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Gorzelik v. Poland

Gorzelik v. Poland 649 12 hrcd [ 2001 ] GORZELIK v. POLAND Freedom of association – admissible Article 11 Refusal to register association recognising the existence of a Silesian national minority. On 17 May 2001 a Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights declared admissible the application in the case of Gorzelik v. Poland . Summary of the facts The applicants consider themselves as “Silesians”. Together with a hundred and ninety other persons, they decided to form an association called the “Union of People of Silesian Nationality”. A memorandum of association was adopted. Reference was made in it to the existence of a Silesian nationality and a Silesian national min- ority. The applicants lodged an application with the Regional Court for registration of the association. The local Governor, to whom the memorandum of association had been communicated, pursuant to the relevant domestic legislation, submitted comments. He suggested, as a prerequisite to the association’s registration, that its name be changed and that the reference to a Silesian national minority be deleted from the memorandum. After several pleadings of the applicants and the Governor, the Regional Court granted the applicants’ request for registration of the association. The Governor lodged an appeal with the Court of Appeal, which subsequently quashed the first instance decision and dismissed the applicants’ request for registra- tion of their association. The court noted the consequences that the recognition of a Silesian national minority would have, namely the rights for minorities that would ensue from various statutes, and took into account expert opinions according to which, although Silesians constituted an ethnic group, the features of a nation were not fully developed. Therefore, they could not be considered a national minor- ity and registration could not be granted with such a memorandum. The applicants lodged an appeal on points of law with the Supreme Court, which was dismissed on the same grounds. In their submission to the Court, the applicants complained, under Article 11 of the European Convention on Human Rights, that the Polish courts, by their arbitrary refusal to register their association, had violated their right to associate with others. http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Human Rights Case Digest Brill

Gorzelik v. Poland

Human Rights Case Digest , Volume 12 (7-8): 649 – Jan 1, 2001
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Publisher
Brill
Copyright
© 2001 Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, The Netherlands
ISSN
0965-934X
eISSN
1571-8131
DOI
10.1163/157181301760578136
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

649 12 hrcd [ 2001 ] GORZELIK v. POLAND Freedom of association – admissible Article 11 Refusal to register association recognising the existence of a Silesian national minority. On 17 May 2001 a Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights declared admissible the application in the case of Gorzelik v. Poland . Summary of the facts The applicants consider themselves as “Silesians”. Together with a hundred and ninety other persons, they decided to form an association called the “Union of People of Silesian Nationality”. A memorandum of association was adopted. Reference was made in it to the existence of a Silesian nationality and a Silesian national min- ority. The applicants lodged an application with the Regional Court for registration of the association. The local Governor, to whom the memorandum of association had been communicated, pursuant to the relevant domestic legislation, submitted comments. He suggested, as a prerequisite to the association’s registration, that its name be changed and that the reference to a Silesian national minority be deleted from the memorandum. After several pleadings of the applicants and the Governor, the Regional Court granted the applicants’ request for registration of the association. The Governor lodged an appeal with the Court of Appeal, which subsequently quashed the first instance decision and dismissed the applicants’ request for registra- tion of their association. The court noted the consequences that the recognition of a Silesian national minority would have, namely the rights for minorities that would ensue from various statutes, and took into account expert opinions according to which, although Silesians constituted an ethnic group, the features of a nation were not fully developed. Therefore, they could not be considered a national minor- ity and registration could not be granted with such a memorandum. The applicants lodged an appeal on points of law with the Supreme Court, which was dismissed on the same grounds. In their submission to the Court, the applicants complained, under Article 11 of the European Convention on Human Rights, that the Polish courts, by their arbitrary refusal to register their association, had violated their right to associate with others.

Journal

Human Rights Case Digest – Brill

Published: Jan 1, 2001

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