Restitution legislation likely to cause waves among international community

The foreign affairs ministry is inquiring into the legal consequences of the change introduced to the restitution bill by the Christian National Union (ZChN) that limits entitlement to restitution to only those who possessed Polish citizenship as of Dec. 31, 1999. Insiders are now saying it is possible that the ministry will push for the removal of this regulation when the bill, which was passed by the Sejm late last week, comes up for debate in the Senate. An anonymous foreign affairs ministry official said that the provision establishing who has the right to apply for the return of property or compensation is wrong and may cause international repercussions. Indeed, co-chairman of the National Council of Americans of Jewish and Polish Origin, Stanislaw Blejwas, said "The restitution bill passed by the Polish Sejm is immoral and unjust." The government's first draft proposal required only that those seeking restitution possess citizenship at the moment their property was seized. (Gazeta Wyborcza, Jan. 13-14, p.1)