The problem of infringement of personal rights as a result of statements not addressed to an individual addressee. Glossary to the judgment of the Court of Appeal in Warsaw of February 10, 2022 in the case VI ACa 141/21.

Abstract

Referred decision of the Court of Appeals in Warsaw has a significant importance which can be seen on both juridical and social level. The analysis offered in this paper leads to the conclusion that the court has proposed some adjustment in the interpretation of criteria for infringment of personal values – like reputation or private life. Without objecting general prerequisites of direct and individual character of infringment, the court found that in case of generic statements regarding groups bearing specific feature it should be assument that such a statement refers to any single person belonging to such group, unless the it is expressly stated otherwise. It is irrelevant how numerous the goup is and how it may be described (open, closed etc.). In consequence, any person belonging to the group is authorised to sue for the protection of his/her own personal value (such authorisation has yet been denied in most cases due to the generality of the statement in question). The position of the Court of Appeals removes a significant obstacle against seeking effective legal protection against disriminatory speech. Therefore, the decision of the Court of Appeals should be welcomed and approved.