Report of the Commissioner for Human Rights on the activities of the National Mechanism for the Prevention of Torture in Poland in 2017 In one of the establishments the internal order did not provide for the possibility of making phone calls by remand prisoners, unless such individuals were sentenced by the court of the first instance and order rules concerning serving the sentence of deprivation of liberty were applied to them42. That ban covered also contacts with a defence counsel or legal representative, mentioned in Article 215 (1) of the Executive Penal Code. The discussed rules and regulations relied on outdated legal provisions and were potentially misleading. They failed to take into account the ruling of the Constitutional Tribunal from 2014.43 The rules and regulations also failed to pay heed to prisoner’s rights, stemming from Article 211(2) of the Executive Penal Code, i.e. the right to immediately inform a selected person or institution (including consular office or diplomatic representation) and a defence counsel about his/her place of stay. The NMPT recommended changing the internal order. Prisoners’ treatment during medical examinations and access to healthcare The NMPT still encounters situations when officers of the security department from the Prison Service are present during the medical examination performed on the prisoner, even though medical personnel does not ask for their presence44. In the presence of security officers, the prisoner may not feel at ease to tell the doctor how he/ she was treated. Such a situation may also result in the violation of prisoners’ right to privacy and respect for their dignity and it may infringe the doctor-patient privilege. Currently applicable legal regulations do not allow for such a situation to occur45. Additionally, it compromises the preventive character of such an examination. 42 43 Pre-trial detention centre in Grójec In the ruling of 25 November 2014, file no. K 5 4/13 (Dz. U. of 2014, item 1707) the Constitutional Tribunal ruled that Article 217 c of the Executive Penal Code, in the scope in which it unconditionally prohibits the use of the phone by a remand prisoner for the purpose of communicating with a defence counsel, is incompliant with the Constitution. 44 Pre-trial detention centre in Wałbrzych, prison in Herby 45 Article 115 (8) of the Executive Penal Code 22