Religious instruction in state kindergartens and schools U 10/24
Ref. No. U 10/24
JUDGMENT
IN THE NAME OF THE REPUBLIC OF POLAND
Warsaw, 27 November 2024
The Constitutional Tribunal, composed of:
Julia Przyłębska – Presiding Judge
Krystyna Pawłowicz – Judge Rapporteur
Bogdan Święczkowski,
Recording Clerk – Michał Rylski,
having considered, at the hearing on 27 November 2024 – in the presence of the applicant – the application by the First President of the Supreme Court, lodged with the Constitutional Tribunal to examine the conformity of:
(1) the Minister of Education’s Regulation of 26 July 2024 amending the Regulation on the terms and manner of organising religious instruction in state kindergartens and schools (Journal of Laws – Dz. U., item 1158), in its entirety, to:
– Article 25(3) of the Constitution, namely the principle of consensual manner of determining relations between the State and churches as well as other religious organisations;
– Article 12(2) of the Education System Act of 7 September 1991 (Journal of Laws – Dz. U. of 2024, item 750) in conjunction with Article 92(1) in conjunction with Article 2 and Article 7 of the Constitution;
(2) § 1(2) in conjunction with § 2 of the Regulation referred to in point 1 – insofar as the provisions lay bases for organising religious instruction in groups formed from learners from the same grade or from different grades, to:
– Article 53(3) in conjunction with Article 48(1) of the Constitution in conjunction with Article 1(1) and (5) of the Act of 14 December 2016 – the Education Law (Journal of Laws – Dz. U. of 2024, item 737) – due to the fact that the challenged provisions lay bases for organising religious instruction in the manner that infringes parents’ right to provide their offspring with moral and religious upbringing and teaching in accordance with the parents’ convictions in the manner that respects the degree of maturity of the offspring as well as the right of children and youth to education as well as to upbringing and care that are adequate to their age and developmental stage, by means of creating normative bases for organising religious instruction for pupils from the same grade or from different grades, thus making it impossible to adjust the substance, methods, and organisation of instruction to the mental and physical capabilities of pupils;
– Article 12(1) in conjunction with Article 12(2) of the Concordat between the Holy See and the Republic of Poland on 28 July 1993 (Journal of Laws – Dz. U. of 1998, No. 51, item 318) in conjunction with Article 91(1) and (2) of the Constitution, as well as to Article 9 of the Constitution – due to the fact that, by laying bases for organising religious instruction for pupils from the same grade or from different grades, the challenged provisions make it impossible to provide religious instruction in the manner that is specified in the curriculum of that subject;
– Article 2 as well as Article 24 in conjunction with Article 65(5) of the Constitution, due to the fact that the application of the challenged provisions will lead to an unexpected (considering that the period of vacatio legis is merely one month) reduction in employing RE tearchers in education establishments, which – in the event of not providing teachers with the possibility of acquiring qualifications to teach other subjects – poses a real risk of sudden loss of employment, infringing: the principle of the protection of citizens’ trust in the state and its laws, the principle of the protection of employment, as well as the obligation to pursue policies aiming at full, productive employment;
adjudicates as follows:
The Minister of Education’s Regulation of 26 July 2024 amending the Regulation on the terms and manner of organising religious instruction in state kindergartens and schools (Journal of Laws – Dz. U., item 1158) is, in its entirety, inconsistent with Article 12(2) of the Education System Act of 7 September 1991 (Journal of Laws – Dz. U. of 2024, item 750, as amended) in conjunction with Article 92(1) in conjunction with Article 25(3) in conjunction with Article 2 and Article 7 of the Constitution of the Republic of Poland.
Moreover, the Tribunal decides:
to discontinue the proceedings as to the remainder.
The ruling was unanimous.
Julia Przyłębska
Krystyna Pawłowicz
Bogdan Święczkowski