Constitutional Tribunal rules government's official secrets policy is illegal

"No right to appeal the decision of not granting access to classified items does not adhere to the Polish Constitution and European Human Rights Convention," ruled the Constitutional Tribunal yesterday. The certificate, which allows access to official secrets is granted by the intelligence services, in case of state secrets and by the security plenipotentiary, in the case of corporate secrets, after so called verifying procedures. The certificate and therefore access to official secrets could make the difference between getting a job or keeping a job. The Citizen's Rights Ombudsman decided the condition of no right to appeal the decision of denying the certificate is illegal. The only possible way of appealing is to the Prime Minister which is, in opinion of ombudsman, also insufficient as it can be done only by the employer. "In the investigation process a person is totally passive and gets no information as to why he or she was not granted the certificate as there is no such duty," emphasized the Constitutional Tribunal. (Gazeta Wyborcza, page 5) M.M.