Geneza artykułu 3 ustęp 1 i 2 ustawy z dnia 17 maja 1989 roku o gwarancjach wolności sumienia i wyznania. Dopuszczalne ograniczenia wolności uzewnętrzniania religii lub przekonań
The genesis of Article 3 para. 1 and 2 of the Act of May 17, 1989, on Guarantees of Freedom of Conscience and Religion: Permissible restrictions on the freedom to manifest religion or belief

Summary/Abstract: Articles 3(1) and 3(2) of the Act on Guarantees of Freedom of Conscience and Religion of May 17, 1989, was at the time of its entry into force a fundamental regulation for the freedom to manifest religion or belief. The content of Article 3(1) clearly corresponds to Article 18(3) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. However, it represents the result of parliamentary work, since the government draft of the above-mentioned law, prepared by the Office for Religious Affairs of the People’s Republic of Poland, deviated from the solutions adopted in the Covenant. In particular, it did not introduce restrictions on the freedom to manifest religion or belief but provided for the restriction of freedom of conscience and religion. It also referred to the category of the “health” of the individual instead of using the term “public health”, and it referenced the fundamental rights and freedoms of “the individual”, although the Covenant provided for the fundamental rights and freedoms of “other persons”. In the course of the work carried out by the Office for Religious Affairs, at least 11 drafts were prepared, containing versions of the future Articles 3(1) and 3(2) of the 1989 Act that that differed from the final version to varying degrees. Noteworthy are the facts that the provisions were designed largely independently of the provisions of the Covenant; that some of the drafts used the term “personal dignity” of the individual as a premise for restricting the manifestation of religion or belief; and that there were proposals to completely omit “health” as such a premise.

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