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Annual Report 2006
Anti-Corruption ProgramThe goal of the program is to build the trust toward public institutions, to shape the social awareness and to make the public more sensitive to the various aspects and forms of corruption. We initiate and support the civic movement for increased transparency in public life and implement educational projects aimed at changing people's attitude toward corruption. We monitor the activities of authorities, both on the local and central levels, and promote legislative changes that ensure public participation in decision making, guarantee transparency of decision-making processes and protection from corruption practices. In 2006 we realized the following projects: Corruption barometer. Everyday corruption experiences of Poles reportEach year, the Foundation commissions a public opinion poll on the basis of which an indicator called the "corruption barometer" is established. By asking the same questions every year we study changes in society's attitude towards the problem and scale of corruption. Together with the poll, we conduct in-depth research on corruption problems in specific aspects of social life. So far, these have concerned corruption in: everyday life, the public health service, local governments, business, the legislative process, the judiciary. In this year's seventh poll we supplemented the usual questions about most corrupt areas of public life and the ranking of corruption among social problems with the questions asked during first poll in November 2000. We were interested how much opinions on corruption and corrupt behavior have changed in Polish society. The research recorded very significant changes in the social perception and attitudes. Over the past six years, respondents had pointed out politicians (operatives, councilors, parliamentarians) as the most corrupt social groups. In 2006, 53% of respondents pointed to a different group — healthcare workers. Another important change was a drop of declarations of the respondents' own involvement in corrupt practices: only 9% of those polled admitted to having given a bribe, while in previous years the percentage oscillated between 14 and 17%. The proportion of those who admitted to know someone accepting bribes dropped from 30% in 2000 to 18% in 2006 and the percentage of those who declared they were offered a bribe remained stable at 6-7%. However, there is a significant growth of the group of people for whom giving a bribe is a routine occurrence: in 2000 13% of those polled said they would give bribes five or more times a year, while in 2006 the proportion grew to 21%. The number of "pragmatic" bribes, given to speed up or cheapen a given procedure, also rose from 51% to 56%. The proportion of those who said it was the only way to have things done dropped from 42% to 36%. Cash continues to be the dominant form of corruption (81%), with amounts staying at low levels. The report was posted on the Foundation's website: www.batory.org.pl/korupcja and was presented at the conference with the participation of sociologists and the media. Monitoring of electoral promisesThe project is run by the Anti-Corruption Coalition of NGOs which includes Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights, Social Communication Foundation, Center for Citizenship Education, School of Leaders Association and the Anti-Corruption Program of the Stefan Batory Foundation. The goal of the project that has been run since 2001 is to check how politicians elected in parliamentary elections fulfill their election promises regarding the fight against corruption and the work for the improvement of the standards of public life. On September 22, 2006, we organized a conference evaluating the fulfillment of political parties' commitments to fight corruption made during the election campaign in 2005. During the conference members of the Anti-Corruption Coalition of NGOs presented the information on the projects of bills drafted in relation to the promises made by political parties of the current term of the Parliament and on the violations of the law and ethical norms by representatives of political parties. The presentations were supplemented by a sociological report Social image of parliamentary parties on the issue of corruption and a discussion on the fulfillment of political parties commitments to fight corruption with the participation of: Mirosława Grabowska, Ph.D. (Philosophy and Sociology Faculty of the Warsaw University, a board member of the Batory Foundation), Prof. Andrzej Zoll (Law Faculty of the Jagiellon University) and Michał Karnowski (commentator, Newsweek). A written opinion by Prof. Edmund Wnuk-Lipiński (Collegium Civitas) was also read out. The media patronage over the event was provided by TVN 24 and radio TOK FM. Monitoring presidential election campaign financeThe goal of the monitoring effort was to control the sources of financing and the expenditures of election committees of presidential candidates in 2005. As part of the project, we analyzed the donations, public fundraisers, and expenditures of the committees on their media campaigns, propaganda materials, and election fests. After the election we checked the financial reports submitted to the State Electoral Commission. On May 19, 2006, we presented a report prepared in cooperation with the Institute of Public Affairs that summed up the monitoring of the financing of the presidential campaign. The report discussed in details the income and expenditures of election committees, the role of the State Electoral Commission and actions it took. One of the most important recommendations of the report was an urgent need to amend the presidential election laws. The presentation of the report was accompanied by the discussion of the advantages and disadvantages of the legal regulations in Poland and the practice of financing residential campaign. Representatives of the State Electoral Commission and election committees took part in the discussion. Several extensive press publications appeared on the basis of the report, describing irregularities in the last presidential campaign. The information included in the report was also used, sometimes improperly, by election committees that have been accusing one another of illegal campaign financing. Unbelievable expenditures The verification of the financial reports of the autumn presidential campaign showed that candidates for the highest office in the state and their aides hide and try to conceal expenses for the election fight. The Stefan Batory Foundation, which monitored the campaign, revealed the final report on the election finances. It shows the financial reports sent to the State Electoral Commission, which claim the committees have not exceeded the statutory limits of spending at 13.8 mln zlotys, are fictitious. Gazeta Prawna, May 22, 2006 Monitoring local election campaign financesIn June 2006 we launched a project of monitoring local election campaign finances. Our aim was to enable public scrutiny of financing sources and spending of election committees behind the candidates in the local government elections. We monitored the sources of revenue of the election committees behind candidates for city mayors, in particular from the point of view of the usage of the public funding, as well as the analysis of donations and expenditures for media campaign, propaganda materials, and election fests. Fifteen individuals from NGOs and student organizations trained by the Foundation took part in the project. Their task was to monitor local election campaigns and to prepare and present the results of the monitoring in their localities. The initial results were presented in November and December. Monitoring legislative procedureThe quality of legislation and the transparency of the legislative process are crucial for reducing corruption in Poland. In 2006, we decided to take advantage of the Lobbying Act adopted in 2005 which provides a legal and more formalized framework for all interested parties (civic organizations included) to participate in the legislative process as a representative of public interest, and monitor the legislative process of some of the bills discussed in the Parliament. Our goal is to make the legislation consider the public interest and to check whether or not the lobbying act encourages greater transparency of the legislative process and the protection from non-legal influences. The project was launched in January 2006 by the seminar Lobbying and advocayc efforts NGOs in the light of new legal regulations organized together with the Institute of Public Affairs. A legal opinion on the Lobbying Act in the legislative process and its influence on the situation of non-governmental organizations was presented by Prof. Marek Zubik. Opinions about the new legal regulations were presented by Jan Jakub Wygnański (Forum on Non-governmental Initiatives) and Artur Zawisza, MP (Law and Justice party). In the panel of experts: Tomasz Sadowski (Barka Foundation), Ewa Kulik-Bielińska (Donors Forum), Danuta Przywara (Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights) and Maciej Grabowski (Gdańsk Institute for Market Research) expressed their views on the new draft. In 2006, we monitored the legislative process of five bills important from the point of view of increased transparency of public life. In line with the procedure adopted in the Lobbying Act we formulated our objections to the solutions proposed and submitted them to the legislator: the government or the Parliament. In several cases our representatives were invited to sittings of the Parliamentary subcommittees, where they could present their opinions about the bills, as well as to committee sittings, where they could listened to the discussion of parliamentarians. Three of the bills that we monitored last year were passed by the Parliament: the Central Anti-Corruption Bureau Act, Civil Service Act submitted by MPs, and Financial Supervision Act submitted by the cabinet. Work on the two other cabinet bills on the change of the Public Procurement Act and on the Medical Products Registration Office will continue in 2007. At the end of the year we prepared a report on the project's realization, which includes conclusions and recommendations for the changes of the Lobbying Act and the practice of the legislative process. Only fish don't take bait? contest for journalistsIn 2006, we organized the seventh edition of the competition for investigative journalists Only fish don't take bait? We received 88 pieces by 37 journalists from 13 nationwide, regional, and local publications, two from radio broadcasters and one from a television station. The jury made up of journalists and academics: Magdalena Bajer (columnist), Krzysztof Bobiński (PISM), Teresa Bogucka (columnist), Marek Czyżewski (Łódź University), Prof. Marcin Król (Warsaw University), Stanisław Mocek, (Collegium Civitas) and the representative of the Rural Development Foundation — Justyna Duriasz-Bułhak and the U.S. Embassy — Janusz Buszyński awarded five prizes:
I, II and III prizes were funded by the American Embassy and the Stefan Batory Foundation. The Rural Development Foundation funded the local press prize. Medical Task ForceSince 2001 the Medical Task Force operating in the framework of the program has been undertaking actions for changes in the healthcare system and in the community of health care professionals. In April 2006, the Task Force organized a seminar devoted to the evaluation of experiences in the implementation of legal regulations pertaining to the organization of lists of patients waiting for underfunded medical services. The following individuals spoke of the experiences in the introduction and functioning of the newly adopted system of monitoring the waiting time: Jacek Grabowski (vice-president of the National Health Fund), Tomasz Gellert (director or the public administration, healthcare and foreigners rights protection unit of the Citizens' Rights Ombudsman), Wiktor Górecki (manager of the analytical unit of the Healthcare Information Center) and Andrzej Strug (Center for the Organization and Economics of the Healthcare Sector). The meeting was moderated by a member of the Medical Task Force, Adam Kozierkiewicz, the author of the civic initiative for the organization of lists of patients who wait for underfunded medical procedures. In 2006, together with Rzeczpospolita daily, the monthly Zdrowie and the Internet portal Eskulap we organized a survey on the legal and organizational solutions that stimulate corrupt behavior. The Task Force members opined about a dozen legal documents sent to them for consultation by the Health Ministry. They submitted critical remarks on several of them, including on the Act on the Medical Products Registration Office. Legal counselSince 2000, we have been providing a legal counseling for people who have encountered corruption. In 2006, we received 130 cases and dealt with over half of them. Actions taken by us included: 5 interventions to prosecutor's offices calling for the initiation of preparatory or case supervision proceedings, 20 interventions to courts and other public institutions and official bodies, 12 statements, positions and motions to receive information under the public information regulations, 8 replies to questions on the legal status or the legality of situations presented by journalists, private individuals and local government officers. Several dozen individuals who reported problems that did not fall within the scope of our activity were directed to University Students' Legal Clinics. Seminar on anti-corruption agencies in EuropeOn May 12, 2006, we held a seminar during which several specialists from Europe discussed the structure, tasks, and functioning of anti-corruption agencies operating in selected European countries. The panelists included: Jean-Pierre Buebo of French Central Office for Corruption Prevention, Povilas Malakauskas, director of Lithuanian Special Investigative Office, and Mariusz Kamiński, Polish cabinet plenipotentiary for the development of the program aimed at fighting irregularities in public offices. The foreign guests described the legal, organizational and financial structure of their agencies, the system of their supervision and control, as well as the rights and duties of their officers. They also shared their experience on the agencies achievements and failures. Mariusz Kaminski presented the framework of the Central Anti-Corruption Office project that was supposed to be established by the Parliament later this year. In the discussion that followed the panelists' presentations the participants agreed that the fight against corruption could not be limited to police action. Foreign experts in particular stressed the importance of anti-corruption education. Program was financed from a grant by the Open Society Institute and the United States Embassy. Program costsPrizes in journalists contest: PLN 24 680
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