Report of the Commissioner for Human Rights on the activities of the National Mechanism for the Prevention of Torture in Poland in 2017 The amendment of 11 May 2013 added, to Article 56 of the Act on Social Welfare dated 12 March 2004, paragraph no.7 that introduced a special type of SCH that offers such therapy. In Article 59(6) and (7) of the Act, the procedure of referral to such homes and the maximum duration of stay in them are set out104. However, the implementing provisions which regulate key issues related to the work of the homes for alcohol-dependent persons were adopted only in January 2017.105. Due to this, in 2017 only one facility of this type, the Social Care Home at ul. Rozrywki 1 in Kraków, was operating. Also, the Social Care Home for people with chronic mental illnesses, located in Pleszew, established a special ward for alcohol-dependent persons. Yet, the number of such facilities is still insufficient. The issue of the rules on SCH residents’ contacts with the outside world The NMPT emphasizes that all residents of social care homes, regardless of the grounds for their placement in the home or their legal incapacitation, should be treated equally by the homes with regard to their possibility to leave the facility’s premises. Only a psychological or physical condition diagnosed by a physician may be a reason for not allowing a resident to leave the home. The SCH is then required to ensure to such a resident the possibility to leave the facility under supervision. Freedom of person is one of the aspects of freedom within the meaning of Article 31 of the Constitution. Therefore, it may be restricted only by the operation of the law, provided that relevant reasons exist and that the boundaries of the restriction have been determined (the obligation to respect the principle of proportionality and the prohibition to violate the basic rights and freedoms). All the requirements have to be met jointly when restricting the rights and freedoms of an individual. Failure to follow the said general principles should be considered ungrounded reduction of the constitutional protection of individual’s rights. 104 consolidated text: Dz. U of 2017, item 1769 105 Regulation of the Minister of Family, Labour and Social Policy of 24 January 2017 amending the Regulation on social welfare homes, Dz. U. of 2017, item 224. According to the regulation (Article 1(1)), an individual support plan should be drawn up within two months of the person’s admission to the SCH. The coordination of activities indicated in the plan is the task of an addiction therapy specialist or instructor, or a person trained in the subject (Article 1(2)). Residents of SCHs for addicted persons should have ensured the supervision of a psychiatrist, addiction psychotherapy specialist, addiction therapy instructor or a person trained in the subject of therapy and rehabilitation for persons dependent on alcohol (Article 1(4)). An SCH for addicted persons should have at least 0.5 full-time employee (of the therapeutic care team) per home resident (Article 1(4)). An SCH of this type should also provide to its residents access to: individual and group therapies, cognitive skills training including memory training, training in social skills required to maintain abstinence or reduce alcohol consumption, motivation-building activities to help to maintain abstinence or reduce alcohol consumption (Article 1(3)). 54