Pa r t i I . 6. Personal searches During preventive visits, the problem of legitimacy and frequency of personal searches was identified. It should be noted that no information on carrying out a personal search, its causes and persons conducting it is recorded in any documentation of the Prison Service. The issue was raised in a letter37 to the Director General of the Prison Service who, however, concluded that the current manner of conducting personal searches has worked well in practice and should not be changed. Nevertheless, this practice may violate Article 78 of the Constitution of the Republic of Poland, according to which each party shall have the right to appeal against judgments and decisions made at first instance, while exceptions to this principle and a procedure for such appeals shall be specified by statute. Assuming that carrying out the personal search of an inmate is a  decision, this decision is not open to challenge. The Defender believes that the circumstances of personal searches set forth in the Executive Penal Code should be clarified, in particular by specifying that the decision in this regard is open to challenge. At the same time, in the light of the case law of the ECHR, the compulsory nature of personal searches of so-called dangerous inmates, whenever they leave their cells and return to them, requires urgent consideration. With this in mind, the Defender requested38 the Minister of Justice to state his position on the matter. The Minister informed39 that the existing provisions on how to carry out personal searches are worded too broadly and may give rise to breaching the standards laid down in the European Convention on Human Rights. A  new draft Ordinance on means of protection of organisational units of the Prison Service, which is under development, provides for a method of carrying out personal searches. Referring to the situation of dangerous inmates, the Minister pointed out that following the amendments, under which inmates from this group will be placed only in a cell situated in the ward intended for inmates of this category, efforts will be taken to amend laws under which Prison Service officers have to perform a personal search of inmates whenever they leave their residential cells and return to them. HRD’s annual information of 2012, p. 205. KMP.571.83.2014 of 23 December 2014. https://www.rpo.gov.pl/pl/content/wyst%C4%85pienie-generalne-z-dnia-23122014-r-do-ministra-sprawiedliwo%C5%9Bci-w-sprawiekontroli 39 Letter of 19 January 2015. 37 38 21