Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights faces leadership crisis

The Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights (HFPC) is experiencing a significant internal crisis following the mass resignation of six out of eight members of its Foundation Council. The departures occurred in protest against a statement issued by the organization’s management board on October 31.

The management board’s position questioned the legal basis of decisions made by Judge Anna Korwin-Piotrowska regarding the Constitutional Tribunal. While the HFPC management noted that recent actions by the government could escalate the crisis surrounding the Tribunal, the resigning council members argued that the legal basis for certain actions was clearly defined and that the board failed to sufficiently analyze the underlying causes of the judicial crisis.

Resigning members include prominent legal and academic figures: Professor Andrzej Rzepliński, Professor Wojciech Sadurski, Professor Mirosław Wyrzykowski, Dr. Hanna Machińska, Henryka Bochniarz, and Ewa Woydyłło-Osiatyńska. Only two members, Danuta Przywara and Ireneusz Cezary Kamiński, remain on the Council, raising questions about the organization’s ability to function in its current form.