The Right to Privacy as an Exemption from Freedom of Information in the Case of Persons Performing Public Functions (Poland’s Example)

Anna De Ambrosis Vigna

Abstract


The article discusses the right to privacy as an exemption from freedom of information in Poland as specified in the Act of 6 September 2001 on access to public information. The aim is to examine how Poland regulates the relationship between two important values: freedom of information and the right to privacy. There are many situations where the right to privacy as an exemption from freedom of information occurs. The article however is focused specifically on the issue where a requester asks for public information that may relate to the privacy of persons performing public functions. This problem is valid, especially in the light of the recent application of the First President of the Supreme Court to the Constitutional Tribunal which touches upon the right to privacy of persons performing public functions. The author argues that although Poland assures freedom of information and the right to privacy, Polish public authorities and courts have a problem striking the right balance between those two values. This is primarily the result of general terms used by the legislator, which must be explained through a judicial interpretation.


Keywords


freedom of information; public information; right to privacy; persons performing public functions

Full Text:

PDF

References


LITERATURE

Ausems E., Council of Europe and animal welfare, [in:] Ethical Eye: Animal Welfare, Strasbourg 2006.

Banaszak B., Konstytucja Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej. Komentarz, Warszawa 2012.

Braciak J., Prawo do prywatności, [in:] Prawa i wolności obywatelskie w Konstytucji RP, eds. B. Banaszak, A. Preisner, Warszawa 2002.

Gavison R., Privacy and the Limits of Law, “Yale Law Journal” 1980, vol. 89(3), DOI: https://doi.org/10.2307/795891.

Izdebski H., Ustawa z dnia 6 września 2001 r. o dostępie do informacji publicznej, [in:] Dostęp do informacji publicznej – wdrażanie ustawy, ed. H. Izdebski, Warszawa 2001.

Kamińska I., Rozbicka-Ostrowska M., Ustawa o dostępie do informacji publicznej. Komentarz, Warszawa 2012.

Kopff A., Koncepcja praw do intymności i do prywatności życia osobistego. Zagadnienia konstrukcyjne, “Studia Cywilistyczne” 1972, vol. 20.

O’Brien D.M., Privacy and the Right of Access: Purposes and Paradoxes of Information Control, “Administrative Law Review” 1978, vol. 30(45).

Parent W.A., A New Definition of Privacy for the Law, “Philosophy and Law” 1998, vol. 2, DOI: https://doi.org/10.2307/3504563.

Prawa człowieka. Zarys wykładu, ed. J. Hołda, Warszawa 2008.

Sibiga G., Dostęp do informacji publicznej a prawa do prywatności jednostki i ochrony jej danych osobowych, “Samorząd Terytorialny” 2003, no. 11.

Sitniewski P., Odmowa dostępu do informacji publicznej. Przesłanki, granice, procedura, Warszawa 2020.

Tabaszewski R., Status nauczyciela akademickiego jako osoby pełniącej funkcję publiczną. Uwagi na tle ustawy Prawo o szkolnictwie wyższym i nauce, “Białostockie Studia Prawnicze” 2020, vol. 25(4), DOI: https://doi.org/10.15290/bsp.2020.25.04.12.

Taras W., Prywatność a jawność – bilans 25-lecia i perspektywy na przyszłość, red. A. Mednis, C.H. Beck, Warszawa 2016, ss. 275, “Studia Iuridica Lublinensia” 2016, vol. 25(4), nr 4, DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.17951/sil.2016.25.4.271.

Warren S.D., Brandeis L., The Right to Privacy, “Harvard Law Review” 1890, vol. 4(5), DOI: https://doi.org/10.2307/1321160.

Winczorek P., Komentarz do Konstytucji Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej, Warszawa 2000.

LEGAL ACTS

Act of 23 April 1964 – Civil Code (consolidated text, Journal of Laws 2020, item 1740, as amended).

Act of 6 September 2001 on access to public information (consolidated text, Journal of Laws 2020, item 2176, as amended).

Constitution of the Republic of Poland of 2 April 1997 (Journal of Laws 1997, no. 78, item 483, as amended).

Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 April 2016 on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data, and repealing Directive 95/46/EC (General Data Protection Regulation) (OJ L 119/1, 4.5.2016)

CASE LAW

Judgment of the Constitutional Tribunal of 21 October 1998, K 24/98, OTK ZU 1998, no. 6, item 97.

Judgment of the Constitutional Tribunal of 19 June 2002, K 11/02, OTK ZU 2002, no. 4A, item 43.

Judgment of the Constitutional Tribunal of 20 November 2002, K 41/02, OTK ZU 2002, no. 6A, item 89.

Judgment of the Constitutional Tribunal of 20 March 2006, K 17/05, OTK-A 2006, no. 3, item 30.

Judgment of the Supreme Court of 14 June 1994, SA Cr 282/94.

Judgment of the Supreme Administrative Court of 28 November 2002, II SA 3389/01.

Judgment of the Supreme Administrative Court of 20 November 2003, III SAB 372/03.

Judgment of the Supreme Administrative Court of 21 June 2012, I OSK 666/12.

Judgment of the Supreme Administrative Court of 5 March 2013, I OSK 2872/12.

Judgment of the Supreme Administrative Court of 15 November 2013, I OSK 1044/13.

Judgment of the Supreme Administrative Court of 18 February 2015, I OSK 695/14.

Judgment of the Supreme Administrative Court of 15 June 2016, I OSK 3217/14.

Judgment of the Supreme Administrative Court of 18 February 2017, I OSK 796/14.

Judgment of the Voivodeship Administrative Court in Warsaw of 8 December 2001, II SA/Wa 1844/11.

Judgment of the Voivodeship Administrative Court in Warsaw of 24 November 2004, II SA/Wa 1584/09.

Judgment of the Voivodeship Administrative Court in Warsaw of 25 May 2005, II SAB/Wa 58/04.

Judgment of the Voivodeship Administrative Court in Gdańsk of 14 November 2012, II SA/Gd 545/12.

Judgment of the Voivodeship Administrative Court in Warsaw of 4 March 2014, II SAB/Wa 702/13.

Judgment of the Voivodeship Administrative Court in Poznań of 19 May 2016, IV SA/Po 1001/15.

Judgment of the Voivodeship Administrative Court in Olsztyn of 22 September 2016, II SA/Ol 829/16.

Judgment of the Voivodeship Administrative Court in Warsaw of 20 October 2016, II SA/Wa 708/16.

Judgment of the Voivodeship Administrative Court in Wrocław of 20 December 2016, IV SAB/Wr 191/16.

Judgment of the Voivodeship Administrative Court in Gdańsk of 15 January 2020, II SA/Gd 557/19.

Judgment of the Voivodeship Administrative Court in Bialystok of 26 May 2020, II SA/Bk 191/20.




DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.17951/sil.2022.31.2.33-50
Date of publication: 2022-06-22 09:37:14
Date of submission: 2021-03-26 17:26:18


Statistics


Total abstract view - 699
Downloads (from 2020-06-17) - PDF - 0

Indicators



Refbacks

  • There are currently no refbacks.


Copyright (c) 2022 Anna De Ambrosis Vigna

Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.