The guardianship court’s imposition on a child’s caregiver of the obligation to pay a certain amount to a person authorised to maintain contact with the child SK 3/20
Ref. No. SK 3/20
JUDGMENT
IN THE NAME OF THE REPUBLIC OF POLAND
Warsaw, 22 June 2022
The Constitutional Tribunal, composed of:
Krystyna Pawłowicz – Presiding Judge
Wojciech Sych
Bogdan Święczkowski
Michał Warciński
Andrzej Zielonacki – Judge Rapporteur,
having considered, at a sitting in camera on 22 June 2022 – in accordance with Article 92(1)(1) of the Act of 30 November 2016 on the Organisation of the Constitutional Tribunal and the Mode of Proceedings Before the Constitutional Tribunal (Journal of Laws – Dz. U. of 2019, item 2393) – Mr M.M. and Mr J.M.B.’s constitutional complaint, lodged with the Tribunal for it to consider the conformity of:
Article 59816(1) in conjunction with Article 59815(1) of the Civil Procedure Code of 17 November 1964 (Journal of Laws – Dz. U. No. 43, item 296, as amended) with:
a) Article 1, Article 2, Article 7, Article 18, Article 21(1), Article 30, Article 31(1) and (2), Article 32(1) and (2), Article 33(1), Article 41(1), Article 47, Article 48(1), Article 52(1), Article 71(1) as well as Article 72(1) and (3) of the Constitution of the Republic of Poland,
b) Article 12(1) and (2), Article 13(1), Article 16(1) and (2), Article 18(1) as well as Article 19(1) of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, adopted by the UN General Assembly on 20 November 1989 (Journal of Laws – Dz. U. of 1991 No. 120, item 526, as amended),
c) Article 6, Article 8 as well as Article 14 of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, done at Rome on 4 November 1950, as amended by Protocols Nos. 3, 5 and 8 as well as supplemented by Protocol No. 2 (Journal of Laws – Dz. U. of 1993, No. 61, item 284, as amended),
adjudicates as follows:
Article 59816(1) in conjunction with Article 59815(1) of the Civil Procedure Code of 17 November 1964 (Journal of Laws – Dz. U. of 2021 item 1805, as amended) – insofar as it also applies to situations in which the improper performance of duties and/or the non-performance of duties is linked with the child’s behaviour that is not triggered by the child’s caregiver – is inconsistent with Article 48(1), second sentence, as well as Article 72(3) of the Constitution of the Republic of Poland.
Moreover, the Tribunal decides:
to discontinue the proceedings as to the remainder.
The ruling was adopted by a majority vote.
Krystyna Pawłowicz
Wojciech Sych
Bogdan Święczkowski
Michał Warciński (dissenting opinion)
Andrzej Zielonacki