Abstract

As regards national identity there is already a consolidated case law including judgments of common courts, the Supreme Court and the ECHR. The sense of national identity is part of the catalogue of personal rights and should be understood as a sense of belonging in a national community. In the Polish case law this notion has been shaped as separate from other personal rights, whereas the ECHR indicates that national identity should be assessed under Art. 8 of the European Convention of Human Rights and derives it from such notions as “human integrity”, “human dignity”. A very important issue is the right to bring an action that is granted by the Polish courts (likewise the ECHR) to anyone who feels a member of a given community, frequently gathered around certain tragic events (Jews and Poles around Holocaust, Armenians around the massacre committed by Turks at the beginning of the 20th century). The existing judgements (passed by Polish courts and the ECHR) stress that recognition of general values such as historical legacy, national pride or national dignity make every person who is a member of a given community may bring in a civil action. To do so, the time or place of birth or personal experience are immaterial.

Key words: national identity, veneration of the dead, right to national dignity and national pride, historical truth, infringement of personal rights

Słowa kluczowe: tożsamość narodowa, kult pamięci osoby zmarłej, prawo do godności i dumy narodowej, prawda historyczna, naruszenie dóbr osobistych