Poland : compelled apology in Polish law

Polish civil law, partially pattering upon Swiss law, and partially following its own traditions of protecting intangible and non-property goods, protects personal interests in a general manner. The Art. 24 of Polish Civil Code allows anyone, whose personal interest has been infringed, to demand that the effects of the infringement be reversed. This also encompasses a claim for the apology. It is a protection enforceable against the world (erga omnes), which is independent from premises of liability in tort (such as fault and damage). A form and content of the apology should be precisely formulated by the plaintiff and next by the court in a judgment. It should be proportionate to the infringement. The judgment is easily enforceable since the plaintiff can demand an authorization to publish the apology at the defendant’s expense. Although the solution is elegant and effective, it sometimes means a financial ruin to defendants. Its existence can be harmful to freedom of speech (because of chilling effect), but a full evaluation is highly dependent on a scope of protection itself (e.g., how an ‘unlawful’ infringement of reputation is understood).