SAFEGUARDING INTERESTS AND HUMAN RIGHTS OF UNACCOMPANIED MINORS SEEKING ASYLUM IN POLAND THROUGH CIVIL PROCEEDINGS

Abstract

This paper addresses the role of civil proceedings in safeguarding interests and human rights of unaccompanied minors seeking asylum in Poland. The first part of the paper describes which human rights, including procedural rights, need to be taken into consideration during aforementioned civil proceedings in order to secure the protection of the children in question, considering their special status, both as children and asylum seekers. In the second part of the research the provisions regulating procedures for appointing a guardian (called a curator) and for placing a minor in foster care as well as their application have been discussed. This provides an answer to questions whether it is possible to respect these rights within the current legal framework and if they are respected at present. To answer these questions selected provisions of the UN Convention of the Rights of the Child, the European Convention on the Exercise of Children’s Rights, the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, two directives of the European Parliament and of the Council (the directive 2013/33/EU of 26 June 2013, which is still in force, and the directive 2024/1346 of 14 May 2024, which needs to be transposed by 12 June 2026 and will replace the directive 2013/33/EU) laying down standards for the reception of applicants for international protection and the Polish Code of Civil Procedure have been analyzed using legal-dogmatic and hermeneutical methods. The research shows that the best interests and rights of unaccompanied children seeking asylum in Poland can be effectively safeguarded in civil proceedings involving them and that Polish guardianship courts have sufficient legal means to provide protection to an unaccompanied minor by ruling in matters of custody or guardianship. On the other hand, in the area of praxis there is significant room for improvement.