The phrase "Polish camp" violates the personal rights of both Polish citizens as a community and as individuals of Polish nationality

On March 31st, 2016, the Court of Appeal in Warsaw issued a judgment in a case concerning infringement of personal rights of Zbigniew Osewski by the German daily "Die Welt”. It concerned the scope of liability for using a phrase "Polish camp". In the oral justification of the judgment, the Court held that any use of the phrase "Polish camp” may violate not only personal rights of the Poles as a community, but also of individual personal rights of the plaintiff as a member of the Polish nation.

According to the Court of Appeal, the court of first instance was wrong to find that the requirement of individualization of infringement is not satisfied in this case. The article reffered to a broader group, and not directly to the plaintiff or his family. According to the court of the second instance, reference to a particular person was not necessary in this case. The Court of Appeal pointed out, that „defaming a community, which has had a significant influence on the formation of human personality is a form of humiliation of dignity of such a person."

It should be reminded, that according to the previous judgments of the Polish Supreme Court, in a case of defamatory allegation directed at a group of persons (so-called collective insult), a person belonging to such a community may seek protection of their personal rights only when it is possible to firmly establish that such a defamatory statement refers to that particular person (while a simple statement as to being a part of the group is not sufficient).