Poland

Konstytucja Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej [Constitution of the Republic of Poland], adopted and enacted 1997.
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Article 32

  1. All persons shall be equal before the law. All persons shall have the right to equal treatment by public authorities.
  2. No one shall be discriminated against in political, social or economic life for any reason whatsoever.

Article 33

  1. Men and women shall have equal rights in family, political, social and economic life in the Republic of Poland.
  2. Men and women shall have equal rights, in particular, regarding education, employment and promotion, and shall have the right to equal compensation for work of similar value, to social security, to hold offices, and to receive public honours and decorations.

Article 38

The Republic of Poland shall ensure the legal protection of the life of every human being.

Article 39

No one shall be subjected to scientific experimentation, including medical experimentation, without his voluntary consent.

Article 40

No one may be subjected to torture or cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment. The application of corporal punishment shall be prohibited.

Article 41

  1. Personal inviolability and security shall be ensured to everyone. Any deprivation or limitation of liberty may be imposed only in accordance with principles and under procedures specified by statute.
  2. Anyone deprived of liberty, except by sentence of a court, shall have the right to appeal to a court for immediate decision upon the lawfulness of such deprivation. Any deprivation of liberty shall be immediately made known to the family of, or a person indicated by, the person deprived of liberty.

Article 47

Everyone shall have the right to legal protection of his private and family life, of his honour and good reputation and to make decisions about his personal life.

Article 65

  1. Everyone shall have the freedom to choose and to pursue his occupation and to choose his place of work. Exceptions shall be specified by statute.

Article 66

  1. Everyone shall have the right to safe and hygienic conditions of work. The methods of implementing this right and the obligations of employers shall be specified by statute.

Article 67

  1. A citizen shall have the right to social security whenever incapacitated for work by reason of sickness or invalidism as well as having attained retirement age. The scope and forms of social security shall be specified by statute.

Article 68

  1. Everyone shall have the right to have his health protected.
  2. Equal access to health care services, financed from public funds, shall be ensured by public authorities to citizens, irrespective of their material situation. The conditions for, and scope of, the provision of services shall be established by statute.
  3. Public authorities shall ensure special health care to children, pregnant women, handicapped people and persons of advanced age.
  4. Public authorities shall combat epidemic illnesses and prevent the negative health consequences of degradation of the environment.
  5. Public authorities shall support the development of physical culture, particularly amongst children and young persons.

Article 69

Public authorities shall provide, in accordance with statute, aid to disabled persons to ensure their subsistence, adaptation to work and social communication.

Article 70

  1. Everyone shall have the right to education. Education to 18 years of age shall be compulsory. The manner of fulfilment of schooling obligations shall be specified by statute.

Article 71

  1. The State, in its social and economic policy, shall take into account the good of the family. Families, finding themselves in difficult material and social circumstances – particularly those with many children or a single parent – shall have the right to special assistance from public authorities.
  2. A mother, before and after birth, shall have the right to special assistance from public authorities, to the extent specified by statute.

Article 72

  1. The Republic of Poland shall ensure protection of the rights of the child. Everyone shall have the right to demand of organs of public authority that they defend children against violence, cruelty, exploitation and actions which undermine their moral sense.
  2. A child deprived of parental care shall have the right to care and assistance provided by public authorities.
  3. Organs of public authority and persons responsible for children, in the course of establishing the rights of a child, shall consider and, insofar as possible, give priority to the views of the child.
  4. The competence and procedure for appointment of the Commissioner for Children’s Rights shall be specified by statute.

Article 75

  1. Public authorities shall pursue policies conducive to satisfying the housing needs of citizens, in particular combating homelessness, promoting the development of low-income housing and supporting activities aimed at acquisition of a home by each citizen.