Summary

The Constitution of the Republic of Poland and Act of 6 September 2001 on access to public information ensures the right to information about the activities of public authority organs as well as subjects performing public tasks. Political parties are obligated by the Act to provide information about their funding. Furthermore, according to the Supreme Administrative Court of Poland there is no doubt that a political party fulfils a public role (case no. I OSK 513/13), which results in an obligation to disclose information on their activity and finances to the public. The case law of administrative courts brings many additional rules: the definition of an official document of the Code of Civil Procedure does not apply under the Act; the sphere of public information contains all kinds of data on party finances, including paid invoices and contracts of civil law, as well as information and documents about how to determine the amount of membership fees. Parties are also obligated to disclose resolutions of the Management Board and other documents produced by the party organs, unless these documents are of a general organizational nature and they do not provide any additional information. Political parties do not however, have such obligation regarding information and documents relating to the meetings of their leaders, as well as other information on the methods and means of action of the party.

Key words: right to information, transparency, political parties, access to information,
case law, administrative courts