in terms of the legality, reliability, cost-efficiency
and
advisability of their activities. The legality, reliability and cost-efficiency
of the activities of organs of territorial and
local self-government and of
legal entities and municipal institutions are also overseen by the Supreme
Auditing Chamber. The President
of the Supreme Auditing Chamber is appointed
for a six-year term by the Sejm.
National Council for Radio and Television Broadcasting
57. The National Council for Radio and
Television Broadcasting oversees the freedom and order of radio and television
broadcasting.
Members of the Council are appointed by the Sejm, Senate and
President of the Republic of Poland. Pursuant to article 213 of the
Constitution, “the Council for Radio and Television Broadcasting
safeguards freedom of speech, the right to information and the public interest
in radio and television broadcasting”.
III. GENERAL INFORMATION ON LEGAL ACTS IN WHICH
THE CHILD’S RIGHTS ARE CONTAINED
A. Harmonizing domestic law and policy with the provisions of the Convention
58. The
most important legal enactment containing regulations governing children’s
rights is the new Constitution of the Republic of Poland which was adopted on 2
April 1997 and entered into effect on 16 October 1997. Among the basic
innovations
of the Constitution are the inclusion of ratified international
agreements among the sources of law in the Republic of Poland (article 87,
paragraph
1, and article 91, paragraph 1) and the principle that international
agreements take precedence over domestic legislation (article
91, paragraph 2).
This has paved the way for the direct application of the Convention’s
provisions. Moreover, the Constitution contains a catalogue of basic civil
rights and freedoms (articles 30 to 76), including regulations directly
affecting children’s
rights. Mention should be made above all of:
− Article 18 regarding State protection and care of maternity and parenthood;
− Article 48, paragraph 1, concerning the right of parents to rear their children in accordance with their own convictions together with the obligation to take into account the child’s degree of maturity as well as its freedom of conscience, creed and conviction;
− Article 53, paragraph 3 (in conjunction with article 48, paragraph 1) concerning the right of parents to ensure their children a religious and moral upbringing and teaching in accordance with their own convictions;
− Article 65, paragraph 3, banning full-time employment of children under the age of 16;
− Article 68, paragraph 3, concerning the right of children to special health care provided by the public authorities;
− Article 70, paragraphs 1 and 2, concerning the right to education, compulsory education until the age of 18 and free education in public schools;
− Article 71 concerning public assistance for large and single-parent families, and for mothers before and after childbirth;
− Article 72 concerning the protection of children’s rights, the duty of the public authorities to protect the child against violence, cruelty, exploitation and depravation; public care and assistance for children deprived of parental care; the duty of the public authorities and others responsible for children to listen to and, where possible, take into account the child’s opinion when determining his or her rights; the creation of the post of Spokesperson for the Rights of the Child.
59. Mention should
also be made of the following changes in existing legal enactments and the
adoption of new legislation with a bearing
on the rights of the child and
incorporating the provisions of the Convention:
− Amendment of the provisions of the Family and Guardianship Code regarding adoption procedures by the Law of 26 May 1995 (published in the Legislative Gazette, No. 83, item 417);
− Amendment of the Code of Civil Procedure by the same Law to encompass adoption procedures;
− Amendment of the Family and Guardianship Code, the Law on Public Registrar’s Documents, laws on the relationship of the State with the Catholic Church in the Republic of Poland and certain other laws (Legislative Gazette, No. 117, item 757);
− Amendment of the law on procedure in juvenile cases by the Law of 29 June 1995 amending the Code of Penal Procedure, laws on the structure of military courts, laws on payments in criminal cases and laws on procedures in cases involving juveniles (Legislative Gazette, No. 89, item 443);
− Directives issued by the Minister of Justice on 19 May 1997 regarding categories and forms of organization of reform facilities and shelters for juveniles (Legislative Gazette, No. 58, items 361 and 362);
− Adoption of the Law of 19 August 1994 on the protection of mental health (Legislative Gazette, No. 58, No. 111, item 535);
− Adoption of the Law of 24 April 1997 on combating drug abuse (Legislative Gazette, No. 75, item 468);
− Adoption of the Law of 5 December 1996 on the medical profession (Legislative Gazette, No. 28/1997, item 152);
− Adoption of the Law of 26 June 1997 on foreigners (Legislative Gazette, No. 114, item 152);
− Adoption of the Law of 6 June 1997 Penal Code, Code of Criminal Procedure and Executive Penal Code (Legislative Gazette, No. 88, item 553, No. 89, item 555, and No. 90, item 557).
60. The Council of
Ministers adopted in December 1998 a bill to establish the office of
Spokesperson for the Rights of the Child drafted
by the Office of the Government
Plenipotentiary for Family Affairs. The bill implements the commitment stemming
from article 72,
paragraph 4, of the Constitution of the Republic of Poland
of 2 April 1997 to create the post of Spokesperson to ensure the protection of
children’s rights.
In ensuring the realization of children’s
rights, State organs, and the Spokesperson in particular, should respect the
rights
of the family and support it in the proper fulfilment of its tasks. This
applies in particular when parents, through no fault of
their own, are unable to
cope with their duties (inability to earn a livelihood, illness or death of one
of the parents). However,
if a child’s rights are violated and its
interests are threatened, the Spokesperson is duty bound to use all legal
measures
at his disposal to ensure the child’s proper
development.
61. The overriding criterion and aim of the
Spokesperson’s endeavours are “the child’s welfare”.
The same
concept, which is the main interpretative directive, is contained in
the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the Family and Guardianship
Code and
Polish family law.
B. National and local mechanisms coordinating policy regarding
children’s
affairs and overseeing implementation of the
Convention
62. In Poland there are
State agencies responsible for children’s health, education, work, sports
and culture, but there is
no single institution responsible for the totality of
children’s affairs.
63. The interests of children will soon be
represented by the Spokesperson for the Rights of the Child (draft legislation
creating
that post was approved by the Council of Ministers in December 1998).
The Office of the Government Plenipotentiary for Family Affairs
is at the
service of the family, including children. The Minister of the Interior’s
Plenipotentiary for Refugees is in charge
of children with refugee
status.
64. Polish legislation facilitates social initiatives by legally
recognizing non-governmental associations, foundations, unions and
institutions.
A number of organizations have taken steps to popularize the Convention and use
its provisions as arguments in seeking
to address the problems of
children.
C. Propagating the principles and regulations of the Convention
65. Training programmes for judges, legal
guardians and employees of institutions for juveniles (organized by the
Department) incorporate
a broad sweep of issues in the field of children’s
rights, including the provisions of the Convention. In turn, judges and
guardians themselves include such issues in their talks with children and
adolescents in schools and various other institutions.
66. In the years
1993-1998, the Ministry of National Education organized 15 courses devoted to
these subjects (12 dealt exclusively
with children’s rights) lasting a
total of 328 hours. The training was designed for educational supervisors and
for pre-school
and other teachers. All told, 375 persons underwent training
(286 in courses dealing only with such issues). The courses covered
the
Convention itself as a legal instrument as well as the individual questions it
regulates. The training sessions were organized
by teacher qualification
improvement centres in such places as Bydgoszcz, Konin, Kraków, Krosno,
Lodz, Warsaw and Wroclaw.
The chart below contains a detailed list of the
courses:
Workshops organized in 1994-1998 on the subject of human
rights:
No.
|
School
year |
Form
|
Subject
|
Institution and location
|
Intended for
|
Hours
|
Partici-pants
|
1
|
1995/96
|
Course
|
Personal rights in light of the Convention on the Rights of the Child
|
Voivodship Methodology Centre in Bydgoszcz
|
Teachers, educationalists, educators
|
20
|
15
|
2
|
1996/97
|
Course
|
Convention on the Rights of the Child
|
Voivodship Teacher Qualification Improvement Centre in Lodz
|
Pre-school teachers
|
15
|
25
|
3
|
1996/97
|
Course
|
Children’s rights and their protection at school
|
Voivodship Teacher Qualification Improvement Centre in Lodz
|
Teachers of forms 4 to 8
|
34
|
15
|
4
|
1996/97
|
Course
|
Human rights, children’s rights
|
Voivodship Methodology Centre in Krosno
|
Teachers of social studies
|
40
|
20
|
5
|
1996/97
|
Course
|
Psycho-pedagogical consequences of violating children’s rights
|
Voivodship Methodology Centre in Konin
|
Schoolteachers, pedagogical staff of special institutions
|
15
|
25
|
6
|
1996/97
|
Other
|
Respecting children’s rights at school
|
Voivodship Methodology Centre in Wroclaw
|
Teachers of forms1 to 3
|
64
|
25
|
7
|
1996/97
|
Seminar
|
Children’s rights
|
Voivodship Methodology Centre in Gorzów Wlkp.
|
Teachers of history and social studies
|
6
|
20
|
8
|
1997/98
|
Course
|
Convention on the Rights of the Child and child protection under Polish
law
|
Voivodship Methodology Centre in Plock
|
Educational management
|
5
|
30
|
9
|
1997/98
|
Course
|
Protecting children’s rights at school -practical assumptions
|
Voivodship Methodology Centre in Kalisz
|
Teachers
|
30
|
30
|
10
|
1997/98
|
Course
|
Children’s rights in the pedagogics of C. Freinet and other
educational concepts
|
Voivodship Methodology Centre in Kraków
|
Primary schoolteachers
|
25
|
30
|
11
|
1997/98
|
Course
|
Human rights and the protection of children’s rights at school
|
Voivodship Teacher Qualification Improvement Centre in Lodz
|
Teachers of forms 4 - 8, schoolteachers, rights spokesmen
|
34
|
18
|
12
|
1997/98
|
Course
|
Convention on the Rights of the Child
|
Voivodship Teacher Qualification Improvement Centre in Kraków
|
Pre-school teachers and principals
|
40
|
25
|
IV. DEFINITION OF THE CHILD
67. Legally established age limits for various
purposes:
(1) The age of majority is 18 years of age, for example for
contracting marriage (see point (e)), under article 10 of the Civil
Code.
(2) There is no age limit for obtaining legal advice without
parental consent.
The concept of legal capacity exists in Poland’s
legal system. It envisages the lack of such capacity in the case of children
under 13 years of age, limited legal capacity in the case of those aged 13 to 17
and full legal capacity for individuals who have
attained the age of 18
(articles 11, 12 and 15 of the Civil Code). Limited legal capacity means,
among other things, the ability,
without the consent of a legal representative,
to contract agreements of the type widely concluded on minor daily matters
(article
20 of the Civil Code), to dispose of one’s earnings (article 21
of the Civil Code and article 101, paragraph 2, of the Family
and Guardianship
Code), and to dispose of assets given to such individuals to do with as they
please (article 22 of the Civil Code
and article 101, paragraph 2, of the Family
and Guardianship Code).
68. The Law on the Medical Profession of 5
December 1996 requires attainment of the age of 16 (with certain exceptions) for
a minor,
in addition to his/her legal representative, for consent to participate
in a medical experiment (article 25, paragraph 2). The same
age is required for
a patient to obtain full information on his/her state of health, the diagnosis,
possible diagnostic and therapeutic
methods, the foreseeable consequences of
their application or termination, and the results of treatment and prognoses
(article 31,
paragraph 5). (Minors under that age are informed with certain
limitations (article 31, paragraph 7).) A patient must be at least
16 to
consent to medical tests or other health services (article 32, paragraph 5) and
to surgical treatment (article 34, paragraph
4).
69. (3) Completion
of compulsory education 18 years (article 70, paragraph 1, of the
Constitution).
(4) Part-time employment, full-time employment and
high-risk employment.
The regulations under section 9 of the Labour Code
establish a uniform category of juvenile employees and specify a separate system
of protective regulations for that group. According to the legal definition
contained in article 190, paragraph 1, of the Labour
Code, a working minor is
someone who has attained 15 years of age but is under the age of 18. Such a
person may be employed on condition
that he/she:
− Has completed at least primary school;
− Presents a medical certificate stating that a given job does not pose a health threat.
70. In accordance with article 191, paragraph
2, of the Labour Code, an unskilled minor may be employed only on the basis of a
work
agreement for the purpose of vocational training. According to the
directives issued by the Council of Ministers on 28 May 1996
regarding the
vocational training and remuneration of minors (Legislative Gazette No. 60,
item 278), vocational training may take the form of teaching
an occupation or
training someone to perform a specific task.
71. The teaching of an
occupation is intended to prepare the minor for work as a skilled worker or
apprentice and includes both practical
training organized by the employer and
additional theoretical instruction. Occupational training lasts, in general, 36
months but
not less than 33 months.
72. Job training, i.e. teaching
someone to perform a specific task, is intended to prepare a minor for
employment as a job-trained
worker and may involve jobs not requiring the
occupational training of normal duration (see above). Such job training may
last from
three to six months. An exception is made for minors participating in
Voluntary Work Brigades, for whom the job training period
may be extended until
they complete primary school. But it should not exceed 12 months and, overall,
should not last longer than
18 months.
73. Exceptional cases of
employment of minors who have not completed primary school and are under the age
of 15 are specified in the
directives issued by the Minister of Labour and
Social Policy on 29 May 1996 (Legislative Gazette No. 62, item
291).
74. Where a legal representative submits the appropriate
application, the above directives permit the employment of a minor who has
not
completed primary school for the purpose of job training, on condition that a
medical certificate is presented stating the lack
of contraindications for such
employment in the following situations:
− Where a minor is not subject to compulsory schooling requirements or has been released from that obligation by the Superintendent of Schools;
− Where a minor over 15 years of age who is subject to compulsory education requirements is permitted by his or her primary school principal to fulfil the schooling requirement outside of school or is assigned by the principal to a job-training class.
75. Minors may be employed
for the purpose of job training if they have reached the age of 15, even if
they have not completed the
fifth form and have not been absolved from the
compulsory schooling requirement. Such employment may commence only on the
basis
of permission by the Superintendent of Schools, issued on the basis of a
medical certificate presented by the minor and the opinion
of the psychological
counselling office.
76. In accordance with the above-mentioned
directives, the employment of a minor who is over 14 but under 15 is permissible
at the
official request of the minor’s legal representative but may
involve only a minor who has completed primary school and received
a positive
recommendation from the psychological counselling office and a medical doctor.
A job contract may be concluded with such
an individual solely for the purpose
of vocational training.
77. A minor who has celebrated his or her
fifteenth birthday may be employed on the basis of a labour contract concluded
solely for
wage-earning purposes:
− In non-strenuous, seasonal or occasional jobs; such jobs are listed, on the basis of article 191, paragraph 4, in directives issued by the appropriate ministers;
− On the basis of a work agreement concluded on acquiring employment qualifications following previous occupational or job training.
78. Minors who have not completed primary education
may also be employed in non-strenuous seasonal or occasional
jobs.
79. The provisions of Polish labour law do not separately regulate
the employment of minors for part-time or full-time work, but they
do
differentiate working time in terms of the age of the minor. The working
time of a minor under 16 years of age may not exceed
six hours in a 24-hour
period, while a minor aged 16 or more may work up to eight hours during the same
period. Training time is
included in a minor’s working time regardless of
whether such training takes place during working hours, but it should not
exceed
18 hours a week.
80. The provisions of article 32 of the Convention
require States parties to observe special principles pertaining to the working
conditions of minors.
81. Matters relating to the employment of minors,
i.e. individuals over 15 but under 18, are regulated by the provisions of
section
9 of the Labour Code. Article 190 of the Code prohibits the employment
of individuals under the age of 15. On the basis of article
204 of the Code,
the Council of Ministers issued directives on 1 December 1990 listing jobs from
which minors are barred (Legislative
Gazette No. 85, item 500, of 1992, No. 1,
item 1, and of 1998, No. 105, item 658).
82. In accordance with
those directives, the employment of minors in jobs involving conditions harmful
to their health (the level
of such factors being specified), in dangerous or
extremely strenuous jobs or in jobs that might jeopardize a minor’s proper
psychological development is forbidden. Such jobs involve:
− Excessive physical exertion, the transport of heavy loads and a coerced body position;
− A working environment involving exposure to excessive cold or heat or changing temperatures;
− Unsuitable lighting;
− Noise and vibration;
− Electromagnetic or electrostatic fields as well as exposure to ionizing, laser, ultraviolet and infrared radiation;
− Work underground, below ground or at a height;
− Increased or decreased pressure;
− Exposure to harmful dust capable of causing fibrosis, irritation or allergies;
− Exposure to harmful biological substances;
− Exposure to harmful chemical substances (carcinogenic or probably carcinogenic, toxic, or allergy-inducing substances, pesticides and psychotropic drugs);
− Jeopardizing proper psychological development (including the production, sale and consumption of alcohol, the slaughter and butchering of animals, work as a bath attendant, etc.);
− Risk of bodily harm to the minor or those about him or her.
83. The directives permit the employment of minors aged
16 and over in some of the listed prohibited jobs in order to prepare them
for a
specific occupation; however, they specify the conditions required to protect
life and limb.
84. (5) Initiation of sexual activity the minimum age of
15 years may be extrapolated from article 200, paragraph 1, of the Penal
Code
which makes it a punishable offence to bring about sexual relations with, expose
to other sexual activity or perform such activity
on someone under the age of
15. If the minor involved is under the age of 15, his/her consent does not
preclude the offender’s
criminal liability.
85. (6) Contraction of
marriage the situation before and after ratification of a Concordat between the
Republic of Poland and the
Apostolic See should be differentiated. Previously,
a legally binding marriage could be contracted only before an official of the
registrar’s office (article 1, paragraph 1, of the Family and Guardianship
Code), a Polish consul or an individual designated
to perform the function of
consul (article 2 of the Code). Matrimony could be entered into by a male who
had attained 21 years of
age and a female of at least 18 years of age. However,
for valid reasons, a family court could grant permission for a male to marry
at
the age of 18 and a female at the age of 16. Since the entry into force on 15
November 1998 of the Law of 24 July 1998 which
amends the Family and
Guardianship Code, the Code of Civil Procedure, the Law on Documents of the
Registrar’s Office, the Law
on the Relationship of the State to the
Catholic Church in the Republic of Poland and certain other laws (Legislative
Gazette No.
117, item 757), couples may be married by a clergyman (if the
formal requirements set down in article 1 of the Family and Guardianship
Code
are fulfilled). The minimum marriageable age for both men and women has been
set at 18. But a family court may allow a woman
who has attained 16 years of
age to marry (article 10, paragraph 1, of the Family and Guardianship
Code).
86. (7) Compulsory military service. A person who has attained
18 years of age may be called up for military service pursuant to
the Law of 21
November 1967 on the Universal Obligation to Defend the Republic of Poland
(Legislative Gazette of 1992, No. 4, item
16). The Law also envisages
voluntary military service as part of a citizen’s duty to defend his
country but does not set
any age limits.
87. (8) Testifying in court. Two issues should be distinguished. The first
is the possibility of being summoned as a witness.
In both civil and criminal
cases, Polish law sets no age limits in respect of those summoned to testify as
witnesses. An exception
is article 430 of the Family and Guardianship Code,
which states that in marital cases (divorce, annulment of marriage, determining
the existence or non-existence of a state of matrimony) minors under the age of
13 and descendants under the age of 17 may not be
questioned as
witnesses.
88. The clearly restricted use of the testimony of children is
covered by article 259, paragraph 1, of the Code of Civil Procedure,
which
refers to the limited ability to perceive and to convey perceptions.
Individuals lacking such ability cannot be called as
witnesses. However, the
above-mentioned regulation stops short of setting a rigid age
limit.
89. Another question is the personal participation of minors in
cases involving them. Although one cannot deduce from the regulations
of the
Code of Civil Procedure that minors enjoy the full rights of adult witnesses,
they are not simply passive objects of judicial
proceedings. In custody cases
the Code does not formulate expressis verbis the duty of hearing the
views of a minor. But it does accord an individual under parental authority,
care or custody the ability
to act in cases affecting the minor, unless the said
minor lacks legal capacity (article 573, paragraph 1, of the Code of Civil
Procedure).
While paragraph 2 of the same article allows the court to limit or
even exclude the personal participation of a minor in proceedings
for
educational reasons, article 574, paragraph 1, envisages the possibility of a
family court ordering the personal appearance of
an individual under parental
authority or care. Article 576, paragraph 2, refers specifically to the
hearing of a minor’s
testimony in the course of proceedings, adding that
for educational reasons such testimony may be given away from the courtroom.
The issue of compulsory questioning of minors is also regulated by legal norms
of a higher order article 12, paragraph 2, of the
Convention (article 87,
paragraph 1, of the Constitution of the Republic of Poland states that ratified
international agreements are a source of law in Poland) and above-mentioned
article
72, paragraph 3, of the Constitution.
90. The age of criminal
responsibility is 17 years, an age limit laid down both in the 1969 Penal Code
and in article 10, paragraph
1, of the new Penal Code of 2 August 1997. Both
legal enactments envisage a special case of criminal responsibility of minors
for
certain kinds of particularly heinous crimes, but they maintain objective
premises. The 1969 Penal Code sets the age limit in such
cases at 16
(article 9, paragraph 2); the new Code lowers the age to 15 (article 10,
paragraph 2). The above-mentioned age limits
constitute the minimum age at
which an offender may be sentenced to incarceration. Offenders under that age
are held responsible
for punishable acts as minors in accordance with the Law of
26 November 1982 on Procedure in Cases Involving Minors.
91. (9)
Permission to consume alcohol and other controlled substances the age limit of
18 may be determined on the basis of the following
regulations:
− Article 15, paragraph 2, of the Law of 26 November 1982 on Educating in Sobriety and Counteracting Alcoholism (Legislative Gazette No. 35, item 230, as amended), which bans the sale of alcohol to individuals under the age of 18, and article 43, paragraph 1, of the same law, which lays down penalties for breaches of the ban;
− Article 208 of the Penal Code, which lays down penalties for individuals who cause minors to become addicted to drink by supplying them with alcohol, facilitating its consumption or inducing them to consume it;
− Article 6, paragraph 1, of the Law of 9 November 1996 on Protecting Health against the Effects of Tobacco Products (Legislative Gazette No. 10/96, item 55), which bans the sale of tobacco products to individuals under the age of 18, article 8 of that Law, which bans the advertising and promotion of tobacco products, tobacco paraphernalia or products imitating them in publications intended for children and juveniles, and article 13, which lays down penalties for violating those regulations;
− Article 17, paragraph 1, of the Law of 24 April 1997 on Counteracting Drug Abuse (Legislative Gazette No. 75, item 468), which provides for compulsory treatment and rehabilitation for individuals addicted to narcotic or psychotropic substances, on condition that they are under 18 years of age.
V. INFORMATION ON IMPLEMENTATION OF GENERAL PRINCIPLES
92. Article 2 of the Convention on the Rights of
the Child contains a non-discrimination clause. It is almost identical to that
contained
in article 24 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political
Rights. “States Parties shall respect and ensure the rights
set forth in
the present Convention to each child within their jurisdiction without
discrimination of any kind, irrespective of the
child’s or his or her
parent’s or legal guardian’s race, colour, sex, language, religion,
political or other opinion,
national, ethnic or social origin, property,
disability, birth or other status.” Paragraph 2 of the above-mentioned
article
requires States parties to the Convention to take all appropriate
measures to ensure that the child is protected against all forms
of
discrimination or punishment on the basis of the status, activities, expressed
opinions or beliefs of the child’s parents,
legal guardians or family
members.
93. The Polish legal system is based on the principle of equal
rights for all with no discrimination, which stems directly from the
Constitution of the Republic of Poland which, in article 32, recognizes the
equality of citizens before the law. Paragraph 2 of that article
states that
“No one may be discriminated against in political, social or economic life
for any reason whatsoever.” It
should be added that Polish law has also
eliminated discrimination against unborn children, so that children are given
full protection
from the moment of conception (Law of 7 January 1993 on Family
Planning, Protection of the Human Foetus and Conditions for Terminating
Pregnancy).
94. The regulations of the Family and Guardianship Code, like
the Civil Code, contain no clauses permitting the discriminatory treatment
of
certain categories of children. Hence, Polish law fulfils other requirements of
the Convention. Article 3 of the Convention stresses
that the best interests of
the child should be a primary consideration in all actions undertaken by
institutions, public services
and private individuals.
95. The Constitution of the Republic of Poland affords special protection to
marriage, maternity and parenthood (article 18). Article 72 of the Constitution
“ensures the protection of children’s rights” and confers on
everyone the right to demand that the public authorities
protect
children’s rights against violence, cruelty, exploitation and depravation.
The Constitution states that a child deprived of parental care is entitled to
care and assistance from the public authorities and requires legislators
to
specify the competence and the procedure for appointing a Spokesperson for the
Rights of the Child.
96. Article 3 of the Convention requires not only
legislative bodies but also courts of law and administrative authorities and
even
child-care institutions to accord priority to the best interests of the
child - a concept that has not been rigorously defined.
That being the case,
the best way to implement the requirement from a technical and legal standpoint
is for the Polish legislator
to apply the appropriate general clause. The
Polish legal system has satisfied that requirement through legal regulations
ordering
law enforcement agencies, particularly courts, to take the
child’s welfare into account as a high priority.
97. The
“child’s welfare” is the term used in the legislative
enactment that has the greatest significance for family
relations, namely the
Family and Guardianship Code. It does not contain a general section nor does it
formally single out any set
of regulations as more important or more widely
applicable than other provisions. Special consideration for a child’s
welfare
therefore does not stem from particular legal
regulations.
98. Nevertheless, the courts have recognized the requirement
of high-priority protection of a child’s welfare as a general value
and a
normative principle of Polish family law which is taken into account in all
legal regulations pertaining to children. This
approach is also supported by
the fact that it is derived from the provisions of the Constitution, which lays
the foundations of the political system of the Republic of Poland. A
child’s welfare is regarded as an overriding
value compared to the
interests of parents, guardians and other individuals. The Convention enjoins
respect for the aforementioned
interests of parents, because it broadly assumes
that they will be pursued in the interest of the child, for whom a family
environment,
as a rule, provides the best conditions for
development.
99. Under Poland’s legal system, these
responsibilities, rights and duties of parents towards their children are
enshrined above
all in the institution of parental authority, regulated in
greater detail by the Family and Guardianship Code.
100. In accordance
with the provisions of the Convention, both parents are entitled to exercise
parental authority (articles 92 and
93 Family and Guardianship Code). As a
result, the question of whether a child’s welfare requires the assignment
of parental
authority to parents does not arise. It does arise, however, in the
case of paternity suits because in such situations, by virtue
of article 93,
paragraph 2, of the Family and Guardianship Code, “a father is entitled to
exercise parental authority only
when a court so decides”.
101. The
Family and Guardianship Code prohibits the dissolution of marriage through
divorce “if the welfare of a married couple’s
under-age children
would suffer as a result” (article 56, paragraph 2). That regulation
fully reflects the provisions of the
Convention, which considers that the family
and the cooperation of the two parents provide the optimum conditions for a
child’s
development. The regulation accords clearly higher status to the
value known as “a child’s welfare” than to the
interests of
parents or a parent demanding the dissolution of a marriage. The purpose of the
regulation is to maintain family ties
and the intimate educational influence of
both parents on their children, since such circumstances are conductive to the
child’s
welfare. The child’s welfare also constitutes the basis for
intervention by judicial bodies in the exercise of parental authority.
Article
109 of the Family and Guardianship Code stipulates that “If a
child’s welfare is threatened, a family court
will issue the appropriate
directives”, which are listed in the subsequent provisions of the
aforementioned article. Judicial
bodies are thus able to influence the
protection of a child’s interests in keeping with the provisions of the
Convention.
Such intervention may lead to the suspension or revocation of
parental authority. But the foundations for such drastic action have
been
separately and narrowly defined. A court may suspend parental authority if a
temporary obstacle to its exercise arises (article
100 of the Family and
Guardianship Code) and revoke it “if parental authority cannot be
exercised because of a permanent impediment,
or if the parents abuse parental
authority or flagrantly neglect their obligations to their child” (article
111, paragraph
1, of the Family and Guardianship Code). Hence, if the threat to
or the violation of the child’s welfare were to assume a
different and, in
particular, a less drastic form, the court would lack the jurisdiction to divest
anyone of parental authority.
102. For various reasons, a child may be
reared outside the circle of his or her natural family. In such cases, the
issue also arises
of the relationship between the child’s interests and
those of the individuals who are raising and guiding the child.
103. Here
Polish law invokes “the child’s welfare”, first of all when
the individuals to whose care the child will
be entrusted are being chosen. The
relevant regulations are based on the premise that such matters should be
considered on a case-by-case
basis and not limited to general stereotypes, as in
the case of parental authority to which parents are generally entitled. The
child’s welfare should be the decisive criterion in making such a
choice.
104. In accordance with the provisions of the Convention, the
best interests of the child should be the overriding consideration in
determining the legal relationship between adoptive parents and the adoptee and
between a guardian and his or her charge. These
principles are fully respected
by Polish law. Adoptive parents are entitled to parental authority (article
121, paragraph 1, and
article 123 of the Family and Guardianship Code). As
regards foster parents, article 154 of the Family and Guardianship Code states
the general principle that “a foster parent shall exercise his or her
functions with the proper care, as required by the individual
under his or her
care and by the public interest.” Moreover, the relevant regulations on
parental authority (article 155, paragraph
2, of the Family and Guardianship
Code) are applicable to foster care. As already noted, they are based on the
principle of giving
priority to the child’s welfare.
105. The
child’s welfare is also significant when decisions are taken regarding the
above-mentioned legal relationships. This
is particularly applicable to the
quality of care. In accordance with article 169, paragraph 2, of the Family and
Guardianship Code,
the court is entitled to release a guardian (foster parent)
who “engages in acts or omissions that are contrary to a child’s
welfare”. With regard to (dissoluble) adoption, consideration of the
child’s welfare - as with divorce - serves to uphold
family ties, since,
as stipulated by article 125, paragraph 1, of the Family and Guardianship Code,
“dissolution of an adoptive
relationship is not permissible if the welfare
of an underage child would suffer as a result.” Those provisions are fully
in
keeping with the Convention on the Rights of the Child and have developed its
general provisions during the period covered by this
report.
106. In sum,
it may be stated that the substance of the concept of the “child’s
welfare”, as enshrined in existing
Polish legislation, broadly corresponds
to the concept of “the best interests of the child” set forth in the
Convention
on the Rights of the Child.
107. A child’s right to life
and development is enshrined in article 6 of the Convention. Existing
legislation in the Republic
of Poland protects a person's life and health from
the moment of conception. The relevant provisions are contained in the Law on
Family Planning, Protection of the Human Foetus and Conditions for Terminating
Pregnancy (the Law of 7 January 1993 states that every
human being has an
inherent right to life and that from the moment of conception a child’s
life and health are under the protection
of the law). In 1997, the
Constitutional Tribunal found an amendment of the aforementioned law to be
incompatible with the Constitution, since it questioned the right to life of
unborn children. The Tribunal declared that the right to life is an absolute
and indispensable
principle of a democratic law-abiding State (Constitutional
Tribunal ruling No. 26/97 of 28 May 1997). As a result, the right to
life
enjoys strong constitutional protection.
108. A child’s right to
protection against threats to life and limb and his or her right to development
are bolstered by legal
norms enjoining special care for mothers before and after
childbirth. Polish labour legislation provides for maternity and child-rearing
leave for mothers or fathers (see chapter VIII).
109. Protection of the
life and health of a child and of his or her physical, mental and social
development is also safeguarded by
other legislation the Law on Health Care
Institutions, the Law on the Education System, the Law on Procedure in Cases
Involving Juveniles
and the Law on the Employment and Rehabilitation of the
Disabled. These matters are also regulated by the Family and Guardianship
Code,
which defines the rights and duties of parents to ensure that their children
enjoy the proper conditions for development (see
chapter VIII), and by
regulations on the occupational training of minors and the system of allowances
and social security (see chapter
VIII).
110. The Convention lays
considerable stress on the autonomy of the child as a person and on respect for
the child’s views,
which is of particular importance as the child develops
and approaches the age of majority. Article 12 requires States parties to
assure to the child who is capable of forming his or her own views the right to
express those views freely in all matters affecting
the child. It follows from
that provision that State organs, social organizations and individuals with an
influence on a child’s
situation have a duty to give the child the
opportunity to be heard and to accord due practical and legal weight to his or
her views.
111. Many regulations of the Family and Guardianship Code require the consent
of a child that has attained the age of 13 years in
such matters as changing the
child’s name (article 88, paragraph 2, article 89, paragraphs 1 and 2,
article 90, paragraph 1,
and article 1222, paragraph 3, of the Family and
Guardianship Code), adoption (article 118, paragraph 1, of the Code) or taking
the
child’s blood sample to be tested in civil proceedings (article 306 of
the Code).
112. With regard to civil rights, the child is permitted to
participate in a range of legal activities depending on his or her age.
For
children over the age of 13, who have limited legal capacity, a system of
control is sometimes envisaged involving the consent
of the child’s legal
guardian or even the permission of a family court. This may occur, for example,
in cases where commitments
are incurred or in respect of the disposal of
financial assets. Other activities may be performed independently by a child
over
the age of 13. They include disposal of one’s own earnings, legal
activities with respect to property given to the child to
dispose of freely and
the contracting of employment. The Polish legal system is generally regarded as
providing a broad area in
which adolescent minors are competent to engage in
legal activities. Polish legislation even recognizes as valid agreements
concluded
by children under the age of 13 if they pertain to minor routine
matters of daily life.
113. A child’s right to express his or her
own opinions, especially in the course of judicial or administrative proceedings
affecting the fate of the child, is recognized to a greater or lesser degree on
the basis of procedural norms. The principle in
force is that a child is
represented in civil court proceedings by his or her legal guardians, usually
his or her parents, in accordance
with article 65, paragraph 1, and article 66
of the Family and Guardianship Code. However, a child that has attained the age
of
13 may testify independently in the majority of cases considered by family
courts. Moreover, article 65, paragraph 2, of the Family
and Guardianship Code
confers on children over 13 years of age procedural powers stemming from legal
operations that they are able
to perform independently.
114. Article 573,
paragraph 1, in conjunction with article 510 of the Family and Guardianship Code
states that a person with limited
legal capacity is a participant in
guardianship proceedings affecting the said person. On some occasions, however,
the personal
participation of a child may not be advisable for educational
reasons. Article 573, paragraph 2, of the Code of Civil Procedure
permits the
exclusion of a child from personal participation in such proceedings. According
to the Supreme Court, a child is not
a participant in proceedings pursuant to
article 510 of the Code of Civil Procedure in cases dealing with the
limitation or divestment
of parental authority. The Supreme Court does,
however, recognize the need to take the child’s opinion into account when
addressing
such issues. This procedure involves the child expressing his or her
opinion to the court responsible for taking a decision in a
case involving
parental authority.
115. Poland’s legislation and legal system
fully accept and respect the principle of non-discrimination and the
safeguarding
of the best interests of the child. The Republic of Poland
protects the child’s right to life from the moment of conception,
the
child’s right to development and respect for the child’s
opinions.
VI. CIVIL RIGHTS AND FREEDOMS
A. Name and nationality
116. In accordance with
the Convention, every child has the right to preserve his or her identity,
nationality and name. According
to the Polish Law on Documents of the
Registrar’s Office (Law of 29 September 1986 as amended), the birth of a
child must be
reported within 14 days so that a birth certificate can be issued.
The birth certificate must contain the family name, first name
and sex of the
child and parental data. The Law on Polish Citizenship and the Family and
Guardianship Code specify in detail the
conditions under which a birth
certificate may be issued if one or both of the child’s parents are
unknown. Polish law does
not allow for a situation in which a child
has no birth certificate. The Law on Polish Citizenship
of 19 February 1962 states that
a child acquires Polish citizenship if
both his/her parents are Polish citizens or if one is a Polish citizen and the
other is unknown
or his/her citizenship remains undefined.
117. In the
case of mixed marriages, the child acquires citizenship upon a formal request by
his or her parents, submitted within
three months of the child’s birth.
The provisions of article 7 of the Convention regarding the acquisition of a
name and nationality
have thus been fulfilled.
B. Preservation of identity
118. A child’s right to know his or her
parents, recognized in article 7 of the Convention, exists in Poland with the
restriction
submitted as a reservation to article 7 of the Convention. Poland
holds that the right of an adopted child to know his or her biological
parents
is subject to restrictions derived from legal provisions allowing adoptive
parents to keep the child’s origin a secret.
Those provisions are
applicable in the case of what is known as full adoption.
119. In Article
8, the Convention enjoins respect for the child’s right to preserve his or
her identity, including nationality,
name and family relations as recognized by
law. The Polish legal system is consonant with that requirement. It is
guaranteed by
the provisions of family law pertaining to parental authority and
personal contacts between parents and children, civil procedure
regulations and
the Law on the Education System (article 13). The latter allows schoolchildren
to preserve their sense of national,
ethnic and religious identity by studying
their own history and culture.
120. During the period covered by this
report, Polish legal norms were brought into line with the provisions of the
Convention dealing
with the preservation of a child’s identity in the
event of foreign adoption. Pursuant to the amendment to the Family and
Guardianship Code and other legislation of 26 May 1995 (Legislative Gazette No.
83, item 417), adoption entailing a change in the
adoptee’s place of
residence from the territory of the Republic of Poland to that of another State
is permissible if that is
the only way of providing the adopted child with a
suitable substitute family environment, i.e. in cases where the child cannot be
assured of the proper conditions for development in Poland, mainly (but not
only) as a result of his or her adoption (article 114
of the Family and
Guardianship Code).
C. Freedom of expression and protection of privacy
121. Mention may be made here of the provisions
of the Convention recognizing the child’s right to form and freely to
express
his or her own views (article 12, paragraph 1), to be heard at any
judicial or administrative proceedings affecting the child (article
12,
paragraph 2), to receive and impart information (article 13), to freedom of
thought, conscience and religion (article 14), and
to protection against
arbitrary or unlawful interference with his or her privacy, family and home. In
ratifying the Convention,
Poland issued a declaration effectively constituting a
modification of the provisions contained in articles 12 to 16 of the
Convention.
122. The declaration states that the child’s rights
“shall be exercised with respect for parental authority, in accordance
with Polish customs and traditions”. Because of the alignment of Polish
legislation with the Convention’s norms, Poland
has recently taken steps
to withdraw the above-mentioned reservations. In 1997 a draft resolution was
submitted to the Sejm calling
on the Republic of Poland to withdraw its
reservations to articles 12, 13, 14 and 16 of the Convention. Withdrawal of the
reservations
will not adversely affect respect for the rights of parents and
their effective exercise of parental duties. In that context, mention
should be
made of article 48 of the Constitution which states that “Parents shall
have the right to rear their children in accordance with their own convictions.
Such upbringing
shall respect the degree of maturity of a child as well as his
freedom of conscience and belief and also his convictions.”
D. The right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion
123. Respect for the child’s freedom of
thought, conscience and religion, in accordance with article 14 of the
Convention, is
ensured in Polish educational law by article 12 of the Law on the
Education System which states that “Acknowledging the right
of parents to
provide their children with religious training, public primary schools shall
organize religious instruction at the
request of parents and post-primary
schools at the request of parents or pupils; on attaining the age of majority,
pupils shall decide
the question of instruction themselves.” Paragraph 2
of that article delegates to the Minister of National Education authority
to
issue directives determining the conditions and manner of organization of
religious education in schools in consultation with
the authorities of the
churches and other religious organizations. The right to religious instruction
in schools, as a part of religious
freedom, is guaranteed by the Law
Guaranteeing Freedom of Conscience and Religion and by laws on the relationship
between the State
and churches and other religious organizations. Such
guarantees are also contained in the Concordat between the Apostolic See and
the
Republic of Poland.
E. Freedom of association and peaceful assembly
124. A child’s right to freedom of
association and of peaceful assembly (article 15 of the Convention) is reflected
in the Law
on Associations (article 3 of the Law of 7 April 1989), the Law on
Assemblies (article 1 of the Law of 5 July 1990) and the Law on
the Education
System (article 56). Under the Law on Associations, all Polish citizens who
enjoy full legal capacity and have not
been deprived of civic rights are
entitled to set up associations. Minors aged 16 to 18, who have limited legal
capacity, may belong
to associations, vote and be elected to office therein with
the proviso that the association’s board must comprise a majority
of
individuals enjoying full legal capacity. Minors below the age of 16 may, with
the consent of their legal guardians, belong to
associations in accordance with
the principles set down in their charters. If an association’s
organizational unit consists
exclusively of minors, they may vote and be elected
to office as officers of that unit.
125. On the other hand, the Law on
Assemblies of 5 July 1990 accords to everyone the freedom of peaceful assembly.
However, freedom
of assembly is restricted where necessary for the protection of
State security, public order, public health and morals, or respect
for the
rights and freedoms of other individuals, i.e. under the circumstances indicated
in article 15, paragraph 2, of the Convention.
The Law on Assemblies lists
the entities authorized to organize assemblies. Individuals enjoying full legal
capacity, legal entities,
other organizations and groups of individuals fall
into that category.
126. The Law on the Education System clearly states
that “with the exception of political parties and organizations, all
associations
and organizations whose goal is educational activity among children
and adolescents or the expansion and enrichment of the didactic,
educational or
custodial activities of a school or a care facility shall be allowed to operate
within a school or a care facility”
(section 1). Section 2 makes the
operation of such associations and organizations conditional on the consent of
the board of the school or care facility.
The Framework Public School Charter
(annex to a Regulation of the Minister of National Education of 19 June 1992,
paragraph 35)
includes among the principles to be observed in defining a
schoolchild’s specific rights and obligations under the charter
of a given
school his or her right to “influence the life of the school through
self-government activities and affiliation
with organizations operating within
the school” (point 1).
127. The above-mentioned regulations attest
to the fact that a child is not required to belong to an organization and that
his or
her freedom of choice is recognized. The charters of children’s
and youth organizations contain clauses to the effect that
membership therein is
voluntary.
128. Only organizations and associations that enjoy legal
status and whose educational objectives are not at variance with the values
and
educational goals set forth in the Law on the Education System may operate
within the education system. This is in keeping with
article 15, paragraph 2,
of the Convention pertaining to the scope of restrictions on the freedom of
association and assembly.
F. The right not to be subjected to torture or other cruel,
inhuman or
degrading treatment or punishment
129. The Convention on
the Rights of the Child (article 37) forbids the inhuman treatment, debasement
and punishment of children.
In this area, reference should be made primarily to
article 72, paragraph 2, of the Constitution which grants everyone the right to
demand “of the organs of public authority that they defend children
against violence, cruelty,
exploitation and depravity”. Polish criminal
law considers abusive conduct towards a minor to be a crime. Article 207, which
defines that basic category of crime, states that “The physical or mental
abuse of a family member, another individual who
is in a state of permanent or
temporary dependence on the offender, a minor or an individual with a mental or
physical disability
is punishable by from three months’ to five
years’ imprisonment.”
VII. THE FAMILY ENVIRONMENT AND ALTERNATIVE CARE
A. Advice given by parents and parental duties
130. The principle of
respecting the rights, duties and responsibilities of parents for the upbringing
and development of children,
as set forth in article 5 of the Convention, is
reflected in Polish law.
131. Legal protection for the family is
guaranteed by the Constitution, which states in article 18, paragraph 1,
that “Marriage, as a union between a woman and man, as well as the family,
maternity
and parenthood are placed under the protection and care of the
Republic of Poland.”
132. Article 48 emphasizes the right of
parents to raise their children in accordance with their own convictions,
adding, however,
that such upbringing shall take into account the child’s
degree of maturity as well as his or her freedom of conscience and
belief and
conviction. These principles are set forth in the provisions of specific laws,
above all the Family and Guardianship
Code, the Code of Civil Procedure, the
Civil Code, the Penal Code and the Law on the Education System. Relations
between parents
and children are regulated by the following regulations of the
Family and Guardianship Code:
− Article 92: A child remains under parental authority until he or she attains the age of majority;
− Article 95, paragraph 1: Parental authority involves in particular the duty and right of parents to care for the child’s person and assets and to bring up the child;
− Article 95, paragraph 2: A child under parental authority owes obedience to his or her parents;
− Article 95, paragraph 3: Parental authority should be exercised in the manner required by the child’s welfare and the public good;
− Article 96: Parents raising and guiding a child under their parental authority are duty bound to care for the child’s physical and spiritual development and to equip the child appropriately to work for the good of society according to his or her abilities;
− Article 97, paragraph 1: If both parents are entitled to exercise parental authority, each of them has the right and duty to do so;
− Article 97, paragraph 2: They should jointly decide matters of vital importance to the child; if there is a lack of understanding between them, a family court shall resolve the issues involved;
− Article 98: Parents are the legal guardians of children under their parental authority;
− Article 99: If neither of the parents is able to represent the child under their parental authority, he or she is represented by a court-appointed guardian;
− Article 101, paragraph 1: Parents are duty bound to manage with due care the property of the child under their parental authority;
− Article 101, paragraph 2: Parental management does not include the child’s earnings or property given to the child to dispose of as he or she pleases;
− Article 101, paragraph 3: Without the consent of a family court, parents may not engage in activities that overstep the bounds of ordinary management, or allow the child to engage in such activities.
133. Article 18 of the Law on the Education
System imposes on the parents of a child subject to compulsory schooling the
duty to:
134. Where parental authority cannot be exercised
owing to a permanent impediment, or where parents abuse their parental authority
or flagrantly neglect their duties, a family court divests such parents of their
parental authority. If the conditions that constituted
the basis for
the divestment of parental authority cease to exist, the court may restore
parental authority (article 111, paragraph
2, of the Family and Guardianship
Code). In the event of a temporary impediment to the exercise of parental
authority, a family
court may suspend such authority (article 110 of the Family
and Guardianship Code). Such cases necessitate action to provide custodial
care, but only after the ruling depriving parents of parental authority or
suspending such authority has assumed legal force. According
to article 72,
paragraph 2, of the Constitution of the Republic of Poland, “a child
deprived of parental care has the right to care and assistance from the public
authorities.”
Hence, children and adolescents who for various reasons lack
the proper conditions for development within their families or have
been
deprived of their families as a result of some misfortune are placed under total
care - one of the main elements of the childcare
system.
B. Separation from one’s parents
135. Article 48, paragraph 2, of the
Constitution of the Republic of Poland permits the restriction or divestment of
parental authority only in cases specified by law and solely on
the basis of a
legally binding court ruling. The provisions of the Family and Guardianship
Code in this area have not changed but
the new Penal Code of 2 August 1997 no
longer envisages the additional penalty of divestment of parental or custody
rights that existed
under the 1969 Penal Code. Instead, article 51 of the Penal
Code authorizes a criminal court to inform the relevant family court
of a crime
committed against a minor or in collusion with a minor if the criminal court
deems it advisable to divest or suspend parental
rights. (Note there is a
certain terminological inconsistency, since the Penal Code speaks of
“parental rights”, while
the Family and Guardianship Code refers to
“parental authority”.)
C. Reuniting families
136. New passport regulations introduced in
Poland in 1990 enable individuals caring for children to decide freely on
foreign travel
in order to reunite families - an arrangement that is consistent
with article 10 of the Convention.
137. Every Polish citizen has the
right to obtain a passport and keep it at home. This right may be revoked or
restricted only in
cases regulated by the law.
138. Where a minor applies
for a passport, the consent of both parents or legal guardians is required.
This is not the case if a
court rules that one parent is entitled to decide the
matter. In the event of a lack of agreement between the parents or inability
to
obtain consent, a family court rules on the matter in their place.
D. Resources for child support
139. The provisions of articles 128 to 144 of
the Family and Guardianship Code pertaining to child support remain in effect.
It should
be stressed that Poland has been fully complying with its commitments
under article 27, paragraph 4, of the Convention. It has concluded
numerous
international agreements facilitating the implementation of child support
rulings and pertaining to the investigation of
child support
claims.
140. Mention should be made first and foremost of the bilateral
agreements regulating the implementation of child support rulings.
Poland has
concluded such agreements with the following States Algeria, Austria, Belarus,
Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, China,
Croatia, Cuba, Cyprus, Czech Republic,
Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Egypt, France, Greece, Hungary,
Iraq, Italy,
Latvia, Lithuania, Macedonia, Mongolia, Morocco, Romania, Russian
Federation, Slovakia, Slovenia, Syrian Arab Republic, Tunisia,
Turkey, Ukraine,
Vietnam and Yugoslavia.
141. In addition, Poland ensures effective
reciprocity in implementing child support rulings in its relations with Canada
(the provinces
of Manitoba, Nova Scotia, Saskatchewan, Northwest Territory and
Yukon Territory), Ireland and the United States.
142. The basis for the
implementation of foreign child support rulings in Poland (and Polish rulings
abroad) is the Convention on
the Recognition and Enforcement of Decisions
relating to Maintenance Obligations concluded at the Hague on 2 October 1973.
Poland
has been bound by this Convention since 1 July 1996, but it has yet to be
promulgated. On the basis thereof, it is possible to recognize
and determine
the enforceability of rulings (issued by courts or administrative organs) and
settlements, including those changing
earlier rulings or settlements. They need
not originate in States parties to the Convention and concern child support
claims pursued
both in international relations and domestically, regardless of
the citizenship and place of residence of the parties involved.
143. The
New York Convention on the Recovery Abroad of Maintenance of 20 June 1956 has
facilitated the pursuit of child support claims
from individuals residing
abroad. It entered into effect in Poland on 12 November 1960 (Legislative
Gazette of 1961, No. 17, items
87 and 88). The tasks of the referring body
under that Convention (i.e. the organ relaying the requests of authorized
individuals
to States to which the individuals obliged to provide child support
belong) is performed in Poland by voivodship courts. The Ministry
of Justice,
as the receiving body, in accordance with the jurisdiction conferred on it by
the competent party and in lieu of that
party, undertakes all measures necessary
to obtain child support. It ensures legal representation before Polish courts,
submits
the request to the court and initiates and pursues the enforcement of
child support.
E. Children deprived of a family environment
144. Article 72, paragraph 2, of the
Constitution of the Republic of Poland accords children deprived of parental
care the right to the care and assistance of the public authorities.
State
policy is directed at reducing the number of children placed in orphanages by
increasing the number of foster families and
family-based children’s
homes.
Institutions providing comprehensive care
145. Children and adolescents partially or
totally deprived of the opportunity of being raised by their biological families
are placed,
on the basis of a court ruling, in foster homes or comprehensive
care institutions. On the basis of directives issued by the Minister
of
National Education on 21 February 1994 regarding the types, organization and
operating principles of public care, educational
and social reintegration
facilities, the following institutions are required to provide comprehensive
care family-based children’s
homes, orphanages, emergency juvenile
hostels, juvenile reform centres and special education and training
centres.
146. All told, more than 80,000 children and adolescents up to
the age of 18 are being provided with comprehensive care by such institutions.
Where the person concerned is continuing his/her education or has suffered some
misfortune, care may be provided up to the age of
24 (in social reintegration
facilities until the age of 21 and in foster families even until the age of
26).
Foster families
147. New regulations sanctioning the institution
of foster families (directives of the Council of Ministers of 21 October 1993 on
foster families) have been in force since 1 November 1993.
148. Foster families are the basic providers of comprehensive care for
children who, for various reasons, lack the proper conditions
for development in
their biological families. Some 70 per cent of children deprived of the
care of their biological families are
in foster care. In most cases they do not
qualify for adoption because of their legal situation (their parents have not
been divested
of parental authority) or age (older children).
149. The
vast majority of foster families comprise grandparents or older siblings (more
than 75 per cent). Overall, close and distant
relatives account for nearly
90 per cent of such families. An analysis of the data compiled by GUS (Central
Statistical Bureau)
shows that since the end of 1993, i.e. since the date on
which material assistance for foster families closely related to the child
was
doubled, this particular form of care has increased. The number of children in
foster care increased from more than 40,000 to
52,532 in 1998. In the period
under review, an average of 2,500 children were placed in foster families each
year. It has also
been noted that since the introduction of the above-mentioned
directives the number of foster families accepting children up to two
years of
age has increased. Children placed in foster families of relatives or
non-relatives receive financial assistance in partial
defrayal of the cost of
supporting them, i.e. 40 per cent of the average monthly wage in the
preceding quarter. (This figure is
regularly announced as the basis for raising
index-linked old-age and disability pensions.) In the case of children awaiting
adoption
for up to two years or children eligible for special education,
preventive-educational assistance or social reintegration, financial
aid amounts
to 100 per cent of the average monthly wage. This makes it easier to find
foster families for such children. In 1998,
children who were entitled
to:
− 100 per cent of wages received 1,239.49 zlotys a month (12-month average);
− 40 per cent of wages received 495.79 zlotys a month (12-month average).
150. Foster families may avail themselves of the
psychological, pedagogical and legal counselling of adoption and care centres,
psychological
and pedagogical clinics and specialist clinics.
151. Foster
family duties are performed free of charge. As soon as an agreement is
concluded on financial assistance for partial
defrayal of the cost of the
child’s upkeep, the foster family receives a lump-sum allowance equivalent
to 190 per cent of the
above-mentioned wage.
Family-based children’s homes
152. Legal provisions currently in force
(directives of the Minister of National Education of 24 February 1994
regarding the types,
organization and operating principles of public care and
educational facilities) recognize family-based children’s homes as
care
and training facilities. From a social standpoint, however, they are facilities
of a special kind. Their purpose is to provide
their charges (primarily
siblings or children ill-adapted to life in big communities) with the kind of
care and educational conditions
prevailing in big natural families. This kind
of care is provided by families accepting from 6 to 12 children. One of the
spouses
is employed as a
teacher for families accepting the smallest number of children (six). An
additional person may be employed as a teacher of a larger
number (upwards of
nine children) and a social worker may also be employed.
153. Binding
legal provisions enable a person (referred to as the “leading
educator”) to operate a family-based children’s
home, even though
he/she has no formal teaching qualifications (previously such a requirement
existed). It was assumed that this
amendment would generate greater interest in
the work involved.
Orphanages
154. In 1993, the Ministry of Education took
over infants’ homes (orphanages for children aged 0-3) from the Ministry
of Health
in order to convert them into care and educational facilities
(orphanages) for children from birth to the age of self-reliance, but
not beyond
the age of 24. The plan failed because the infrastructure, both architecturally
and in terms of equipment, was not suited
to the needs of very young children.
It was acknowledged that the process of transforming and adapting the existing
infrastructure
must take place progressively, and orphanages exclusively for
children up to the age of three were allowed to continue operating.
Only 3.5
per cent of children living in orphanages are natural orphans; 21.5 per cent are
semiorphans and the remaining 75 per cent
are what are known as “social
orphans” (from families unfit for parenting or children of parents who are
alcoholics or
serving prison terms).
155. The crisis of the family,
combined with declining family living standards and negligible social
assistance, especially for large
and dysfunctional families, accounts for the
gradual increase in the number of children requiring such assistance since the
early
1990s (from roughly 16,500 in 1991 to some 18,000 at
present).
156. Binding regulations currently enable orphanages to provide
care for children in families that are unable to ensure proper conditions
for
their development. Such care involves mainly meals for the child, assistance
with homework and various activities organized
by the orphanage. Children
benefiting from such forms of day care are not counted among the full-time
residents of the orphanage.
Children’s villages
157. These facilities are built and equipped by
the international association SOS Kinderdorf International based in Austria.
The
organizational system and educational tasks of the villages are based on
four principles - mother, siblings, family home and village
- accepted in
accordance with the declaration of the international association of
children’s villages and contained in the
pedagogical concept of the
Children’s Village Association of Poland.
Emergency hostels
158. These facilities are intended for children
and juveniles from 3 to 18 years of age who require full-time emergency
assistance.
Seventy per cent of these children are accepted by emergency
hostels on the proposal of a family court.
159. Emergency hostels operate
with the aim of returning their charges to their families, placing them in
alternative care (foster
families or adoption) or in an appropriate institution.
They also perform the function of diagnostic and training institutions,
cooperating
with parents (legal guardians), school principals, courts and other
components of the social welfare system.
160. A child can spend no more
than three months in an emergency hostel. Where justification exists, however,
the period may be extended,
but by no more than an additional three
months.
161. For most children, the emergency hostels are “half-way
houses” ahead of their transfer to permanent care facilities
orphanages,
special institutions or social reintegration facilities.
162. In recent
years there has been an increase in the number of children accepted by such
facilities in emergencies (lost or abandoned
children, and children running away
from home, orphanages or social reintegration facilities) or children brought
there by the police
for committing punishable offences. In 1997, more than
10,000 children received emergency care in the hostels. In recent years
the
children of foreigners, notably citizens of Romania, have also been admitted to
the emergency hostels.
Special education and training centres
163. Care is provided at these centres for
children and adolescents who cannot attend pre-school establishments or schools
in their
place of residence because of disabilities. Such special centres cater
for children and youths:
Juvenile reform centres
164. These institutions cater for young people
aged 13 to 18; in exceptional cases children over the age of 10 are accepted.
In cases
warranted by a young person’s school, environmental or material
situation, a juvenile aged 10 or more may have his or her stay
extended, though
not beyond the age of 21.
165. In 90 per cent of cases, family courts
direct children and juveniles to these reform centres.
166. Juvenile
reform centres are inter-voviodship social reintegration facilities which, in
addition to providing care, seek to eliminate
the causes and symptoms of their
charges’ social maladjustment and prepare them for an independent
life.
167. The following tables shows the different kinds of care
facilities and the number of children and juveniles in foster care, care
institutions and social reintegration facilities (data as of 15 December
1997):
No.
|
Type of institution
|
No. of such institutions
|
No. of children
|
1
|
Foster family
|
39 523
|
51 151
|
2
|
Family-based children’s home
|
113
|
806
|
3
|
Children’s village
|
3
|
172
|
4
|
Orphanage
|
353
|
17 906
|
5
|
Emergency hostel
|
53
|
2 679
|
6
|
Special care and training centre
|
427
|
32 292
|
7
|
Juvenile reform centre
|
47
|
2 823
|
F. ADOPTION
168. On the basis of article 5, paragraph 4, of
the Law on the Education System of 7 September 1991 (Legislative
Gazette of 1996,
No. 67, item 329, as amended), the Minister of National
Education, in consultation with the Minister of Justice, determined by means
of
directives on adoption and care centres issued on 17 August 1993, which entities
were authorized to establish and run adoption
care centres and the principles
according to which they should operate.
169. In accordance with the
above-mentioned legislative enactment, adoption care centres may be operated by
a School Superintendent’s
Office, associations registered in the Republic
of Poland (whose charters include aid to children and guarantee the proper
discharge
of such tasks) and churches, religious organizations and
church-related legal entities involved in charitable and care
activities.
170. The above-mentioned directives provided for the creation
of public adoption centres. Previously, only private centres had existed.
At
present, there are 70 adoption care centres, 42 of which are public and 28
private, including 15 run by the Society of Friends
of Children, 11 by
church-related legal entities, one by the Committee to Protect Children’s
Rights and one by the Family of
Hope Foundation.
171. The principal tasks
of adoption care centres include:
− Locating and training individuals who declare their willingness to provide a child with substitute family care in the form of adoption, a foster family or a family-based children’s home, and selecting children to be raised in an alternative family environment;
− Informing the family court of conditions warranting the formal initiation of care proceedings, proposing a child’s placement in an alternative educational institution, and assisting in the regulation of the legal status of children awaiting placement in an alternative family environment;
− Helping the newly formed families with pedagogical counselling and assistance;
− Assisting biological families in the upbringing and care of their children, including legal aid and psychological support for pregnant women.
172. Public adoption care centres are financed by the
State and local government and offer their services free of charge, while
private
centres may charge fees. The amount of the fees is determined by the
bodies operating the centres, but they may not exceed the costs
incurred in a
given case.
173. The school superintendent in charge of the district in
which a given centre is located exercises supervision over public and
private
adoption care centres operating in a voivodship.
174. The school
superintendent appoints an adoption care centre in the area to operate a
voivodship data bank on children and candidates
available for substitute family
care and upbringing, but the data may not be entered without their
consent.
175. If the centre operating the voivodship data bank fails to
find candidates for suitable substitute care within three months of
receiving a
child’s adoption documents, it relays the information to the central data
bank operated by a centre designated
by the Minister of National Education (who
acts as a go-between in finding appropriate candidates). Pursuant to decision
No. 6 of
the Minister of National Education of 17 March 1995 designating the
adoption centre to discharge tasks set by the Ministry of National
Education and
centres authorized to engage in foreign cooperation, the relevant centre is at
present the Public Adoption Care Centre
in Warsaw at ul. Nowogrodzka 75,
operated by the School Superintendent in Warsaw.
176. If the
above-mentioned centre is unable in the following three months to find
candidates capable of providing the child with
suitable alternative care in
Poland, the child may be eligible for adoption abroad. In accordance with the
provisions of the Convention
on Rights of the Child (article 21) ratified by
Poland in 1991, such adoptions should be regarded as a last-resort form of
alternative
care if the child cannot be placed in a foster or adoptive family
and no other form of care can be provided in his or her country
of origin. The
Hague Convention on Protection of Children and Cooperation in respect of
Intercountry Adoption also views such an
arrangement as beneficial in the case
of a child for whom a suitable family cannot be found in his or her State of
origin (after
determining that such adoption is in the best interest of the
child).
177. Pursuant to the decision of the Minister of National
Education, only the Public Adoption Care Centre in Warsaw at ul. Nowogrodzka
75
can decide whether a child is eligible for foreign adoption. However, a centre
authorized by the Minister of National Education
may cooperate with adoption
organizations or centres licensed by the Governments of other States in
preparing Polish children for
foreign adoption. The Minister has designated two
such centres the above-mentioned Public Adoption Care Centre in Warsaw and the
Warsaw-based National Adoption Care Centre at ul. Jasna 26.
178. In
recent years, there has been a sharp downward trend in adoptions. The largest
number of court adoption rulings was recorded
during the periods 1979-1982 and
1989-1990. An average of 3,500 to 3,700 such rulings were handed down annually
during those periods.
(Court records do not include the number of adopted
children, which is normally greater than the number of cases since a single
ruling may affect several children, for instance siblings.) The largest number
of foreign adoption rulings was handed down during
the period 1989-1993 (ranging
from over 400 to over 500 a year). In 1997, 2,441 adoption rulings were handed
down. The number of
foreign adoptions is also declining. In 1997, 205 rulings
involving the transfer of children to another country were handed
down.
179. Until 1993, i.e. until the directives on adoption centres
issued by the Minister of National Education on 17 August 1993 were
published in
the Legislative Gazette (No. 84, item 394), adoptions were dealt with by various
social organizations, church institutions
and even lawyers, whose area of
competence and principles of cooperation were not defined. The Ministry of
Health, which operated
infants’ homes (for children under the age of
three), also sought adoptive families through its own channels adoption
commissions
of the Specialist Mother and Child Health Care Teams. Adoption care
centres of the Society of Friends of Children were involved
in seeking families
for older children. To a limited extent, they also initiated other forms of
alternative family care such as
foster families and family-based
children’s homes. In many cases, the courts handed down rulings without
consulting the institutions
dealing with adoptions. (For instance, in 1991 the
Polish courts reviewed 536 foreign adoption cases and in 113 of them (21 per
cent) failed to establish how the adoptive parents had chosen the
child.)
180. The situation improved significantly after 1993, following
the creation of a system of organizations licensed to create alternative
family
environments (adoption, foster families, family-based children’s homes).
In addition, family courts were required in
1995 to consult an adoption care
centre or other specialist institution before handing down an adoption
ruling.
181. The cause of declining adoptions has yet to be explained.
Contributing factors are believed to be the demographic downturn,
our
country’s socio-economic situation (the impoverishment of society, lack of
a sense of social stability and security), a
preference for young and healthy
children on the part of adoptive parents, the dynamic development of foster
families and a significant
increase in financial aid to such families.
G. The illegal transfer of children abroad
182. Measures to comply with Poland’s
commitments under article 11 (and article 21(d))of the Convention are steps to
ensure
that the child’s transfer to another country takes place through
the intermediary of competent authorities and organs (Poland’s
compliance
with this provision was discussed in the preceding section), the penalization of
activities that may be characterized
as trafficking in children (see chapter X)
and the conclusion of appropriate international agreements and
treaties.
183. In reviewing Poland’s international activities in
the period covered by this report, it should be noted that the Republic
of
Poland is a party not only to the “adoption” conventions mentioned
in the preceding section but also to the Hague
Convention of 25 October 1980 on
the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction. The Convention’s
provisions greatly facilitated
matters for individuals whose child-care rights
had been violated by the illegal removal or detention of the child abroad. They
formed the basis for an efficient system of international cooperation
guaranteeing the child’s swift return to his or her country
of permanent
residence (among other things, this involves cooperation between designated
central bodies). In Poland, the central
body responsible for meeting
obligations arising out of the Convention is the Ministry of Justice, to which
requests for the institution
of appropriate convention-related proceedings are
addressed. They are reviewed in Poland by family courts. For its part, the
Ministry
of Justice facilitates the initiation of court proceedings, cooperates
with the relevant bodies (including the police) to establish
the whereabouts of
a kidnapped or detained child and provides interested parties with general
information on Polish legal provisions
related to the Convention’s
implementation.
H. Abuse and neglect and physical and mental rehabilitation
184. On the initiative of the State Agency for
the Solution of Alcohol-Related Problems, in cooperation with National Police
Headquarters
and the Labour Ministry’s Department of Social Aid, a
programme called “Safety in the Family” was launched in October
1998. Blue cards were introduced to help implement the procedures to be
followed when incidents of domestic violence called for
intervention. After
receiving information on domestic violence, the police together with social
workers gather full information
on the situation in a given family. A plan of
assistance is then developed and a local support system is activated. A Polish
Declaration
on Counteracting Domestic Violence has also been drafted.
Information on the physical and mental rehabilitation of children is contained
in chapter X.
185. The following table shows the number of children
adopted, placed in foster families and benefiting from other forms of
care:
Children
|
||||||
Year
|
Adopted
(total) |
Adopted
and taken abroad |
Placed in foster
families |
Placed in care
and educational facilities |
Remaining
under care |
Minors placed in juvenile shelters
|
1993
|
2 810
|
404
|
34 565
|
29 259
|
26 266
|
963
|
1994
|
2 600
|
272
|
34 801
|
29 756
|
25 698
|
1 012
|
1995
|
2 495
|
238
|
36 894
|
30 277
|
26 298
|
1 157
|
1996
|
2 529
|
242
|
37 839
|
30 780
|
25 948
|
1 191
|
1997
|
2 441
|
205
|
37 341
|
31 809
|
26 451
|
1 035
|
It should be noted that, in principle, temporary arrest is not resorted
in the case of minors except in the situation mentioned in
article 99, section
1, paragraph 1, of the Law of 26 October 1982 outlining procedures in cases
involving minors. Placement of a minor in a juvenile shelter
cannot in any way
be equated with temporary arrest.
I. Periodic review of circumstances entailing the placement of
children
in care and educational facilities
186. A periodic
review of the circumstances in which a child was institutionalized is called for
in the following cases:
− Placement of a child in a care and education or social reintegration facility in accordance with binding legal provisions review at a ratification session held once a year (paragraphs 35 and 36 of the directives issued by the Minister of National Education on 21 February 1994 regarding the types, organization and operating principles of public care, educational and social reintegration facilities, Legislative Gazette No. 41, paragraph 156);
− Placement of a child in a psychiatric hospital or social assistance home review at least one a year if the period of confinement exceeds six months (paragraphs 2 and 4 of the Justice Minister’s directives on monitoring respect for the rights of mentally disturbed individuals in psychiatric hospitals and social-assistance homes, Legislative Gazette No. 23, item 128);
− Placement of a minor in a treatment institution or reform facility review at least once every six months (articles 77 and 80 of the Law of 26 November 1982 on procedure in cases involving minors).
187. In accordance with the commitments of States
parties to conduct periodic reviews of the circumstances leading to the
institutionalization
of children, employees of the Family Law Section of the
Office of the Civil Rights Spokesperson (Ombudsman) carried out four series
of
visits in the following voivodships between October 1997 and February 1998
Lublin, Lodz, Gdañsk and Kraków. They
focused on temporary stay
institutions under the authority of the Ministry of National Education
(infants’ homes, emergency
hostels) and the Ministry of Justice (juvenile
shelters) and on police juvenile hostels.
188. The purpose of the visits
was the determine the degree to which the rights of institutionalized children
were being respected,
with particular emphasis on their period of confinement.
In the infants’ homes priority was given to checking the procedures
followed in regulating the charges’ legal situation. It should be added
that the situation of children placed in care and
educational facilities is
constantly supervised by the family courts (as part of enforcement proceedings)
and is not reviewed solely
at re-eligibility sessions.
VIII. BASIC HEALTH AND WELFARE
A. Survival and development
189. The current
state of legal affairs in the Republic of Poland guarantees the protection of
the life and health of human beings
from the moment of conception. That
principle is contained in the provisions of the Law of 30 August 1996 amending
the Law on Family
Planning, Protection of the Human Foetus and Conditions for
the Termination of Pregnancy and certain other laws (Legislative Gazette
No.
139, item 646). The preamble to the above Law states that life is
humankind’s fundamental good, and care for life and
health is one of the
fundamental duties of the State, society and the citizen. Article 1 of the Law
states that the right to life
is protected also during the prenatal
period.
190. All activities undertaken by the Ministry of Health are
aimed at protecting the health and life of citizens, including children.
Owing
to the specific health needs of children related to their development, health
care for children is placed in a special category,
particularly as regards
preventive measures.
B. Disabled children
191. The right of disabled children to special
care taking into account their state of health, living conditions and specific
needs
is reflected in many Polish legal provisions pertaining to health
protection, education and social assistance.
192. Parents raising
disabled children are entitled to higher benefits. From 1 March 1995, family
and nursing-care allowances became
benefits of a social nature, financed
entirely by the State budget. Parents are therefore entitled to such benefits
regardless of
whether they qualify for welfare assistance. The amended Law of 1
December 1994 on family, nursing-care and educational allowances
extended the
period in which nursing-care allowances are granted for a person engaged in
studies until the age of 24 if his or her
state of health is such as to warrant
such an allowance without the need to obtain a ruling on the degree of
disability. Where a
child is diagnosed as moderately disabled, the nursing-care
allowance is granted regardless of the child’s age if the disability
emerged at an age entailing eligibility for a family allowance.
193. A
person who has attained the age of majority is entitled to a social pension if
he or she is totally unfit for work owing to
a disability acquired before
attaining the age of 18. Such a person is also entitled to the pension if he or
she is totally unfit
for employment owing to a disability that emerged during
enrolment at a post-primary school or institution of higher education before
the
person concerned attained the age of 25.
194. A person caring for a
disabled child is entitled to an old-age pension regardless of his/her age. The
beneficiary may be the
child’s mother or father or another person who
accepted the child into a foster family or, having been appointed guardian,
is
raising the child.
195. In accordance with article 23 of the Convention
on the Rights of the Child, in which States parties recognize that a mentally
or
physically disabled child should be assured of a fully normal life, the Ministry
of Health and Social Welfare has for many years
been cooperating with
non-governmental organizations engaged in health protection. The
Ministry’s assistance involves creating
conditions tailored to the needs
of specific groups of disabled children through legislation, organization,
information, development
of skills and provision of the financial resources
needed to implement such measures, depending on the resources available in the
State budget.
196. Health protection associations whose members devote
time and energy to the performance of social tasks have created, with the
assistance of the Ministry of Health, a countrywide network of specialist
rehabilitation and treatment centres, particularly in areas
where public health
facilities are overtaxed or non-existent.
197. Operating in specific
communities, they implement multi-profile environmental rehabilitation
programmes which include:
− Registration of disabled children with congenital and acquired deficiencies who leave hospitals or other stationary health service institutions and require further rehabilitation;
− Establishment of rehabilitation day centres for disabled children (day-care centres, early intervention centres, specialist counselling offices);
− Establishment of other day facilities combining rehabilitation therapy with an educational programme;
− Establishment of mutual support groups and so-called self-help groups that also pursue non-medical (social) goals;
− Action to change society’s attitudes to disabled persons (social acceptance of certain illnesses such as mental disabilities);
− Sharing of scientific information;
− Stimulating and facilitating the training of professionals (medical rehabilitation staff working in the centres).
198. A
characteristic feature of rehabilitation treatment centres set up by health
protection associations is their comprehensive
rehabilitation programmes. At
the same time, the associations stimulate and facilitate the training of medical
rehabilitation staff
working in the centres and share scientific information,
also internationally (experience-sharing with Belarus, France, Lithuania,
the
Netherlands, Sweden, Ukraine and the United Kingdom).
199. The network of
facilities set up by the associations has been expanding steadily
since 1992, effectively supporting and enhancing
the multi-profile
rehabilitation services provided by public health-care
institutions.
200. The Ministry of Health and Social Welfare
systematically supports the activities of non-governmental organizations in the
rehabilitation
of the three largest groups of disabled children:
− Children who are deaf and hard of hearing;
− Children with mental disabilities;
− Children who are blind or whose vision is impaired.
201. The Law on the Protection of Mental Health
(1994) and health policy programmes (including those contained in the National
Health
Programme) constitute the substantive platform needed to create a system
of non-governmental care for disabled persons, especially
children.
202. In that connection, 1998 may be regarded as a
turning-point. It was the year in which a programme of care for persons with
hearing
impairments got under way in Poland. Of great significance is the
earlier detection of hearing deficiencies in infants, followed
by permanent,
multi-specialist rehabilitation of children’s hearing. Such activities
are conducted mainly at the Hearing Rehabilitation
Centres operated by the
Polish Union of Deaf Persons (some 15,000
children from Poland in 26 centres and 40 consultation offices) and the
Centre for Early Detection and Rehabilitation of Hearing Deficiencies
operated
by the Association of Friends of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing “Man to
Man”.
203. The Polish Association for Persons with Mental
Disabilities cares for nearly 15,000 people, including some 6,000 children and
young people undergoing comprehensive rehabilitation in 120 special,
well-equipped centres to which the children are transported
by the
Association.
204. The main problem in cases of mental disability is the
intellectual deficiency that makes learning, social adjustment and the
ability
to lead an active independent life difficult. Nearly one half of persons with
mental disabilities in Poland (a total of
some 250,000 persons, according to the
World Health Organization, of whom 60,000 are in the 0 to 6 age group, 190,000
are of school
age and 80,000 are severely disabled) are affected by associated
disabilities, especially motor disabilities in cerebral palsy cases.
The
Association was the first in Poland to introduce new rehabilitation technology
in 1998 which has proved more efficient and effective.
205. The new
technology involves the use of computers to stimulate the intellectual
efficiency of persons with mental disabilities
in the areas of rehabilitation
treatment, science, personality development, creativity, occupational
rehabilitation and broadly construed
communication skills.
206. Use of
the new techniques in the rehabilitation of disabled persons is recommended by
all international legal instruments dealing
with the problems of persons with
disabilities.
207. Measures to detect defective vision early and start
immediate rehabilitation have produced good results, as attested by the
activities
of several (so far three) early-detection centres for visual
deficiencies set up by the Polish Union of Blind Persons and other
associations.
208. Another area of involvement of associations working
with blind children is assistance in the field of vision therapy and educational
assistance in the home for blind or visually impaired children (the initiator
was “Têcza” of Warsaw).
209. Health protection
associations provide daily benefits to nearly 35,000 children with disabilities.
Moreover, 12 associations
organize periodic rehabilitation and instruction camps
for children attended by parents or guardians. More than 5,000 youngsters
with
serious disabilities, usually associated disabilities, attend on a regular
basis.
210. The creation of a network of 200 highly specialized centres
(with well-trained medical and rehabilitation staff and excellent
equipment
provided by the State Fund for the Rehabilitation of Disabled Persons) has been
evaluated by representatives of leading
European non-governmental organizations
as a model solution for certain problems encountered by persons with
disabilities, especially
children in this part of Europe.
211. In the
years 1996-1997 the rehabilitation of disabled children and adolescents was
supported by financial resources from budget
surpluses paid into the State Fund
for the Rehabilitation of the Disabled (SFRH). On 1 January 1998, the Law of 27
August on the
Occupational and Social Rehabilitation and Employment of the
Disabled entered into effect, a legal enactment that defined more precisely
and
expanded the possibilities for financing the rehabilitation of children and
adolescents through funds from the State Fund for
the Rehabilitation of the
Disabled, while emphasizing the weight and significance of such action for the
social integration of young
disabled people. The new regulations enable the
Fund to allocate between 5 and 10 per cent of its revenues in a given year
towards
the financing of rehabilitation and social and vocational therapy for
children and adolescents. The resources in question are earmarked
to assist in
financing:
− The purchase of accessories and equipment to alleviate the effects of disabilities;
− The training of parents, guardians and volunteers in specialist care for disabled children and adolescents;
− Transport services.
SFRH funds for the rehabilitation
of disabled children and adolescents amounted to 17 million zlotys in 1996, 11.7
million zlotys
in 1997 and 56.2 million zlotys in 1998.
212. Apart from
tasks laid down by law, efforts to improve the lot of the disabled are also
undertaken under the Government Programme
for the Disabled and their Social
Integration. Since 1994, that programme has been carried out by ministries and
central government
agencies, and since 1996 non-governmental organizations have
joined in, adding their own funds to the project. In 1996 and 1997
supplementary financing of the rehabilitation of children and adolescents
amounting to 11.1 million zlotys and 11.8 million zlotys
respectively was
provided by the State Fund for the Rehabilitation of the Disabled. The
resources are earmarked for infrastructure
projects such as equipping integrated
pre-school establishments, eliminating architectural barriers to disabled
persons, modernization
and computerization of special schools and the purchase
of electronic equipment for cordless communication between hard-of-hearing
pupils and their teachers.
213. The Government Programme for the Disabled
and their Social Integration envisages the gradual adaptation of public
transport to
the needs of the disabled over a period of many years. In
addition, disabled children, as well as their travelling companions, are
entitled to use public motor and rail transport free of charge.
214. The
education of disabled children and adolescents is regulated by the Law on the
Education System of 7 September 1991 (Legislative
Gazette of 1996, No. 67, item
320 as amended) which, in particular, ensures:
− Implementation of the right of every citizen to an education and the right of children and adolescents to upbringing and care suited to their age and level of development;
− Adaptation of the content, methods and structure of instruction to the mental and physical capacity of pupils as well as access to psychological care and special forms of instruction;
− Access for disabled children and adolescents to instruction in every type of school in accordance with their individual developmental and educational needs and inclinations.
215. The following implementing
regulations have been issued for the tasks listed above:
− Decree No. 15 of the Minister of National Education (MNE) of 25 May 1993 regarding psychological and educational assistance to pupils (Official MNE Bulletin, No. 6, item 19);
− MNE Decree No. 29 of 4 October 1993 regarding the principles governing the organization of care for disabled pupils, and their education in general and integrated public pre-schools and schools, as well as institutions and organizations engaged in special education (Office MNE Bulletin, No. 9, item 36);
− The MNE directive of 11 June 1993 regarding the organization and operating principles of public psychological and educational counselling offices and other specialist public counselling centres (Legislative Gazette, No. 67, item 322);
− The MNE directive of 21 February regarding the kinds, organization and operating principles of public care and educational institutions and social reintegration facilities (Legislative Gazette, No. 41, item 156);
− The MNE directive of 30 January 1997 regarding the principles governing remedial educational activities for children and adolescents with severe mental disabilities (Legislative Gazette, No. 14, item 76) and certain legal provisions regulating the organization of general schools, according preferential treatment to disabled pupils and, where so warranted, the opportunity to take written and oral examinations in separate premises or in the pupil’s home in a manner suited to his or her ability to speak, write and move about.
216. Disabled children, like their non-disabled peers,
may attend generally accessible, integrated or special pre-school establishments
and, at the age of six, have the right to enrol in a one-year “zero
class” preparing them for instruction in primary
school.
217. The
obligation to attend school extends to all children, including the disabled.
“Compulsory education begins at the start
of the school year in the
calendar year in which a child attains the age of seven, and lasts until the
child completes primary school,
but it does not extend beyond the calendar year
in which he/she attains the age of 17” (article 15, paragraph 3, of the
Law).
218. MNE Decree No. 29 of 1993 creates opportunities for the
disabled to continue their schooling at the primary level until the age
of 21,
and at the post-primary level until the age of 24. Children and
adolescents with severe mental disabilities receive remedial
training from the
age of 3 to the age of 25 (MNE directives of 30 January 1997, paragraph
2).
219. Opportunities to fulfil the compulsory education requirement are
also provided for children and adolescents confined to health-care
institutions
or staying in social-assistance homes. Depending on their specific needs,
arrangements are made for special pre-school
sections, school sections, class
groups or special pre-school establishments, primary schools and post-primary
schools. In health-care
institutions extracurricular activities are also
organized.
220. Individual instruction is arranged for children and
adolescents with motor dysfunctions that make school or pre-school attendance
impossible or extremely difficult, as well as for those who are chronically ill
or temporarily unfit for normal school and pre-school
attendance, and for whom
that form of instruction has been recommended by a public specialist counselling
office.
221. This form of compulsory schooling may take place in the
child’s place of residence, primarily in the family home, foster
family,
care and education institution (orphanage), or in a health-care institution or
social-assistance home. Where so warranted,
individual instruction may be
organized on school premises.
222. Disabled children and adolescent may
also receive an education in generally accessible and integrated schools as well
as special
classes (article 22, paragraph 9, of the Law). The same applies to
pre-school education.
223. It is assumed that integrated education should
enable disabled pupils to acquire knowledge and skills commensurate with their
ability in the setting of a general pre-school establishment or
school.
224. Pre-school establishments and schools that operate
integration sections may employ additional specially trained teachers to help
organize integrated education, but also primarily to help ordinary teachers
choose curricula and teaching methods suited to disabled
pupils or to organize
various forms of individual assistance.
225. The number of disabled
children in special pre-school and school classes, depending on the type and
degree of disability, is
considerably lower than the number in general school
classes, ranging from six to 16 pupils. In the case of children with associated
disabilities, the number is as low as two. In integrated classes the number of
pupils ranges from 15 to 20, including three to five
disabled
pupils.
226. During the 1997/1998 school year instruction was provided
in:
− 789 special schools for 80,353 pupils;
− 427 school and training centres for 32,295 pupils;
− 283 therapy classes in primary schools, attended by 3,753 children and adolescents.
In addition:
− 20,623 disabled children and adolescents were enrolled in integrated schools;
− 4,168 pupils benefited from individual instruction.
227. In order to prepare disabled young people
to participate in the life of society, including through employment, special
vocational
training is organized at different levels (basic,
secondary).
228. The disabled pupil’s state of health is the main
determinant of whether he/she qualifies for special vocational training.
The
possibility of taking up an occupation for which training is available in a
vocational school in or near the pupil’s place
of residence is also taken
into account.
229. All pupils involved in the special education system
are provided with:
− Textbooks and auxiliary books free of charge;
− A properly equipped and fitted learning station;
− Reduced boarding fees in special school and training centres (between 3 and 30 per cent of the average wage);
− Facilities for the enhancement of mental development and learning effectiveness through specialist individual remedial activities (logopedic instruction or other therapy for up to 10 hours a week in lower forms and up to 3 hours in higher forms).
C. Health and medical services
230. During the period 1993-1998, the same
legal provisions for protection of the health of children and adolescents
applied as in
the preceding years, which were covered by the 1993 report for the
United Nations. In accordance with those provisions, children
under the age of
18 and young people enrolled in schools have a guaranteed right to free medical
benefits from public health-care
institutions. This includes preventive
medicine, treatment, rehabilitation and sanatorium treatment as well as a supply
of medication,
personal hygiene products, orthopaedic accessories and auxiliary
equipment, according to principles specified in detailed regulations.
With
regard to the health care of pregnant women, the regulations continue to provide
for free medical services at public health-care
institutions.
231. The
above-mentioned rights have been fully implemented. The services of public
health-care institutions are available equally
and to the same extent to all
children and pregnant women.
232. The implementation of children’s
right to benefit from the highest level of medical care available in our country
stems
less from Poland’s ratification of the Convention on the Rights of
the Child than from the Polish State’s health policy.
Health care for
pregnant women and children is regarded as a top-priority endeavour. The
cornerstone of policy on their behalf
consists in a drive to reduce infant
mortality and the improvement and expansion of disease prevention activities.
During the period
covered by this report, activities begun in the previous
period were continued and new ones launched.
233. Systematically
conducted analysis of infant mortality in Poland shows that - despite a
sustained downward tendency - it is still
far too high. For instance, in 1993
the infant mortality rate was 16.2 and childbirth-related deaths 16.7.
Recognizing that hitherto
efforts to improve the care of pregnant women, the
foetus and newly born infants had been inadequate, the Ministry of Health and
Social Welfare introduced a programme in 1995 entitled “Improvement of
Perinatal Care in Poland”. The main objective
of the programme was to
reduce childbirth-related illnesses and deaths among mothers, the frequency of
premature births and infants
with low birth weights, the infant mortality rate
and the incidence of adverse consequences suffered by infants as a result of
prenatal
illness. In tangible terms, the aim of the programme is to reduce the
infant mortality rate to less than 10 per 1,000 births.
234. The
established concept of perinatal care involves three levels based on a network
of regional centres with the highest referral
level, which also perform
coordinating, training and supervisory functions. The above-mentioned programme
was introduced in stages
from 1995 and by 1998 covered the entire country.
Implementation of the programme was financed by the Ministry of Health and
Social
Welfare. A total of 1.8 million zlotys was earmarked for the purpose in
1995, 3.39 million in 1996, 3.7 million in 1997 and 4 million
in
1998.
235. As the programme has not been in effect for very long, it is
difficult to assess its effectiveness. However, over the past several
years a
decrease in the number of infants with low birth weights has been noted. In
1993, of every 100 newly born infants eight
had low birth weights, but by 1997
that figure had dropped to less than seven. In 1997, the infant mortality rate
was 10.2 per 1,000
births.
236. In addition, during the period 1992-1998
a programme to promote breast-feeding was carried out as part of a World Health
Organization
and UNICEF initiative dubbed “The Infant-Friendly
Hospital”. The thrust of that programme was improving postnatal care
and
gearing hospital practices to the promotion of breast-feeding. A 1997
evaluation of the programme’s results showed its
considerable
effectiveness. Especially noteworthy was the increase in breastfed infants to
97 per cent. Supplying infants with
liquids was reduced from 54 per cent
in 1988 to 21 per cent in 1995. The frequency of breast-feeding increased
and its duration
was extended. An important indicator of changes in postnatal
care was the number of hospitals regarded as “infant-friendly”.
Towards the end of 1998 there were 29 such hospitals.
237. During the
1993-1998 period, the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare also carried out
programmes of a therapeutic and prophylactic
nature. The Ministry’s own
budget resources were used to buy particularly expensive drugs for children the
growth hormone,
immunoglobulin, interferon, Ceredase and medications for
children with cancer. Tests for thyroid hypofunction and phenyleketonuria
(conducted on all newly born infants) were also financed, as were genetic tests
to detect mucoviscidosis and metabolic defects.
Last year a “Programme of
Primary Prevention of Neural Tube Defects” was introduced.
238. All
children in Poland are covered by a compulsory preventive programme involving
periodic health examinations. With the exception
of tests carried out on newly
born infants in hospitals, they are carried out by basic-care nurses and
doctors. They are conducted
at the infant stage in the third week, in the
first, third, fourth, fifth, sixth, ninth and twelfth month, at the age of two,
four,
six, ten and fifteen and in the last year of primary school. The scope of
the examinations is adjusted to the child’s age
and they mainly involve
sift tests and objective examinations to detect developmental disorders. All
children are covered by a programme
of compulsory vaccinations (financed by the
Ministry of Health and Social Welfare) to prevent diphtheria, whooping cough,
tetanus,
common infant cerebral palsy, measles, roseola (German measles),
tuberculosis and viral hepatitis type B (infants). In cases warranted
by the
epidemiological situation, the scope of preventive inoculations may be
increased.
239. In the past, the above-mentioned measures were carried
out and financed by the Ministry of Health. However, in accordance with
the
law, voivods and local commune authorities were responsible for basic
health-care services. The tasks of basic medical care
had included services in
the field of paediatric treatment, internal medicine, gynaecology and dental
care. The health care of children
and adolescents in their place of residence
was the job of paediatricians and at school it was the responsibility of nurses
specially
trained as school nurses. In schools (for children requiring special
care) a doctor and nurse were in charge of health care.
240. While the
availability of such services was considered adequate, public opinion regarded
the standard of health care provided
and the need to use the services of a
doctor assigned to a given district as unsatisfactory. As a result, efforts to
change the
system have been made in recent years. The changes in health care
practices have included provision for a family doctor to care
for the entire
family in both preventive medicine and treatment. During the period covered by
this report, the practices of family
doctors had not yet sufficiently evolved,
but in the context of the reform processes taking place in the medical field
they are regarded
as the target model for basic health care.
241. The
health education of society is a constant task for all health care staff. In
the case of children, it is carried out by
the Ministry of Education.
Nevertheless, we regard society’s level of knowledge regarding
health-promoting factors and disease
prevention as inadequate. In the light of
a careful analysis of earlier efforts and persistent health problems, the
Government concluded
that the lack of desired effects stemmed mainly from the
inappropriate lifestyle of most Poles, including children. That evaluation
led
to a revision of the premises of State health policy. The current assumptions
of State health policy are spelt out in the National
Health Programme for
1996-2005, adopted by the Council of Ministers on 3 September 1996 as a
government document. The overriding,
strategic task laid down in the document
is “improvement of the population’s health and resultant quality of
life”.
It was assumed that that goal would be achieved chiefly through
the promotion of health, pro-health education and the shaping and
propagation of
healthy lifestyles, including a sense of responsibility for one’s own
health.
242. One of the manifestations of Poland’s inappropriate
lifestyle is the persistence of a tradition of poor nutrition in Polish
society.
The average Polish child’s diet is low in vegetables and fruit, dairy
products and dark bread. Although the incidence
of malnutrition-related
diseases has not been recorded, there have been signs that certain groups of
children, especially from dysfunctional
and impoverished families, are
undernourished and studies carried out by the Mother and Child Institute have
borne this out. The
appropriate ministries have taken steps to counteract these
problems.
D. The social security system, services and institutions in the field of child care
243. Polish law regulates the following family
social benefits:
1. Maternity allowances;
2. Childbirth allowances;
3. Child-care allowances;
4. Child-rearing allowances (since 1 January 1999 these are not social security
benefits but are financed directly by the State budget).
The
following benefits fall outside the social security system but are also directly
financed by the State budget:
5. Family allowances;
6. Nursing-care allowances.
Maternity allowances
244. A female employee is entitled to a
maternity allowance on giving birth to a child for the duration of her maternity
leave. The
maternity allowance is equivalent to 100 per cent of her basic pay
and is paid over a period of:
− 16 weeks for the woman’s first child;
− 18 weeks for the birth of subsequent children;
− 26 weeks in the event of multiple childbirth.
Childbirth allowances
245. A female employee and other insured
females are entitled to a childbirth allowance on giving birth to a child or on
taking in
a child for home rearing. Since 1 March 1995, the childbirth
allowance has been equivalent to 15 per cent of the average wage in
the
preceding quarter as declared for calculating old-age pensions. Since 1
December 1998 it has amounted to 187.50 zlotys.
Child-care allowances
246. To ensure that children obtain the best
possible care when ill, working parents have been given the opportunity to take
personal
care of their sick child. A parent who receives child-care leave from
his/her place of employment is entitled to a child-care allowance.
An employee
has the right to 60 days’ care for a child aged 14 or less during a
calendar year. He/she may also
benefit from a care allowance for looking
after another sick family member, including children over 14 who are members of
the same
household. The allowance for this kind of care is 14 days per calendar
year.
247. Since 1 March 1995, mothers and fathers have been entitled to
identical care allowances. The monthly allowance is equivalent
to 80 per cent
of base pay.
Child-rearing leave and allowances
248. Child-rearing leave and allowances are
currently governed by two regulations:
− Directives issued by the Council of Ministers on 28 May 1996 regarding child-rearing leave and allowances (Legislative Gazette No. 60, item 277), which has been in force since 2 June 1996;
− Directives issued by the Council of Ministers on 17 July 1981 regarding child-rearing leave (Legislative Gazette of 1990, No. 76, item 454, as amended), which will remain in effect in relation to “acquired entitlements” until 31 December 1999.
249. Employees who have been granted
child-rearing leave are entitled to a child-rearing allowance when a
family’s per capita
income does not exceed 25 per cent of the average
wage for the preceding year. The size of the allowance is determined in
terms
of lump sums. Since 1 June 1998 the child-rearing allowance has amounted
to:
− 242.80 zlotys a month;
− 386.10 zlotys a month for an individual who is single-handedly raising a child.
Child-rearing allowances are indexed to the cost of
living and revised upwards once a year.
A child-rearing allowance is
granted over:
− A 24-month period;
− A 36-month period (in cases of multiple childbirth);
− A 72-month period (where a disabled child is involved).
The right to the allowance is checked once a year
- from 1 June (in the same way as family allowances).
Family allowances
250. Since 1 March 1995 new regulations
determining who is entitled to family allowances have been in effect (Law of 1
December 1994,
Legislative Gazette No. 4, item 17, as amended). Under these
regulations, family allowances have ceased to be social-security benefits
and
have become social benefits financed entirely by the State budget. Since 1 June
1998, a family has been entitled to a family
allowance if its per capita income
has not exceeded 50 per cent of the average wage (as announced for the purpose
of calculating
old-age pensions) during the whole of the previous calendar
year.
251. A family allowance may be granted for a child until it attains
the age of 16 or, if the child is enrolled in school, until the
age of 20. If
the child’s twentieth birthday falls during the last or penultimate year
of schooling, the allowance may be
extended until the end of the current or
subsequent school year.
252. A family is entitled to a family allowance
for a child, regardless of age, if the child is considerably or moderately
disabled,
provided that the moderate disability emerged at an age entitling the
family to a family allowance.
253. A spouse is entitled to a family
allowance if he or she:
− Is raising a child entitled to a nursing-care allowance;
− Has attained 60 years of age (women) or 65 years of age (men);
− Is considerably or moderately disabled.
254. The
right to family allowances is determined for a 12-month period (1 June to 31
May). Since 1 June 1998 the amount of the family
allowance has been:
− 32.30 zlotys per spouse and for the first and second child;
− 40 zlotys for the third child;
− 50 zlotys each for the fourth and every successive child in a family.
255. On 1 January 1998, an additional family
allowance was introduced for children entitled to a nursing-care allowance on
condition
that the child is being raised by a single
individual.
256. Family allowances are subject to adjustment once a year
from 1 June, beginning in 1998.
Nursing-care allowances
257. The principles according to which these
allowances are granted have been regulated since 1 March 1995 by the Law of
1 December
1995 on family, nursing-care and child-rearing allowances. The Law
states that the nursing-care allowance is an independent benefit
unrelated to
family allowances and that the following categories of children are entitled to
it:
− A child under the age of 16 who, owing to state of his or her health, as verified by a public health-care institution, requires constant care by another individual, consisting of nursing or the systematic involvement by the carer in medical treatment or rehabilitation;
− A person over the age of 16 who is considerably disabled;
− A person over the age of 16 who is moderately disabled, if the disability emerged at an age entitling the child to a family allowance;
− A person over the age of 16 if he/she requires nursing care (in such cases the allowance may be paid until the person in question attains the age of 24 on condition that he/she is enrolled in school).
258. Since 1 September 1998, the nursing-care
allowance has amounted to 106.41 zlotys a month. It is adjusted in line with
cost-of-living
increases at the times specified for the adjustment of old-age
and disability pensions.
259. The right of a child of working parents to
care up to his or her third birthday, as provided for in article 18 of the
Convention,
is implemented in Poland through the option to enrol the child in a
nursery.
260. The right of children between the ages of three and six to
institutional care and education is implemented at pre-school institutions
(pre-school establishment and pre-school classes in primary
schools).
261. Public pre-school establishments conduct a basic programme
of pre-school education and training, as defined by the Minister of
National
Education, for no less than five hours a day. Education and training in
accordance with the basic programme is free of
charge. But parents must cover
the cost of their children’s food and additional activities.
262. A
full right to pre-school education, guaranteed by the Law on the Education
System, is enjoyed only by six-year-olds. Article
14 of the law states that
“a six-year-old child has the right to one year of pre-school
preparation.” The local authorities
are the guarantors of that right and
parents may ensure that it is respected by taking legal
action.
263. Younger children (aged three to five) are admitted to
pre-school institutions as vacancies permit. In 1997, 97.1 per cent of
all
six-year-olds were enrolled in pre-school institutions compared with only some
30 per cent of children aged three to five.
Other benefits
264. Proper boarding facilities for children
enrolled in schools away from their place of residence are an essential element
of equal
educational opportunities for children from different backgrounds.
They also involve a form of financial aid. The fees charged
a pupil for lodging
in a hostel may not exceed 50 per cent of the actual cost. During the 1997/98
school year 1,337 pupils’
hostels offering a total of 169,870 places were
in operation and served 136,547 pupils.
265. An institutional form of social
aid for children with mental disabilities is their placement in a
social-assistance home whose
purpose is to satisfy the basic living, health,
educational, social and religious requirements of its
residents.
266. Social-assistance homes, depending on the scope of the
services they provide and the length of time inmates spend in them, fall
into
two categories:
In 1998, a total of 8,616 children were living
permanently or periodically in the country’s 112 children’s homes,
244 of them periodically. Throughout the country there are also support centres
financed by social welfare
funds from local community budgets. They include
community recreation centres, centres stimulating the development of small
children,
community therapy and recreation centres, safe houses for women with
children fleeing from violence and day adaptation centres for
disabled children.
There are 149 such facilities in Poland.
E. Standard of living
System of social welfare assistance
267. The purpose of
social welfare assistance is to provide support for the weakest individuals and
families, including families with
children, who for various reasons have found
themselves in straitened economic circumstances. The Law of 29 November 1990 on
social
welfare assistance (Legislative Gazette of 1998, No. 64, item 414, as
amended) is based on the assumption that the principal recipient
of aid is the
family. The principle of pro-family orientation is one of the main features of
Poland’s social welfare system.
The benefits made available to a family
also constitute a safeguard in terms of resources for the support of the
family’s
children.
268. Individuals and families without means of
support or whose per capital family monthly income does not exceed the following
amounts
are eligible for pecuniary social welfare benefits:
− 351 zlotys for a single individual running a household;
− 318 zlotys for the first family member;
− 224 zlotys for the second and additional family members over the age of 15;
− 160 zlotys for every family member under the age of 15.
269. These sums are subject to adjustment in accordance
with the principles laid down in article 35a of the Law on Social Welfare
Assistance (uniform text in Legislative Gazette of 1998, No. 64, item 414). The
Social Welfare Assistance Law treats all revenue
as income regardless of
its source with the exception of child support payments intended for other
individuals. Under Polish welfare assistance laws, all
individuals sharing a
common household are regarded as family members.
270. Social assistance
benefits are granted upon a formal request by the interested party, that
party’s legal guardian or some
other individual with the consent of the
interested party or the interested party’s legal
representative.
271. The Social Welfare Assistance Law provides for
assistance in the form of allowances. The basic means of support for a family,
including its children, consists of:
− Protracted illness;
− Disability;
− Lack of employment opportunities;
− Lack of entitlement to a family pension following the death of an individual required to pay child support;
− Inability to obtain or acquire an entitlement to benefits from other social safeguard systems.
The allowance is fixed at a level
constituting the difference between the income criteria for an individual or
family and the individual’s
or family’s actual income.
272. All told,
welfare assistance benefits in the form of targeted allowances and aid in kind
were granted in 1997 to 718,475 families
and amounted to a total of 259,122,423
zlotys. Local communities financed from their own resources meals for 577,745
children and
adolescents at a cost of 86,481,362 zlotys.
273. Since 1996,
supplementary meals for children and adolescents provided by local communities
have been eligible for targeted subsidies
from the State budget. Supplementary
meals are available to primary school pupils and in needy cases to pupils
attending post-primary
schools. The meals are free of charge if the
family’s per capital income does not exceed 200 per cent of the per
capita income
criteria specified in the Social Welfare Assistance Law. In 1998,
96,395,000 zlotys were appropriated for the purpose. In December
1998, a total
of 573,064 pupils benefited from supplementary meals.
IX. EDUCATION, LEISURE AND CULTURAL ACTIVITIES
A. Formal education, job counselling
274. Pre-school
education represents the first stage in Poland’s education system. One of
the tasks of pre-school establishments
is to iron out inequalities in the
opportunities enjoyed by children from different backgrounds, filling in gaps
and neglected areas
in a child’s early life and preparing the child for a
good start in his or her school career.
275. Responsibility for the
establishment and operation of public pre-school establishments is assigned to
the local authorities.
276. Analyses of the availability of pre-school
educational establishments in 1993-1997 showed a continuing decline in numbers
from
21,055 in 1993 to 20,576 in 1997. But the drop was smaller than in
1990-1993, when a total of 4,695 pre-school facilities were closed
down.
Despite the decline in the number of such facilities, the number of children
attending pre-school establishments rose from
42.6 per cent in 1993 to 47.1 per
cent by 1997. The reason for the increase was not an increase of pre-school
vacancies but a demographic
decline which resulted in fewer children of
pre-school age.
277. Broken down in terms of urban and rural areas, the following trend in
pre-school education was recorded:
Year
|
Total
|
Percentage
|
Pre-school
pupils in towns |
Percentage
|
Pre-school pupils in rural areas
|
Percentage
|
1993
|
984 331
|
42.6
|
659 317
|
50.32
|
325 014
|
32.4
|
1994
|
994 865
|
45.2
|
673 163
|
54.6
|
321 702
|
33.2
|
1995
|
984 545
|
45.39
|
666 324
|
56.5
|
318 221
|
33.4
|
1996
|
983 489
|
45.18
|
665 683
|
55.42
|
317 807
|
32.6
|
1997
|
979 541
|
47.1
|
660 942
|
60.6
|
318 599
|
35
|
278. The data presented above clearly show that children in rural areas
are disadvantaged by differences in the availability of pre-school
education.
It should also be noted that 50 per cent of children in rural areas have only
one year of preparatory schooling.
279. It would be difficult to give a
single reason for this state of affairs since the number of available vacancies
in rural areas
exceeds the number of children attending pre-school
establishments. One may perhaps advance the general theory that the problem
is
rooted in the socio-economic conditions of the rural family - the nature of a
mother’s farm chores, the attitudes of farmers
towards educating young
children and, above all, the costs incurred by a family, especially one with
many children.
280. In Poland, the right of children to schooling free of
charge is guaranteed by the Constitution (article 70). The principles according
to which the education system functions are spelt out in the Law of 7 September
1990 on the
Education System (Legislative Gazette of 1991, No. 67, item 329, as
amended). In accordance with this Law:
− The cornerstone of education is the eight-form primary school which is compulsory (article 315);
− Public schools provide instruction free of charge within the framework of curricula established by the Minister of National Education (article 7, paragraph 1.1) and accept pupils in accordance with the principle of general accessibility of education (article 7, paragraph 1.2).
281. The school network comprises:
− General compulsory primary schools for children and adolescents aged 7 to 15;
− Primary music schools;
− Primary vocational schools for persons over 15 who have completed at least five classes in primary school and appear unlikely to complete their primary schooling in the normal period of time.
282. The network of public primary schools should be organized in such a way
as to enable all children to fulfil their compulsory
school requirements in
accordance with article 17, paragraph 1, of the Law on the Education System.
Responsibility for the school
network lies with the local authorities who are
required to transport children to school if the distance between their home and
the
school in the district in which they live is more than three kilometres for
pupils in forms 1 to 4 and four kilometres for pupils
in forms 5 to 8 (article
17, paragraphs 2, 3 and 4, of the Law).
283. The following table shows
the number of primary schools for children and adolescents during the school
years 1993/94 to 1997/98
and the number of pupils attending them (source GUS
figures):
School year
|
1993/94
|
1994/95
|
1995/96
|
1996/97
|
1997/98
|
Schools
|
19 212
|
19 145
|
18 945
|
18 660
|
18 431
|
Pupils
|
5 178 161
|
5 098 140
|
5 015 206
|
4 926 668
|
4 811 225
|
284. A child’s parents are responsible for his or her regular
school attendance in accordance with article 18 of the Education
Law.
Compliance with the compulsory school attendance requirement is supervised by
the principal of a public primary school in the
district in which the child
resides (article 19, paragraph 1, of the Law).
285. A child’s
failure to comply with the compulsory school requirement is an administrative
offence (article 20 of the Education
Law). A fine may be imposed on the parents
of a child who does not comply with the compulsory school attendance requirement
in order
to compel them to send the child to school.
286. During the
school years from 1993/94 to 1997/98 the percentage of children who failed to
comply with the compulsory school attendance
requirement without valid grounds
remained stable and accounted for 0.04 per cent of children subject to
compulsory schooling.
287. The following table shows the percentage of
primary school leavers who continued their education in post-primary
schools:
Primary school leavers admitted to
post-primary schools |
1993/94
|
1994/95
|
1995/96
|
1996/97
|
1997/98
|
Percentage of all primary school
leavers |
95.8%
|
95.9%
|
96.6%
|
96.8%
|
96.5%
|
288. In Poland, a child’s right to an education is also guaranteed
by the availability to every child of various forms of secondary
instruction,
including vocational training. The Polish system of vocational training is
integrated into the education system as
a whole. In accordance with the
Education Law, vocational schools include basic vocational schools, secondary
vocational schools
and post-secondary schools. Vocational schools differ in
terms of the duration of instruction and the qualifications acquired on
completion of studies.
289. Post-primary schools are divided into:
2. Secondary vocational schools:
− Vocational secondary schools, which provide a general secondary education and the opportunity to obtain a secondary school certificate and a basic vocational education;
− Technical or profiled secondary schools (bookkeeping, business, etc.) and equivalent secondary schools, which provide students with a general secondary education and secondary vocational training and the opportunity to obtain a secondary school certificate;
− Post-secondary schools, which enable students to supplement their general education with basic vocational or secondary vocation training;
− Technical lyceums, which were introduced on an experimental basis during the period from 1993 to 1997 to adapt vocational training to the needs of the labour market and became a regular part of the education system from the 1998/99 school year. Such schools provide students with a general education and the opportunity to obtain a secondary school certificate together with vocational training in 12 different fields.
290. The
following table shows the number of vocational schools operating in Poland in
the years 1993-1998 and the number of pupils
enrolled (source GUS
figures):
Type of school
|
Number of students (in thousands)
|
Number of school leavers
(in thousands) |
||||||||
Years
|
93/94
|
94/95
|
95/96
|
96/97
|
97/98
|
93/94
|
94/95
|
95/96
|
96/97
|
97/98
|
Secondary
vocational |
764
|
812
|
846
|
869
|
830
|
139
|
158
|
170
|
174
|
105
|
Basic
vocational |
770
|
746
|
722
|
691
|
613
|
235
|
229
|
216
|
211
|
194
|
Total
|
1 534
|
1 558
|
1 568
|
1 560
|
1 443
|
374
|
387
|
386
|
358
|
299
|
291. One indicator of the availability of education is the school enrolment
rate. Since 1990, there has been a drop in enrolment
in basic vocational
schools and a simultaneous increase in enrolment in secondary vocational schools
(26.7 and 32.9 respectively)
and in general education secondary schools or
lyceums, reflecting an upward trend in secondary education. This is due to the
Government’s
education policy which is aimed at expanding secondary
education and keeping basic vocational training to a minimum.
292. The
policy of the Education Ministry involves providing the younger generation with
extensive vocational information and access
to vocational counselling.
Legislative measures have been taken to establish psychological-pedagogical
counselling offices to provide
professional assistance to pupils in selecting a
course of study and an occupation (Law of 7 September 1991 on the Education
System,
article 2.4, Legislative Gazette No. 67, item 329,
of 1996).
293. In line with the accepted scope of activity, an
amendment to the directives of the Minister of National Education has been
drafted
by the relevant Department regulating the types and operating principles
of public psychological-pedagogical counselling offices
and other public
specialist counselling facilities (it entered into effect on 1 January 1999).
The new legislation specified the
following basic tasks in the area of job
counselling:
− Support for the vocational development of children and adolescents by making available and promoting job information;
− Provision of individual advice to pupils and their parents on existing vocational training opportunities and career planning;
− Setting of psychological and pedagogical tests to determine a student’s study and occupational aptitudes;
− Teaching students how to seek, obtain and hold down a job.
294. In addition, directive No. 15 of the Minister of
National Education of 25 May 1993 on the psychological and pedagogical
counselling
of pupils (Legislative Gazette No. 6, item 19) specifies the tasks
of a school education officer, especially in terms of coordination
of the
school’s career guidance activities.
295. In connection with the
planned reform of the school system, a draft core curriculum has been prepared
which includes, at the
gymnasium (grammar school, middle school) level, a
subject called the “study of society”. It contains a thematic
module
called “training for active participation in economic life”,
which identifies educational goals, the tasks of teachers
and schools and the
ground to be covered in preparing young people for vocational involvement and
finding a place in the job market.
296. In the area of vocational
counselling, 596 psychological-pedagogical counselling offices engage in
extensive activities, They
offer vocational advice in the light of
psychological-pedagogical analyses. For pupils with health problems they
prepare the necessary
psychological and medical documentation. In cooperation
with the health service, they participate in the work of qualification
commissions
which take decisions on further education for disabled pupils. In
the 1996/97 school year, 28,318 qualification rulings on post-primary
education
were issued, and during the period 1993-1998 recommendations (roughly 4,500 -
5,000 a year) were made on the assignment
of pupils to classes or schools
providing vocational training.
297. The psychological-pedagogical
counselling offices are involved to an increasing extent in activities serving
entire groups of
adolescents. They have introduced methods that involve young
people themselves in the job selection process by teaching them to
evaluate
their own mental and physical potential and compare it with the requirements of
a given job. In the 1996/97 school year
for instance, 253,091 workshops (using
these job selection methods) were conducted throughout the country, compared
with some 192,000
in the 1993/94 school year.
298. Most job advisers in
the psychological-pedagogical counselling offices arrange job guidance talks for
primary school pupils and
their parents. In addition to talks and other forms
of assistance, a sizeable group of job advisers hold special information and
training meetings for school education officers.
299. In connection with
the recruitment of pupils for post-primary schools, the counselling offices run
job information centres in
cooperation with the School Superintendent’s
Office and post-primary schools. In some voivodships, counselling office staff
have organized job guidance orientation exchanges and fairs. In order to
provide young people with the best possible information
to assist them in
choosing an occupation, the counselling offices cooperate with institutions that
organize extracurricular training
such as vocational skill-improvement centres,
craft associations, trade unions, volunteer work brigades, invalids’
cooperatives
and other bodies.
300. Job counsellors have been
increasingly providing young people with skills that help them to obtain and
hold down a job. In doing
so, they work together with various institutions
including workplaces, employment exchanges and non-public
institutions.
301. In spite of the various employment advisory tasks
carried out by the counselling offices, Poland’s system of vocational
information and guidance system remains inadequate. Such needs can be satisfied
only by an information system with the proper methodological
and technical
facilities. The Ministry of National Education is preparing to create such a
system in cooperation with France.
302. The Methodological Centre for
Psychological Assistance operated by the Ministry of National Education is an
institution that
supports vocational counselling.
303. The tasks of the
Central Methodological Organization for Educational and Vocational Counselling
include:
− Development of programmes (scenarios) of activities to motivate young people to choose a path in life (a vocation) and of projects by individual authors aimed at stimulating vocational maturity;
− Creation of data banks on vocational training (public schools) and on the health requirements for training courses and performing a given occupation;
− Gathering of data on vocational special-training institutions.
B. Educational trends
304. The Law on the Education System and its
implementing regulations contain provisions that stress the need to adapt
curricula,
teaching methods and organizational structures to cater for the
mental and physical capacity of learners. Particularly gifted pupils,
according
to these provisions, should be provided with special attention and care by means
of individual tuition and should be allowed
to complete their schooling in a
shorter period of time than is usually required. School should provide children
with the prerequisites
for their development and prepare them to fulfil their
family and civic obligations on the basis of solidarity, democracy, tolerance,
justice and freedom. A child’s personality, talents, and mental and
physical skills may be developed:
− In public schools by adapting school requirements to the mental and physical capacity of the pupil, organizing individual tuition and conducting extracurricular activities;
− By organizing special education for children with mental or physical disabilities, and children who are socially maladjusted or chronically ill;
− By organizing art schools and sport schools and classes;
− By providing profiled general education in general education secondary schools (the educational profiles are established by the principal in consultation with the school council) and by providing pupils, on completion of primary school, with the opportunity to choose from among various vocational schools in the light of the direction of their further studies.
305. Poland has a network of artistic schools and
other institutions 219 music schools at various levels, 28 fine arts schools,
four
ballet schools, five post-secondary schools for librarians and cultural
promoters, four post-secondary vocational schools, 12 artistic
circles (centres)
and eight arts education boarding facilities supervised by the Ministry of
Culture and the Arts. Local councils
operate 33 music schools, four fine arts
secondary schools and a first-degree art school, one ballet school, one
post-secondary vocational
school and four artistic circles.
306. Changes
in the labour market from 1990 to 1996 included a decline in the number of
employed (especially in the public sector)
and an increase in employment in the
private sector which has had a decisive impact on the new structure of
employment. The changes
have necessitated the introduction of training
programmes in occupations that are in demand in the labour market and the
termination
of training for jobs affected by high unemployment.
307. In
response to the labour market’s changing requirements - in terms of both
the kinds of jobs available and the vocational
skills needed - wide-profile
training has been introduced in schools. This has made it possible to produce
vocational school leavers
with the desired qualifications who are trained to
perform a variety of general activities and have received more extensive
training
for a specific job. (This is achieved through specialist training in
the final stages of education, adapted to the needs of the
local labour market.)
Should such an employee have to move to a different workplace, he or she need
only attend a training course
to obtain the desired
qualifications.
308. The strategy of wide-profile training has entailed a
reduction in the number of occupations being taught in existing vocational
schools. A new classification of occupations in the vocational education
system, approved in 1997, is currently being introduced.
Wide-profile
occupations with considerably greater employment potential in the labour market
have been added to the 1997 classification.
The latter takes into account the
classification structure of occupations and fields of specialization in the
national economy introduced
by the Minister of Labour and Social Policy through
a decree of 20 April 1995. It is a modern and open system of classification,
but its full introduction requires cooperation with the economic ministries and
necessitates appropriate curricular activities.
309. The curriculum
documentation for occupations in the new classification system is designed to
ensure a thorough revamping of the
content of vocational training. The goal is
to produce a school that turns out individuals with sound general vocational
training
who have also been taught the skills needed to pursue further
specialist training and have learned how to operate in the labour market
and in
various kinds of jobs.
310. The need to inculcate in children respect for
human rights and fundamental freedoms is emphasized in the preamble to the Law
on the Education System, which states “Education in the Republic of Poland
constitutes the common good of the whole of society,
and is guided by the
principles laid down in the Constitution of the Republic of Poland as well as in
the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Civil
and Political
Rights and the International Convention on the Rights of the
Child. Education and child-rearing - while respecting the Christian
system of
values - are based on universal ethical principles. The aim of teaching and
child-rearing is to develop in young people
a sense of responsibility, a love of
their country, a respect for the Polish cultural heritage and, at the same time,
openness to
the cultural values of Europe and the
world.”
311. Legal provisions respect the principle of freedom of
private individuals and legal entities to set up and run schools and educational
establishments. Private individuals may run:
− Private schools - on registering such schools with the school superintendent in whose district the school is to operate;
− Public schools - on obtaining the consent of the Superintendent of Schools. Consent is granted if the school meets the requirements and standards laid down by the law and its implementing provisions.
312. The school superintendent may confer on
private schools equivalent rights to public schools, meaning that the
certificates they
issue are equivalent to State certificates.
313. Private pre-school establishments receive subsidies from the local
council budget and private schools from the State budget.
Subsidies for private
schools are equivalent to 50 per cent of the costs per pupil incurred by public
schools of the same type.
Public schools run by private individuals or legal
entities receive subsidies equivalent to 100 per cent of the costs per pupil
incurred by public schools run by local councils or the State. In the period
1993-1998 the number of private schools in Poland increased
from 1,032 to
2,530.
314. From 1993 to 1998, ecological education was targeted at the
whole of society, but particularly at children, primary and secondary
school
pupils, students, promoters of environmental education, local councils,
journalists, the medical community, farmers, environmental
protection
specialists and customs officers. On the initiative of the Ministry of
Environmental Protection, Natural Resources and
Forestry and the Ministry of
National Education, a National Ecological Education Strategy was devised. The
lion’s share of
spending on the ecological education of society targeted
children and adolescents. Programmes such as “A Clean Vistula and
Clean
Coastal Rivers” and “Observer of the Coast of Europe” were
organized. The National Fund for the Protection
of the Environment and Water
Management launched such projects as “Tidying Up the World and
Poland”, a “Campaign
to Promote Environmentally Friendly
Packaging”, an “Ozone Campaign”, “Passport to the
Future” and others.
C. Leisure, recreation and cultural activities
315. The Law on the Education System of 7
September 1991 contains no provisions recognizing a child’s right to
leisure, play
and recreation or to all-round participation in cultural and
artistic life. But the education system itself includes educational
and
training institutions whose purpose is to develop a child’s interests and
abilities and to enable children and adolescents
to engage in various forms of
leisure and recreational activities. One such establishment is the
extracurricular educational institution.
The activities of extracurricular educational institutions
316. Within the education system a vital role
in organizing the free time of children and adolescents is played by
extracurricular
educational institutions - youth palaces, youth community
centres, centres for extracurricular activities, inter-school sport centres,
playgrounds and other specialist institutions. They operate on the basis of a
decree issued by the Minister of National Education
on 28 September 1993 which
specifies the types, organization and operating principles of public educational
and training institutions
(Legislative Gazette No. 95, item 232, of 1997 and No.
75, item 473).
317. The diverse opportunities provided by institutions
conducting educational, cultural and recreational activities help to shape
a
child’s personality, enable children to acquire various skills and
stimulate the intellectual and aesthetic development of
the younger generation.
The institutions also teach children how to organize their leisure time
independently. To an increasing
extent, they complement the school’s
developmental, preventive and educational functions and also support the
educational activities
of families.
318. During the period from 1990 to
1993, the activities of extracurricular institutions were considerably
restricted by an austerity
programme in the field of education. Many centres
were closed and those that survived had to cut back and modify their programmes.
The majority became involved in business ventures to earn the money needed to
finance their statutory activities. From 1993, the
situation of extracurricular
educational institutions began to stabilize. In 1994, according to GUS data
released on 31 October
1994, the Ministry of National Education had under its
authority 389 such institutions catering for 559,895 young people. At that
time
there were 13 youth palaces, 134 youth community centres, 107 centres for
extracurricular activities, 99 inter-school sport
centres, 26 playgrounds and 13
other specialized facilities. Within the institutions 18,642 hobby and interest
circles were operating.
In 1996, the number of such institutions dropped to 351
and the number of participants decreased to 311,350. According to GUS figures,
on 10 October 1997 there were only 342 centres for extracurricular education. A
total of 257,411 young people were involved in 18,329
hobby and interest
circles.
319. The network of extracurricular educational centres is
severely unbalanced. Katowice voivodship had 55 such institutions, compared
with 33 in Warsaw, 23 in Kraków and 15 each in Gdañsk, Lodz and
Nowy Sacz. But the voivodships of Biala Podlaska,
Czêstochowa, Leszno,
Piotrków and Tarnów had only one such centre apiece. In those
voivodships, children and
adolescents have limited access to cultural and
artistic life.
320. Of the 324 extracurricular educational centres, 186
are run by regional offices of the State administration and 156 by local
council
organizations (including 95 by communities with urban status).
321. The
funds needed to finance their programmes come from the State budget, local
councils, fees paid by parents and the centres’
own revenues (commercial
activities). As a sizeable section of society is increasingly impoverished,
there is a real danger that
only the children of well-to-do families will be
able to engage in leisure-time activities.
322. Fees for different
activities are charged by both public institutions (through the parents’
committee) and private institutions.
The fees charged by private institutions
constitute a barrier to general access to such activities. Owing to a lack of
funds, the
Ministry of National Education does not extend financial assistance
to private cultural and recreational institutions.
323. An analysis of
educational institutions involved in organizing the leisure time of children and
adolescents indicates that their
programmes are gradually changing and are
increasingly responding to the requirements of educationally neglected
communities. This
role is enhanced by voluntary participation in activities,
the attractiveness of the available range of activities, receptiveness
to new
suggestions and a partner-like attitude of teacher-instructors towards
participants.
324. The current situation and future prospects of
extracurricular institutions offering leisure-time facilities for the younger
generation
depend on the situation of education as a whole. The limited budget
of the Ministry of National Education means that only selected
activities can be
undertaken to prevent the further deterioration of existing institutions. At
the same time, public needs and educational
problems with young people
necessitate changes in the way such institutions function.
325. The Ministry
of National Education plans the following measures:
− Additional financing from the Ministry’s budget for competitions, reviews, festivals, workshops and other forms of presentation of pupils’ and teachers’ achievements;
− Rational restrictions on the commercialization of such institutions;
− Support for the amateur artistic movement;
− Launching of promotional activities from which teachers, pupils, schools and other institutions can derive non-material satisfaction (e.g. a series of programmes on public television, prizes, curricular and methodological materials, etc.);
− Drafting of legislative enactments enabling the institutions to expand their activities, incorporate preventive measures, work more closely with families and introduce modern management and organizational innovations;
− Abolition of the statutes of educational institutions and development of standards for out-of-school and extracurricular activities;
− Enhancement of teachers’ ability to diagnose and prevent addiction and pathological behaviour and upgrading of their psycho-social skills, existing types of extracurricular activity and the methods used;
− Promotion and introduction of educational and developmental programmes aimed at reforming extracurricular institutions and improving the quality of their activities by, among other things:
∗ Providing facilities for children and adolescents without clearly developed interests, including young people from subculture groups and those pathologically at risk;
∗ Promoting equality of the standard of living of children from families requiring special assistance;
∗ Integrating various cultural fields and activities of non-governmental institutions and organizations;
∗ Linking cultural education with the local, regional and national cultural heritage;
∗ Providing activities for rural children and families;
− Promotion of the spending of leisure time in the family by organizing cultural events and activities for families, including multi-generational tourism to enhance knowledge of national cultural achievements and other forms of activities.
326. A cardinal principle of the educational
reform is to equalize educational opportunities to the greatest extent possible
by:
− Ensuring equal educational facilities in general and qualitative terms for the youngest children - meaning greater availability of pre-school establishments and uniform standards in primary schools;
− Making full secondary education the norm by ensuring mobility between different kinds of schools;
− Providing disadvantaged young people with the opportunity to perform social functions;
− Supporting schools in the more extensive performance of care, integrational, cultural and recreational functions by developing extracurricular activities;
− Ensuring a sound system of teacher training and development of skills to eliminate poor quality teaching;
− Providing young people from poor families with opportunities to obtain a higher education through an efficient and well-developed system of student credits;
− Increasing the availability of education to persons with disabilities through the development of special schools, the promotion of integrated education and the dismantling of barriers.
Cooperation with non-governmental organizations in extracurricular education
327. Many non-governmental organizations
working on behalf of children and adolescents have added extracurricular
activities to their
statutory tasks. Among these activities, the Ministry of
National Education provides special support for:
− Activities that stimulate interests and a love of learning, the arts, sports and tourism;
− Local, regional and national events;
− Summer and winter recreation and holidays;
− Training activities.
328. Selected organizations such
as the Polish Scouting Union or the Scouting Union of the Republic have
concluded agreements with
the Ministry of National Education that specify the
principles governing cooperation, including the use of educational premises.
329. The Ministry of National Education uses funds for task orders to support
meritorious initiatives by non-State entities. In 1997,
the Ministry provided
5,321,651.22 zlotys for the organization of competitions, tournaments, artistic
workshops and similar forms
of work with children and adolescents. The sum of
16,609,375.89 zlotys was earmarked for recreational activities and the training
of unpaid volunteers to staff youth organizations.
330. Cooperation with
non-governmental organizations in extracurricular education takes place at
several levels. It includes local
initiatives undertaken jointly with
educational and training institutions, cooperation with local councils and the
School Superintendent’s
Office, and collaboration with central
institutions.
331. To ensure more efficient cooperation with
non-governmental organizations, existing regulations will have to be amended
with a
view to decentralizing the management of financial resources and
transferring to local councils tasks assigned by the State to non-State
entities, while establishing appropriate priorities and standards. Only tasks
of strategic importance to the State should continue
to be performed by central
agencies.
Inter-ministerial Programme of Cultural Education
332. This document was adopted by the Council
of Ministers of the Republic of Poland on 27 November 1996. The
Ministry of National
Education, in cooperation with the Ministry of Culture and
the Arts, pledged:
− To acknowledge extracurricular artistic activities by pupils as an extension of the educational process;
− To take arts subjects into account in drafting the new secondary school leavers’ curriculum;
− To include media studies, including issues of response and choice in school curricula;
− To promote “designer” arts curricula in schools;
− To introduce cultural studies into the lifelong education system;
− To elaborate principles of cooperation between schools and cultural institutions with a view to increasing the availability of aesthetic training in the classroom;
− To record and popularize the achievements of unconventional workshops aimed at improving teachers skills;
− To promote the pursuit of programmes by cultural and educational institutions, grassroots movements and the school system.
333. The grassroots or amateur cultural movement
involves the participation of schoolchildren in the activities of artistic
ensembles,
circles and clubs - chiefly drama, dance, music, fine arts and film
groups. At present, 2,163 child and youth ensembles are active
in
Poland.
334. Professional cultural institutions support the right of children
to all-round participation in cultural life. Travelling concerts,
which have
been organized by most philharmonic orchestras for children and adolescents for
well over a dozen years in schools and
community centres, play an important role
in shaping the aesthetic tastes of young listeners. Music associations hold
concerts,
festivals, exhibitions, lectures and music programmes as well as
competitions, music camps and composition workshops for young
people.
335. As part of the programme “Sport for All
Youngsters” established by the Office for Physical Culture and Tourism,
School
Olympiads have been held since 1994 to encourage children and adolescents
to engage in competitive sports.
336. In recent years, a considerable
increase in the number of student sport clubs has been recorded throughout the
country. The
clubs operate mainly in primary and secondary schools, sport
centres, orphanages, parishes, community centres and other institutions.
The
clubs’ activities are based on voluntary affiliation by students, their
parents and teachers. Each club has at least
one section devoted to specialist
sporting activities. The purpose of the clubs is to promote active forms of
leisure and recreation.
The number of student sport clubs is steadily growing
from 631 in 1994, they increased to 3,744 in 1997. The programme
“Training
Talented Young Sportspeople” is designed for competitors
with promising mental and physical aptitudes. It has led to the establishment
of schools of competitive sport, macro-regional training facilities for talented
young people and provision of the kind of training
and social conditions that
young sportspeople need to develop their potential.
X. SPECIAL PROTECTION MEASURES
A. Children in critical situations
Children with refugee status
337. Article
22 requires States parties to the Convention to extend appropriate protection
and assistance to children who are seeking
refugee status or who are considered
refugees.
338. As far as the recognition of rights and protection of
interests are concerned, the Law on Foreigners of 25 June 1997 (Legislative
Gazette No. 114, item 739) does not differentiate between foreigners seeking
refugee status in terms of whether they have attained
the age of majority or are
still minors. An application for refugee status submitted by an underage
foreigner is treated in the
same way as one submitted by an adult foreigner and
is subject to identical procedures for the adoption of an administrative
decision.
339. In accordance with article 49, paragraph 1, of the Law, a
refugee child is free to contact a representative of the Office of
the United
Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, particularly with a view to obtaining
assistance. As a minor does not enjoy legal
capacity under Polish law, a
court-appointed guardian should be made available to the applicant, who is
placed in a care and education
facility (children under 13) or a centre for
persons seeking refugee status (children aged 13 and over). Such measures are
indicated
by paragraph 43 of the directives issued by the Minister of Internal
Affairs and Administration on 23 December 1997 concerning the
principles,
procedures and documents required in cases involving aliens (Legislative Gazette
of 1998 No. 1, item 1) and by article
34, paragraph 1, of the Code of
Administrative Procedure.
340. Article 44 of the Law on Foreigners,
reflecting the principle of family reunion, also stipulates that the spouse and
minor children
of a foreigner (who has acquired refugee status) should be
granted refugee status if they are with the foreigner in question in the
territory of the Republic of Poland, should be given travel documents in
accordance with the Geneva Convention and should be allowed
to live in Poland
for a specified length of time.
341. If the underage children of a
foreigner who has acquired refugee status live beyond the borders of the
Republic of Poland, the
appropriate Polish bodies should, at the
foreigner’s request, make every effort to assist them in obtaining
permission to enter
Poland for the purpose of family reunion - paragraph 45 of
the above-mentioned directives.
342. Moreover, Polish law also regulates
situations not mentioned in the Convention. For instance, paragraph 58 of the
directives
states that an alien minor in Polish territory may be expelled only
under the care of his/her legal guardian. The sole exception
is when the minor
is turned over on expulsion to his/her legal guardian or a representative of the
authorities of the State to which
he/she is being expelled.
Physical and psychological rehabilitation
343. The physical and psychological
rehabilitation of children in crisis situations is one of the compulsory tasks
of psychological-pedagogical
counselling institutions. Specialists employed in
psychological-pedagogical counselling offices, care and education institutions
and social reintegration facilities extend direct psychological
assistance.
344. Motor rehabilitation has been conducted to a limited
extent since 1993 by rehabilitation therapists employed by the counselling
offices. Between 1993 and 1998, however, there were only 11 to 17 full-time
positions for such therapists. During the period covered
by this report, they
worked with between 861 and 1,148 children and adolescents. Therapists are also
employed by integrated institutions.
During the 1996/97 school year 100
rehabilitation therapists were employed in 264 integrated facilities. In the
course of psychological
rehabilitation, the counselling offices engage in active
forms of work with children such as training sessions and workshops. An
analysis of the programmes offered by the counselling facilities over the past
five years indicates that their scope and number are
inadequate. In 1996/97
only 18 (of Poland’s 49) voivodships provided therapy for emotionally
disturbed children. One provided therapy for aggressive behaviour, two worked
with
violent offenders, seven voivodships intervened in crisis situations and
twelve conducted individual therapy with children who attempted
suicide.
Compared with 1993, however, there has been a clear increase in individual
assistance from 42,000 in 1993/94 to 66,000
in 1997/98 and in group therapy from
240,000 to 350,000 respectively.
345. Youth Telephone Hotlines are a
specific form of psychological assistance. They are usually operated by
psychological-pedagogical
counselling offices. Since 1967 they have been
affiliated with the International Federation of Telephone Emergency Services
(INFOTES).
They advised more than 21,000 people in the 1993/94 school year and
some 15,000 in 1996/97. The available data seem to indicate
that this form of
assistance has gone somewhat out of vogue.
346. We regard sexual
molestation as a particularly dastardly form of violence against children. The
problem involves such issues
as identification and defence of one’s
rights, the search for help when they are violated, ability to communicate and
deal
with stress, and identification of the factors threatening proper
development. That entire set of problems forms part of the health
education programme that will become compulsory in schools in September
1999 (interdisciplinary track). Implementation of the curriculum
will involve
psycho-educational tasks which must be supplemented by therapeutic measures for
child victims of sexual violence.
347. Efforts to eliminate the
phenomenon require special skills and competence, both on the part of teachers
conducting health education
classes and on the part of therapists providing
special assistance.
348. The training of staff to deal with such problems
is the job of the Voivodship Methodology Centres, the Ministry of
Education’s
Methodology Centre for Psychological and Pedagogical
Assistance and certain psychological-pedagogical counselling offices and
specialist
counselling facilities.
349. The Voivodship Methodology
Centres use a workshop environment to conduct staff training sessions for the
more effective solution
of child-rearing problems (for instance by teaching
child-rearing skills), effective communication workshops and courses in
conducting
a dialogue with children.
350. For example, the Voivodship
Methodology Centre in Czêstochowa organizes training workshops for
self-tuition groups focusing
on the maltreated child syndrome. In the
Educational Bulletin (No. 6 of 1996), jointly published by the School
Superintendent’s
Office and the Voivodship Methodology Centre, two
articles appeared on the subject under discussion “System Model of the
Family
of a Sexually Exploited Child” and “My Experience with
Violence”. The Voivodship Methodology Centre of Kalisz
also holds
training sessions on the subject of violence against
children.
351. Interesting initiatives involving the improvement of
various kinds of teaching skills are also being carried out. In 1995, the
Ministry of National Education’s Methodology Centre for Psychological and
Pedagogical Assistance conducted training workshops
on assistance to pupils from
families with violence and alcohol problems (19 persons received training). In
1997, some 100 people
were trained. The participants included employees of
psychological-pedagogical counselling offices, school education officers and
teachers and principals of primary and post-primary schools. In 1998, 28 people
were trained. Four additional training sessions
for some 80 persons were
planned. Over the past two years, the Centre has also held training sessions on
children’s rights
and it plans to hold a session devoted to
“Psychological Work with Children and Adolescents from Dysfunctional
Families”.
The Centre also intends to develop the organizational
principles of a support system for education officers throughout the country.
The
purpose of those efforts is to expand the professional expertise of education
officers in counteracting violence in school, family
violence and peer-group
aggression. There are also plans to organize support groups for education
officers from Warsaw.
352. It should be noted that the question of
domestic violence towards children has been included in the training course for
employees
of the Youth Telephone Hotlines set up by the Methodology Centre for
Psychological and Pedagogical Assistance (56 persons received
training in 1996
and 1997 and 20 to 25 persons in 1997).
353. The
psychological-pedagogical counselling offices are aware of the problem of caring
for young victims of violence. In the 1996/1996
school year four voivodships -
Katowice, Kraków, Krosno and Opole - developed a programme to assist
sexually molested children.
This type of assistance is either specifically
designed for sexually molested children, as in Katowice and Kraków
voivodships,
or is provided in the form of therapy for children from families
known to engage in physical and mental abuse and sexual
molestation.
354. In addition to the centres providing direct assistance
to sexually abused children, there are centres offering educational programmes
to people who are willing and able to provide such assistance. The Methodology
Centre gathers information about educational programmes
for education system
employees - psychologists, education officers, teachers and form masters - and
provides access to data on such
centres and programmes. Unfortunately, there
are not many specialized programmes. They are available only at the specialist
psychological-pedagogical
counselling office at Warsaw’s Juvenile
Psychology Centre, the Alternative Education Workshop in Lodz, the Family
Assistance
Group in Zywiec and the Voivodship Group of Education and Therapy
Institutions in Katowice.
355. The programmes cover such issues
as:
− How to talk to children and adolescents about sex and how to conduct group activities on the subject of sex;
− Recognition, diagnosis and procedures in cases of sexual abuse;
− Various aspects of the initial intervention;
− Increasing readiness and competence to provide assistance and support to victims of sexual violence.
356. With regard to the
programmes provided by other centres, the Methodology Centre operates as an
intermediary among education employees
providing psychological-pedagogical
assistance, puts selected pilot programmes into practice, monitors their
implementation in the
Ministry’s institutions and carries out evaluation
studies for the benefit of their authors.
357. The programme
“Promoting Physical, Mental and Spiritual Health in the Education
System” also acquaints participants
with the problem of abused and
sexually molested children.
358. The plans of the Ministry of National
Education in this area are largely dependent on financial resources, especially
funds for
training specialists and creating the necessary conditions for
assisting young victims of sexual abuse. A programme of such activities
has
been outlined in the context of efforts to resolve the problem of domestic
violence against children.
B. Children who run foul of the law
Dispensing juvenile justice
359. The basic
principles governing proceedings involving underage offenders, as laid down in
the Law of 26 October 1982 on Procedure
in Cases Involving Juveniles, have
remained unchanged. The proper body for conducting clarification, analytical
and enforcement
proceedings remains the juvenile court (these tasks are
performed by family courts). A juvenile is defined as a person:
− Under the age of 18 in proceedings to counteract the corruption of minors;
− Aged between 13 and 17 in cases involving punishable offences;
− Under the age of 21 in enforcement proceedings (see, in addition, the age limits for criminal responsibility).
360. There are,
however, no clearly defined lower age limits as regards responsibility for
violating criminal law, because where evidence
of corruption of a minor exists
(including the commission of prohibited acts, i.e. breaches of criminal law as
interpreted by the
Convention), juveniles under the age of 13 may he held
responsible. In practice, the age of 10 is accepted as such a
limit.
361. When dealing with the corruption of minors or the commission
of punishable offences, the catalogue of measures at the disposal
of juvenile
courts includes educational, therapeutic-educational and corrective measures.
Educational measures (article 6, paragraphs
1 to 9 and 11 of the Law on
Procedure in Cases Involving Juveniles) may include reprimands, enforcement of a
specific form of behaviour,
responsible supervision by parents or another
trustworthy person, assignment to a juvenile assistance centre operated by the
School
Superintendent’s Office, a ban on driving motor vehicles, the loss
of goods acquired as a result of a punishable offence, confinement
to a
vocational training institution or organization, a foster family or a care and
education institution, and, lastly, other measures
specified by the Law in
question or the Family and Guardianship
Code.
362. Therapeutic-educational measures involve confinement in a
mental hospital or other suitable health care institution (article
12 of the Law
on Procedure in Cases Involving Juveniles). Lastly, corrective measures involve
confinement of the juvenile in a reform
institution (article 6, paragraph 10,
and article 10 of the Law). The enforcement of such confinement may be
suspended for a probationary
period of from one to three years and educational
measures may be applied (article 11 of the Law). Enforcement of a court ruling
may be conditionally waived (article 88) and a juvenile may be conditionally
released from a reform institution (article 86).
363. Not all the basic
principles governing proceedings in cases involving juveniles have been
formulated expressis verbis in the above-mentioned Law. Some of them are
implemented under provisions of criminal property law and procedural law. These
are
what are known as the principles of nullum crimen sine lege, the
presumption of innocence (it should be noted that under the Polish legislation
on juveniles guilt is not ascribed; only the
commission of an act is
established), non-use of coercion to obtain evidence and confession of an act,
and the right to an interpreter
free of charge. Others stem directly from the
Law on Procedure in Cases Involving Juveniles such as the principle of prompt
and
direct communication of the charges (article 34, paragraph 1), the right to
obtain legal assistance (article 36, paragraph 1, articles
44 and 49) and the
right to appeal against a court ruling (chapter 7, articles 58 to 63; this
principle also operates under the relevant
provisions of the Code of Criminal
Procedure and the Code of Civil Procedure).
364. Measures constituting an
alternative to judicial proceedings (article 40, paragraph 3(b), of the
Convention) have taken the form
of mediation proceedings between the juvenile
and the plaintiff. This has been introduced for the past three years on an
experimental
basis and preparations are under way to include it among the
provisions of the Law on Procedure in Cases Involving Juveniles.
Depriving children of their liberty
375. This is possible in several instances,
most of which involve the responsibility of minors for breaches of criminal law.
Polish
law does not provide for the temporary detention of juveniles. In the
course of proceedings against a juvenile, the following isolation
measures may
be applied:
(a) Confinement in a police children’s hostel (article
40 of the Law when there is reasonable suspicion that the juvenile has
committed
a punishable act, and article 102 when the juvenile requires immediate care) for
a maximum of 48 to 72 hours (depending
on the reasons for confinement) or, with
the consent of a family judge, for a specific period of time not exceeding 14
days;
(b) Placement by a court in a care and education institution
(article 26 of the Law on juveniles);
(c) Confinement in a juvenile
shelter (article 27). This institution bears the greatest similarity to
temporary detention. Confinement
therein is permissible only when two
conditions are jointly fulfilled when circumstances warranting the confinement
of a juvenile
in a reform facility exist, and when there is a reasonable fear
that the juvenile may flee or attempt to destroy the evidence of
his or her
offence or when his or her identity cannot be established. The court may order
confinement in a juvenile shelter for
a period not exceeding three months before
the case goes to court. In special circumstances, that period may be extended
by no more
than three additional months. Detailed principles governing a
juvenile’s stay in such a shelter are laid down in the directives
issued
by the Minister of Justice on 19 May 1997 regarding types and ways of organizing
juvenile shelters and the confinement of
minors therein (Legislative Gazette,
No. 58, item 362).
(d) Educational and corrective measures involving
deprivation of liberty in the case of minors:
− Confinement in a care and education establishment or a social reintegration (formerly educational) institution (article 6, paragraph 9, of the Law on juveniles). Detailed principles governing the confinement of minors therein are contained in:
− Confinement in a corrective (reform) institution (article 6, paragraph 10, and article 10 of the Law on juveniles). The principles governing the confinement of juveniles in reform institutions are contained in directives issued by the Minister of Justice on 19 May 1997 regarding the types, organization and operating principles of corrective institutions as well as the principles governing a juvenile’s confinement (Legislative Gazette No. 58, item 361);
− Imprisonment, which is an option in the following instances:
Principles governing the punishment of juveniles
376. A prohibition of torture, corporal
punishment and cruel, inhumane or degrading treatment is contained in article 40
of the Constitution of the Republic of Poland and applies to every human being
regardless of age.
377. Article 54, paragraph 2, of the (new) Penal Code
prohibits the sentencing of juveniles to life imprisonment. In the previous
Penal Code such a ban did not exist, since the concept of life imprisonment did
not exist under Polish law. As the new Penal Code
does not provide for the
death penalty, a prohibition of capital punishment for juveniles would be
pointless. It should be added,
however, that such a prohibition existed in the
previous Penal Code (article 31).
378. During a juvenile’s stay at
a juvenile shelter or reform institution, measures of direct coercion may be
applied against
him or her exclusively in the circumstances and in accordance
with the conditions specified by law. Detailed regulations are contained
in the
provisions of articles 95a to 95c of the Law on juveniles, in directives issued
by the Council of Ministers on 11 December
1996 regarding special
conditions under which direct coercion may be used against juveniles in reform
facilities and shelters (Legislative
Gazette No. 154, item 746), and in
section 85, paragraph 1.13, and section 88 of the above-mentioned
directives issued by the Minister
of Justice on 19 May 1997 on reform
institutions and section 67, paragraph 1.12, and section 70 of analogous
directives on juvenile
shelters. The most important principles are the
following:
− An absolute ban on the use of direct coercive measures as a form of punishment;
− Use of such measures solely to prevent a juvenile from attempting suicide or self-mutilation and from killing or harming another person, inciting a riot, organizing a collective escape or destroying property entailing a serious breach of order;
− A limit on the list of such measures to the use of physical force, solitary confinement and the deployment of a restraining belt or straitjacket;
− A ban on the use of a restraining belt or straitjacket on a disabled juvenile;
− A limit on the duration of solitary confinement to 48 hours and a ban on the application of that measure to a pregnant juvenile;
− Medical supervision of direct coercive measures;
− Filing of a report on the use of such measures and informing the court.
379. The above-mentioned directives also regulate the
extent of a juvenile’s rights in a shelter or reform institution,
particularly
in terms of limits on the right to correspondence, privacy and
contacts with his or her family.
380. In reviewing Poland’s
implementation of its commitments stemming from article 37 of the Convention, it
should also be mentioned
that on 21 October 1989 Poland acceded to and ratified
the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment
or Punishment of 10 December 1984 (Legislative Gazette of 1989, No. 63, items
378 and 379). That Convention is considerably wider
in scope, since it does not
limit itself to a single subject as in the case of the Convention on the Rights
of the Child. Poland
is also a party to the European Convention for the
Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, which
it
ratified on 1 February 1995 (Legislative Gazette of 1995, No. 46,
item 238). In the period from 1 to 12 July 1996, the European
Committee
for the Prevention of Torture inspected places of enforced confinement,
including juvenile facilities, in Poland with a
view to assessing their
compliance with the provisions of the European Convention. During the
inspection, the representatives of
the Committee did not take any immediate
action. The
Ministry of Justice, the appropriate recipient of the Committee’s
observations, replied to the official report on the inspection
tour and the
recommendations it contained. At the beginning of July 1998, during a meeting
of the Committee for the Prevention of
Torture, the procedures relating to the
report on the 1996 visit to Poland by the Committee’s delegation were
terminated.
C. The exploitation of children
381. Many provisions of the new Penal Code
regulating this problem may be cited:
− Article 198: bringing about sexual relations or other sexual activity or engaging in such activity by exploiting the helplessness of another individual due to that individual’s mental retardation, mental illness or inability to discern the nature of the said activity (regardless of the victim’s age);
− Article 99: bringing about sexual relations or other sexual activity (as above) by abusing a relationship of dependence or exploiting a situation of crisis (regardless of the victim’s age);
− Article 200: bringing about sexual relations or other sexual activity (as above) with a minor under 15 years of age (paragraph l) or making a pornographic recording with the participation of such an individual (paragraph 2);
− Article 202: exposing a minor under 15 years of age to pornographic material, making available to him/her items of that nature (paragraph 2), or producing pornographic material with the participation of a minor under 15 years of age (paragraph 3) for the purpose of their dissemination;
− Article 203: involving a person in prostitution through the use of force, illegal threats, deceit or the exploitation of that person’s relationship of dependence or situation of crisis (regardless of the victim’s age);
− Article 204, paragraph 3: inducing or facilitating the involvement of minors in prostitution for material gain or deriving material benefit from the prostitution of minors;
− Article 204, paragraph 4: luring or abduction of another person for the purpose of engaging in prostitution abroad (regardless of the victim’s age);
− Article 207: physical or mental abuse of (among others) minors:
− The use of a particular form of cruelty (paragraph 2);
− Driving the victim to attempt suicide (paragraph 3);
− Article 208: inducing a juvenile to become addicted to alcohol;
− Article 209: persistent shirking of child-support obligations;
− Article 210: abandonment of a minor under 15 years of age or a physically or mentally incapacitated individual, contrary to the obligation to extend care to such persons;
− Article 211: abduction of a minor under 15 years of age (or an incapacitated individual - as above) contrary to the will of the person exercising care and supervision over the minor;
− Article 247: physical or mental abuse of an individual legally deprived of liberty (regardless of the victim’s age);
− Article 253: trafficking in persons, even with the consent of the individuals involved (paragraph 1) or organizing the illicit adoption of children for the purpose of material gain (paragraph 2).
382. The Law of 24 April 1997 on the Countering of Drug
Addiction (Legislative Gazette No. 75, item 468) contains, aside from
provisions
in which the victim’s age has no bearing on the
offender’s responsibility, the following offences designed to protect
minors:
− Article 45, paragraph 2: illicitly supplying narcotics or psychotropic substances to minors or inducing a minor to use such substances;
− Article 46, paragraph 2: supplying a minor with narcotics or psychotropic substances or facilitating or encouraging their use for material gain.
383. To limit the use of psychoactive substances, steps
have been taken to safeguard schools against dealers and to limit demand and
supply. This is done largely through voluntary parental action and cooperation
with the police.
384. Efforts to limit demand may be divided into two
categories:
1. Educational programmes aimed at all young people (an entire class);
385. Many programmes aimed at the entire
population of young people are currently being introduced in schools, mainly
through the
efforts of the Office on Drug Addiction of the Ministry of Health
and Social Welfare. The Ministry of National Education is cooperating
with the
Office “in the creation of a nation-wide programme to prevent drug
addiction”.
386. The main ingredients of these programmes include:
− Teaching the skills needed for adaptive psycho-emotional and social functioning, especially taking into account the problems of adolescence (identity crisis, biological maturing process, structure of adolescent needs, development of a system of values);
− Providing information on the dangers and mechanisms of addiction;
− Teaching young people how to refrain from taking psychoactive substances, how to say “no”.
387. Preventive
efforts also include support to parents and guardians of adolescents in their
child-rearing activities and training
of staff for preventive activity
(teachers, psychologists, education officers, volunteers,
etc.).
388. Work with risk groups involves:
− Ad hoc activities, for example the establishment in certain schools of an anonymous hotline, also for parents, and a police campaign (known as “Dealer - 4”) aimed at detecting and limiting drug addiction;
− Short-term programmes aimed at eliminating dangers at school known as “The Safe School” or programmes aimed at preventing drug addiction such as “Before you try it” and “I don’t do drugs”;
− Long-range programmes involving the introduction of health promotion into school curricula.
389. This system is intended to
supplement the activities of class teachers, school education officers, family
education officers,
school psychologists, specialist counselling offices and
specialists of the Ministry of National Education’s Methodology Centre
for
Psychological and Pedagogical Assistance.
390. Preventive and educational
activities are also conducted by the psychological-pedagogical counselling
offices and specialist
counselling offices. They have organized family therapy
to deal with alcohol abuse as well as various kinds of work with teachers
-
training sessions, workshops, etc. In the 1997/98 school year, the counselling
offices attended to the needs of 671,074 children
and
adolescents.
391. In 1998, the Methodology Centre for Psychological and
Pedagogical Assistance launched a planned campaign to prevent addiction
by
issuing publications on:
− Problems of juveniles threatened with addiction;
− Work with parents of pupils threatened with addiction;
− Prevention of addiction among schoolchildren.
392. In the
1997/98 school year, some 300 preventive, educational and therapeutic clubrooms
(community centres) provided specialist
preventive and educational care. Eleven
youth sociotherapy centres for socially maladjusted or addiction-threatened
children and
adolescents were in operation. During the 1997/98 school year, 632
children and adolescents availed themselves of their assistance.
393. On
6 June 1997, a new Penal Code, a Code of Criminal Procedure and a Code of Penal
Enforcement were adopted. The new Penal Code
makes it an offence to exploit
children under the age of 15 for the production of pornographic material
“The production for
the purpose of dissemination and the import of
pornographic material depicting minors under the age of 15 (...) are punishable
by
between three months’ and five years’ imprisonment” (Penal
Code, article 202, paragraph 3).
394. The Convention on the Rights
of the Child states (Part I, article 1) that a “child” means every
human being under
the age of 18. On that point, therefore, Polish law is not
fully in compliance with Poland’s international obligations. On
the
initiative of a group of deputies, a proposal to amend the Penal Code has been
introduced to protect children against involvement
in the production and
dissemination of pornography.
D. Children belonging to minority or indigenous groups
395. Polish educational law contains provisions
guaranteeing pupils belonging to minority national or ethnic groups in Poland
the
right to their own cultural life, to belief in and observance of their own
religion and to the use of their own language.
396. The Law of 7
September 1991 on the Education System states in article 13.1 “Public
schools shall enable pupils to maintain
their sense of national, ethnic,
linguistic and religious identity, in particular through the learning of their
language, history
and culture.”
397. At the request of parents, the
instruction mentioned in paragraph 1 may be conducted:
− In separate groups, classes or schools;
− In groups, classes or schools offering additional instruction in language, history and culture;
− In inter-school teaching groups.
398. The directives
issued by the Minister of National Education on 24 March 1992 regarding the
organization of instruction serving
to maintain the national, ethnic and
linguistic identity of pupils belonging to national minorities (Legislative
Gazette No. 34,
item 150, as amended) contain a provision specifying the
conditions and means for implementing the educational rights of national
minorities and the mechanisms for coordinating State educational policy in that
area. It is important for instruction in minority
languages to take place on a
voluntary basis. It is
organized by the principal of the school (pre-school establishment) in
response to a written request by a child’s parents or
legal guardian or,
in the case of pupils in post-primary schools, a statement by the students
themselves that they wish to receive
instruction in the native language of a
national or ethnic minority (paragraph 3).
399. The educational process
in schools for national minorities and the teaching of humanities subjects
should serve to cultivate
respect for the world cultural heritage and the
maintenance of regional traditions and cultures (paragraph
12).
400. Supervision of the proper implementation of the educational
rights of national and ethnic minorities is exercised by the Superintendent
of
Schools (paragraph 2), who appoints a plenipotentiary to take charge of
organization, and to assume responsibility for the standard
of the
schools’ work and for cooperation with local branches of the national or
ethnic group’s socio-cultural organizations.
401. In the 1997/98
school year, a total of 34,371 pupils belonging to national minorities living in
Poland or ethnic groups took
advantage of the above-mentioned rights. They were
pupils of Lithuanian, Belarusian, Ukrainian, Slovak, German, Lemko and Kashubian
descent. The teaching of national minority or ethnic languages is conducted in
459 institutions (pre-school establishments, primary
and post-primary schools
and inter-school groups for children and adolescents).
402. Textbooks for
the teaching of national minority and ethnic languages are fully subsidized by
the State and made available to
the pupils free of charge.
403. The
bodies that run schools with instruction in national minority or ethnic
languages receive subsidies, including a 20 per cent
preferential allowance for
each pupil in such schools.
404. It should be stressed that Polish law
guarantees the implementation of the educational rights of national minorities
without
making such guarantees contingent on the extent to which Polish national
minorities enjoy such rights in neighbouring countries.
CONCLUSION
405. The information presented here on
implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child testifies to the
fact that the
Republic of Poland fully respects the commitments imposed on
States parties. Respect for children’s rights derives from a
long-standing tradition of respecting human rights, a tradition that laid the
basis for the excellent initiative of adoption of the
Convention on the Rights
of the Child.
406. There are still certain areas in which systematic
action needs to be taken to ensure that children’s rights are fully
guaranteed.
It is our State’s duty to guarantee those rights and, despite
the many socio-economic difficulties afflicting our society,
care for
children’s welfare is one of the primary tasks facing the Polish
Government during the period of political transformation.
407. The Constitution of the Republic of Poland and Polish legislation are in
harmony with the Convention. During the period covered by this report,
children’s
rights were further strengthened within Poland’s legal
system. That development was accompanied by real efforts on the part
of the
public authorities and non-governmental organizations. The main principle
underlying the Convention, the welfare of children,
was incorporated in all
legal provisions affecting children. In order to better protect the interests
of children in the context
of their families, the Constitution of the Republic
of Poland required the public authorities to create the office of Spokesperson
for the Rights of the Child.
408. Since 1989, the Republic of Poland has
been undergoing a period of political transformation. Historic State reforms
are currently
taking place. Poland’s dynamic economic development, the
opening up of its borders and modern legislation have changed public
needs and
expectations. Polish law and social organizations operating for the benefit of
children accord children their rightful
place in the family and society. Every
human life is protected regardless of age, skin colour, sex or creed. In 1997,
the Constitutional
Tribunal ruled that the right to life is absolute and affects
children from the moment of their conception. The Tribunal’s
ruling is
backed by legislation which accords a child the right to develop, to retain his
or her name and identity, to enjoy freedom
of expression and creed and to have
his or her opinions respected. The Polish State is particularly solicitous of
the interests
of disabled children and those deprived of parental
care.
409. The Poles’ love of freedom and State independence has
always been tied to respect for the rights of others - including
persons who are
small and different. The 1989 Convention on the Rights of the Child constitutes
the legal enhancement of that respect.
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