(CIVICUS Monitor) In late March 2018, the Ministry of the Interior and Administration (MSWiA) abandoned its plans to amend the Public Collections Act after NGOs, backed by a citizen appeal signed by 112,000 people, protested the move. The proposed amendment was intended to prevent fundraising efforts such as the one organised by the Pride and Modernity association (Duma i Nowoczesność) to collect donations for a convicted murderer, that was considered to be contrary to public policy. The amendment, framed in ambiguous and broadly language, would have given officials broad discretion and the ability to arbitrarily decide which causes were in the public interest and could therefore be supported by public donations.
9 January 2024