The Ombudsman and the Organs of Judicial Power

The author shows that, in order to protect rights and freedoms, the Ombudsman, with the help of various instruments and depending on the infringements found, undertakes actions with organs of the judiciary, on which obligations concerning the protection of human rights and other subjects have been imposed. This article reviews the forms of the Ombudsman’s relations with the Supreme Court, the Supreme Administrative Court, the Constitutional Tribunal, and common courts. Their aim is to raise the level of respect for human and civil rights. In this context the thesis of the article is as follows: in view of structural, legal and organisational defects of the state, the Ombudsman notes that new threats to human and civil rights appear, freedoms or rights granted to them are often taken away in a manner inconsistent with constitutional standards, and public authorities exceed the sphere of their powers in an expcessive manner. Allegations made in complaints against public authorities are often verified by the Ombudsman in the course of inquiries with his participation. The Ombudsman keeps his distance from these bodies, which enables him to influence them in the field of human rights protection, and above all to influence the individuals subordinate to them.

The article analyses contemporary social and political movements operating in Poland under the rule of the conservative and semiauthoritarian Law and Justice. It traces and reconstructs interactions between organized and trans-nationalized LGBTQIAP movement present in Poland since 1989 and the new women’s movement constituted on the wave of contention against the conservative turn and attempts to further restrict abortion law in Poland that was backed by the government. The strategies employed by both movements differ but for each one of them the interaction has proven a considerable success. In a not-so-obvious manner, the solidarity with LGBTQIAP movement, built gradually by the women’s movement, has helped to strengthen its base and its presence in the public debate. The article rests on textual analysis of social media sources to trace the timing of the most significant gestures of inter-movement solidarity.