Things have changed in Poland due to forming a democracy.
By Paige Vaughn Introduction Eastern Europe’s Poland has had many significant changes to its government in the last half century, going from a communist country to a free republic withi…
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The installation of democracy in Poland in 1990 was, for obvious reasons, the main reason for the introduction of freedom of expression and press in Poland. The freedom of speech was first written into Polish law in 1992 through the Little Constitution, the predecessor to today’s Polish Constitution, which was effective 1997. The Little Constitution declared Poland as a parliamentary system. This freedom of speech clause allowed Poles “to hold opinions and to receive and impart information and ideas without interference by public authority and regardless of frontiers.”[l]
As shown in the introduction, Poland is rated very highly for its free speech. It is not simply enough to have a right written into law; it must to upheld and practiced. If Poland writes that it country allows free speech, it must be prepared to hear and see speech it doesn’t like. If it only expects positive and supportive speech, Poland is aligning itself with beliefs of its communist days.
One of the most controversial laws Poland upholds is banning offenses towards religious feelings or sentiment. The law is most readily used against artists, who thrive under freedom of expression. The protection of the majority’s Catholic believes stemmed from censorship against its attempted press. Poland has no official religious, but its population is mostly homogeneously Catholic. Article 196 of the Penal code reads, “anyone found guilty of offending religious feelings through public calumny of an object or place of worship is liable to a fine, restriction of liberty or a maximum two year prison sentence.[m]
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