CASE OF LEWANDOWSKA-MALEC AGAINST POLAND AND 5 OTHER CASES

Resolution CM/ResDH(2024)388 Execution of the judgments of the European Court of Human Rights Six cases against Poland   (Adopted by the Committee of Ministers on 11 December 2024 at the 1515th meeting of the Ministers’ Deputies)    Application No. Case Judgment of Final on 39660/07 LEWANDOWSKA-MALEC 18/09/2012 18/12/2012 19127/06 JUCHA AND ŻAK 23/10/2012 23/01/2013 34447/05 MARIAN MACIEJEWSKI 13/01/2015 13/04/2015 619/12 KONIUSZEWSKI 14/06/2016 14/09/2016 10947/11 KĄCKI 04/07/2017 04/10/2017 66299/10 BANASZCZYK 21/12/2021 21/03/2022   The Committee of Ministers, under the terms of Article 46, paragraph 2, of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, which provides that the Committee supervises the execution of final judgments of the European Court of Human Rights (hereinafter “the Convention” and “the Court”),   Having regard to the final judgments transmitted by the Court to the Committee in these cases and to the violations established of the applicants’ right to freedom of expression on account of their disproportionate criminal convictions for defamation;   Recalling the respondent State’s obligation, under Article 46, paragraph 1, of the Convention, to abide by all final judgments in cases to which it has been a party and that this obligation entails, over and above the payment of any sums awarded by the Court, the adoption by the authorities of the respondent State, where required:   -          of individual measures to put an end to violations established and erase their consequences so as to achieve as far as possible restitutio in integrum; and -          of general measures preventing similar violations;   Having invited the government of the respondent State to inform the Committee of the measures taken to comply with the above-mentioned obligation;   Having examined the information provided by the government indicating the individual measures adopted to execute the judgments including the information provided regarding the payment of the just satisfaction awarded by the Court (see documents DH-DD(2017)669, DH-DD(2018)372 and DH-DD(2024)1350);   Considering that the question of individual measures was resolved, given that criminal proceedings against the applicants have either been re-opened and discontinued, or the applicant has been acquitted, or the applicants have not requested the re-opening of the domestic criminal proceedings and there is no time limit under domestic law for requesting such reopening;   Recalling that the question of general measures required in response to the shortcomings found by the Court in these judgments continues to be examined within the framework of the Kurłowicz case also in the light of the Court’s findings in these cases, and that the closure of these cases therefore in no way prejudges the Committee’s evaluation of the general measures required;   DECLARES that it has exercised its functions under Article 46, paragraph 2, of the Convention in these cases;   CONCLUDES that the necessary individual measures have been adopted;   DECIDES to continue to supervise the adoption of the necessary general measures in the Kurłowicz case;   DECIDES to close the examination of these cases.