The Supreme Court in its decision of August 29, 2023 (II PSK 5/23) ruled that in accordance with Art. 183a § 1 of the Code of Criminal Procedure employees should be treated equally in terms of establishing and terminating an employment relationship, terms of employment, promotion and access to training in order to improve professional qualifications, in particular regardless of gender, age, disability, race, religion, nationality, political beliefs, trade union membership, ethnic origin, religion, sexual orientation, employment for a fixed or indefinite period, full-time or part-time employment. It is indicated that political views should be related to issues relating to the state system, government activities, political parties and relations between states. Manifesting political views should be considered as going further than simply expressing them (especially in the private sphere, e.g. in conversations that are not of a business nature). At the same time, manifesting can also take a non-verbal form.
The subject of the proceedings was the issue of discrimination of the plaintiff due to his political beliefs. The plaintiff served as a councilor in the years 2010 – 2018 and was the only one on the District Council who was in opposition to the then government. In the course of the case, it was shown that the plaintiff was a „public enemy” for the starosta, and mainly for the Mayor. Since 2014, the plaintiff has been in constant political conflict with the Mayor and the current starosta, and as a political opponent, he often criticized their decisions.
According to the District Court, the starosta, by depriving the plaintiff of the position of Head of the Communication Department and transferring him to the official position of inspector, discriminated against him due to his political beliefs. The Supreme Court also shared this position
english
