POLAND | Sylwia Gregorczyk-Abram took the oath of office before the Sejm

Sylwia Gregorczyk-Abram took the oath of office before the Sejm of the Republic of Poland, formally assuming the office of the Commissioner for Human Rights. She succeeded Marcin Wiącek, whose term of office ended on 23 July 2026. The Commissioner’s term of office lasts five years.

Sylwia Gregorczyk-Abram was appointed Commissioner for Human Rights by the Sejm of the Republic of Poland on 17 July. The Senate of the Republic of Poland approved her appointment on 22 July 2026. Pursuant to the Act on the Commissioner for Human Rights, before assuming office the Commissioner is required to take an oath before the Sejm.

“I solemnly swear that, in carrying out the duties entrusted to me as Commissioner for Human Rights, I will remain faithful to the Constitution of the Republic of Poland, safeguard human and civil rights and freedoms, and be guided by the law as well as by the principles of social coexistence and justice. I swear that I will discharge the duties entrusted to me impartially, with the utmost diligence and care, that I will uphold the dignity of the office entrusted to me, and that I will preserve legally protected confidentiality.”

Commissioner for Human Rights Sylwia Gregorczyk-Abram took the oath during the sitting of the Sejm.

Following the oath-taking ceremony, Speaker of the Sejm Włodzimierz Czarzasty presented Sylwia Gregorczyk-Abram with the resolution of the Sejm of the Republic of Poland on the appointment of the Commissioner for Human Rights.

Sylwia Gregorczyk-Abram
Sylwia Gregorczyk-Abram is an attorney-at-law, social activist, and human rights defender. For over twenty years, she has been actively involved in promoting and protecting civil rights and freedoms. Since 2010, she has been a member of the Warsaw Bar Association. She was born on 19 November 1982 in Garwolin.

She graduated from the Faculty of Law and Administration at the University of Warsaw. She also completed the American Law Studies Center and postgraduate studies in medical law, bioethics, and the sociology of medicine at the University of Warsaw, as well as postgraduate studies in fiscal criminal law and business law at Jagiellonian University.

Since the beginning of her professional career, she has been dedicated to the protection of human rights. She has represented individuals particularly vulnerable to violations of their rights and freedoms, including victims of violence, persons with disabilities, individuals affected by discrimination, victims of human trafficking, and people seeking international protection. She has also been actively engaged in safeguarding freedom of expression and freedom of assembly, organizing legal assistance for participants of peaceful protests and civic activists.

A key focus of her work has been the protection of the rule of law and the right to an independent court. In 2017, she co-founded the Free Courts Foundation (Fundacja Wolne Sądy), and a year later, she was one of the initiators of the Justice Defence Committee (Komitet Obrony Sprawiedliwości – KOS). She has led strategic litigation before the European Court of Human Rights and the Court of Justice of the European Union concerning judicial independence and the right to effective judicial protection. She has represented both citizens and judges subjected to reprisals for defending the principles of the rule of law.

She co-created the Justice 24 project, which documents war crimes committed in Ukraine and supports victims in pursuing their rights. She also chaired the Commission for Investigating the Mechanisms of Repression Against Civil Society Organizations and Social Activists in the years 2015–2023.

For many years, she has been engaged in educational activities. She is the originator and long-serving coordinator of the “Constitution Week” program, co-author of publications and educational materials devoted to human rights, democracy, and the rule of law, and a lecturer for trainee attorneys-at-law.

She is the author and co-author of scholarly publications on the protection of human rights within the European system, the role of the European Court of Human Rights in protecting individuals, the use of preliminary references and strategic litigation in safeguarding citizens’ rights, judicial independence, and the importance of civil society and professional self-governing organizations to the functioning of a democratic state governed by the rule of law.

In recognition of her professional and social activities, she has received numerous distinctions, including the “Pro Bono Lawyer” award, the “Golden Paragraph” award, and the “Meritorious Service to the Bar” distinction.

Source: Office of the Commissioner for Human Rights of the Republic of Poland