Report of the CHR on the Activities of the National Preventive Mechanism in Poland extensive interference with the right to privacy must not take place without legal regulations which are relevant in the light of the Constitution of the Republic of Poland. In his general letter104 of 24 September 2015, the Commissioner for Human Rights challenged the possibility of carrying out a personal control pursuant to a legal act of lower rank than a statute. It should be noted that a regulation limiting the rights and freedoms of a citizen may only be laid down by statute and in certain situations. The requirement of Article 31(3) and the second sentence of Article 41(1) of the Constitution of the Republic of Poland that any limitation upon the exercise of constitutional freedoms and rights may be imposed only by statute is thus infringed. In his reply of 27 October 2015, the Secretary of State of the Ministry of the Interior pointed out that, in accordance with Article 396(2) of the Act of 12 December 2013 on foreigners105, persons detained in BGDRs are subject to the provisions of Chapter 2: Foreigners’ stay at a guarded centre or at a detention centre for foreigners (Articles 410-427 of the Act referred to above), insofar as they relate to stay in a detention centre for foreigners. Article 412 of the Act on foreigners, which falls within Chapter 2 of the aforesaid Act, thus applies to Border Guard rooms for detained persons as well and constitutes a statutory normative basis provided by statute for checking foreigners placed in such rooms. In another letter of 21 January 2016, the Commissioner for Human Rights stressed that the provision referred to by the Secretary of State of the Ministry of the Interior refers to a foreigner who is transported to a detention centre for foreigners. However, given the rights of the Border Guard under the Act on the Border Guard, foreigners transported to a detention centre for foreigners are not the only group of persons who could be placed in BGDRs. Therefore, the problem of a lacking legal basis for performing checks in the form of personal controls in BGDRs on persons other than those referred to in Article 396(2) of the Act on foreigners remains unresolved. Echoing the position of the Commissioner for Human Rights, the Secretary of State of the Ministry of the Interior and Administration informed in his letter of 19 February 2016 that necessary amendments in the area discussed will be introduced to the Act on foreigners and the Act on the Border Guard as part of legislative works. 2) Medical examination of detained persons The problem of having provisions on medical examinations of persons detained by Border Guard officers included in the Ordinance of the Minister of the Interior and Administration of 27 June 2002 on the course of examining persons detained by officers of the Border Guard106 and § 3 and 4 of the BGDR rules was described in the Report of the NPM of 2014. It needs to be reminded that the issue of performing medical examinations KMP.570.10.2015.WS; https://www.rpo.gov.pl/pl/content/wyst%C4%85pienie-generalne-z-dnia-24092015-r-do-ministraspraw-wewn%C4%99trznych-w-sprawie-kontroli-osobistych Dz.U. item 1650, as amended. 106 Dz.U. No 98, item 893. 104 105 46