Venice Commission criticizes surveillance powers in Poland

The Venice Commission, an advisory group to the Council of Europe, has criticized Poland's new law regulating police surveillance powers stating that it leaves too much room to breach the privacy of individuals. The international human rights commission said Polish rules on covert surveillance "in some respects are still insufficient to prevent excessive use and unjustified interference with individual privacy." However, the watchdog noted that the recent changes to the law on the Polish police were adopted following recommendations by Poland’s Constitutional Tribunal in 2014. In November, the commission criticized Poland for effectively paralyzing the nation's Constitutional Tribunal.