National Institutions
The Ombudsman
In 2002 the Ombudsman, Prof. Andrzej Zoll took the network of CABs under his honorary patronage.
In 2003 the Agreement on Co-operation was signed between the Ombudsman and the Union of Citizens Advice Bureaux. Every year the Ombudsman receives a report on faulty application of laws, and loopholes, which the advisers met and which may be burdensome for the clients.
In 2004 representatives of our centres were invited to take part in outgoing sessions run by the Ombudsman Bureau. After the meetings Prof. Zoll expressed his appreciation for the involvement and support the Cabs provided in order to set up the programme of the visits. Thanks to CABs help he could received few hundred of clients in visited places. The meetings were run efficiently and in good atmosphere. For our advisers however the visits were extremely useful and provided valuable experiences.
30 April on the invitation of the Ombudsman, representatives of UCAB took part in the meeting with the EU Ombudsman Prof. Nikiforos Diamandouros. It was a great honour for our organisation.
On 6 October 2004 thanks to join initiative of the Polish Association for Legal Education, the Legal Clinics Foundation the Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights and the Union of Citizens advice Bureaux the Ombudsman organised a seminar on access to, citizens and legal advice and legal support. During the seminar the above mentioned organisations prepared a draft proposal for system changes which would enabled citizens to access to legal information, citizens and legal advice. Representatives of the Ministry of Justice however informed the participants that a draft act on law for indigent people was being elaborated. The act under its assumptions would solve the problem of access to legal support and the court for poor citizens. The Ministry invited the organisations to participants in the work on the act.
Ministry of Social Policy
In November 2004, UCAB signed an agreement on cooperation with the Ministry of Social Policy. The agreement provides, inter alia, monitoring and assessment of implementation of strategy of solving social problems.
Implementing the agreement, UCAB's office gathered from CABs cases which they considered most important in the field of social policy. The cases were then presented during a meeting at the Ministry. Then, a project was elaborated, within which monitoring of 1 or 2 problems in social policy / social welfare will be carried out.
Ministry of Justice
The representatives of UCAB office have been invited to participate in work of the Ministry Team regarding the draft act on legal support for the poorest. The work of the Team started in November 2004.
Created by: Izabela Parczewska, modyfied: Mon Jun 12 14:10:21 2006
