Prisons and pre-trial detention centres 7.  Prisoners’ access to public information. In her general petitions to the Minister of Justice and the Minister of the Interior and Administration of 10 February 2011 and 9 February 2011,55 the HRD pointed out that the problem of prisoners’ access to public information needed to be solved. Pursuant to Article 10(1) of the Act on access to public information, public information that has not been published in the Public Information Bulletin is provided upon request. In accordance with the provision in its current form, the body which has the obligation to provide public information may refuse to provide it upon request if the information requested by the applicant has been published in the Bulletin. This position is presented by both the doctrine and the case law of administrative courts. The said provision is interpreted by public authorities in different ways as some of them do consent to providing public information published in the Bulletin upon the request of an applicant if the applicant is a prisoner. Inmates indeed have no access to public information as the information published in the Bulletin does not have to be provided to them upon their request and they have no access to the Internet and thus to the Bulletin. The status quo may breach sentence 1 of the Article 61(1) of the Polish Constitution which stipulates that “a citizen shall have the right to obtain information on the activities of organs of public authority as well as persons discharging public functions.” The restriction stipulated by Article 10(1) of the Act on access to public information will not turn into absolute deprivation of inmates of access to public information only if they acquire access to the Bulletin in penitentiary units or if the Act is amended by obliging competent bodies to provide public information published in the Bulletin, also upon the request of an applicant, if the applicant is unable to access the Bulletin for objective reasons (such as serving a sentence of imprisonment or temporary arrest). Despite the above petitions of the HRD, the problem remains unsolved. In addition, the case law of administrative courts may become unfavourable to inmates as in its judgment56 of 21 June 2012 the Supreme Administrative Court stated that: “a person deprived of his/her liberty and staying in prison may not be considered a person systemically deprived of access to public information by deprivation of access to the Internet, and thus to the Public Information Bulletin.” In addition, the Court concluded that “a person sentenced to imprisonment can enforce his/her rights in terms of access to public information on general terms, using the Both petitions under one number: RPO-111649-II-713/92/MM, http://www.sprawy-generalne.brpo.gov.pl/szczegoly.php?pismo=1545911 http://www.sprawy-generalne.brpo.gov.pl/szczegoly.php?pismo=1597995 56 I OSK 730/12. 55 33