WJRO called on the Polish government to tackle the problem of property stolen in the past

The World Organization for the Restitution of Jewish Property (WJRO) called on the Polish government on Saturday to address the problem of stolen property. The statement was issued in connection with the signing of the amendment to the Code of Administrative Procedure by President Andrzej Duda.

"Democracy and justice decreased even more in Poland when President Duda signed a bill that made it practically impossible for all former Polish owners to provide compensation for property unlawfully seized during the communist period," Gideon Taylor, executive director of the World Jewish Restitution Organization (WJRO), said.

The amendment of the Code of Administrative Procedure changes the provisions requiring that an administrative decision should be considered invalid due to "gross violation of the law" - regardless of how long ago it was issued. The provisions of the amendment mean, inter alia, that after 30 years from the issuance of the administrative decision, it will be impossible to initiate proceedings to challenge it, e.g. in the case of property seized years ago. 

Responding to earlier criticism from the Israeli side, the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs explained that the amendment was based on "the need to ensure citizens' trust in the state and to implement the principle of legal certainty." "The possibility of challenging the decisions of public authorities cannot be unlimited in time," added the ministry.

President Andrzej Duda noted that the law "does not close the way to compensation for former owners who can still use civil proceedings". He also noted that linking the act with the Holocaust aroused his "firm objection".

"I unequivocally reject this rhetoric and say it forcefully, not only as of the President of the Republic of Poland but also as a person for whom the matters of the Holocaust, also for personal reasons, have never remained indifferent. Linking this law with the Holocaust raises my firm objection. Poland is the guardian of the memory of the victims of German crimes against Jews, it will not allow the Holocaust to be instrumentalized for current political purposes,” Duda stressed.

(PAP)