This year marks the 30th anniversary of the adoption of the Convention of the Rights of the Child by Poland. On this occasion, the Ordo Iuris Institute and the Faculty of Family Studies at Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński University in Warsaw organised the scientific conference: ‘Family, children's rights and their protection on the 30th anniversary of the Convention on the Rights of the Child’. The event was attended by many experts from different fields, representing national and international research centres.
Professor Tadeusz Smyczyński, the initiator of work on the convention, addressed a letter to the participants of the conference. He expressed his hope that the document would continue to help effectively protect children's rights. The event was attended by speakers from sixteen academic centres, including six from abroad: USA, Hungary, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Slovakia. Those who spoke during the conference included the former Consul for the Republic of Poland in Norway – Sławomir Kowalski (PhD), Professor Marek Andrzejewski, Grégor Puppinck (PhD), Dragan Dakić (PhD), Rev. Professor Władysław Majkowski, Justyna Melonowska (PhD), Professor Przemysław Czarnek, Błażej Kmieciak (PhD), attorney Jerzy Kwaśniewski and Tymoteusz Zych (PhD).
The conference included a discussion on the subject of the rights of children from migrant families to preserve their identity. These rights are sometimes violated by government institutions in Scandinavian countries. The speakers also discussed how local governments should protect the family, including the Local Government Charter of the Rights of the Family. Also presented was how the Convention on the Rights of the Child guarantees the protection of the rights of unborn children.
The conference was held under the patronage of the Rector of UKSW, the Ombudsman for Children, the Minister of Family, Labour and Social Policy, the Minister of National Education and the Ministries of: Foreign Affairs, Science and Higher Education and the delegate of the Polish Episcopal Conference for pastoral ministry of the Polish emigration, Bishop Wiesław Lechowicz.
“It is difficult to overestimate the importance of the Convention on the Rights of the Child. On one hand, it is a signpost towards proper relations between adults and children that some have yet to discover. On the other hand, it is a valuable document that draws attention to the importance of spheres and areas which guarantee the protection of children’s rights. This includes the right to special care, attention and ‘appropriate legal protection, before as well as after birth’ - which the Preamble of the Convention underlines,” emphasised Błażej Kmieciak, PhD, Director of the Bioethics Centre of the Ordo Iuris Institute.
A scientific conference "The Phenomenon of Euthanasia. Interdisciplinary Reflections", co-organized by the Ordo Iuris Institute. During the event, the topic was analyzed from the perspective of medicine, law, sociology, philosophy or theology. Speakers presented, among other things, the legal status related to euthanasia in Poland and other European countries. They pointed out the problems raised by the spread of this procedure. Participants also drew attention to the most important measures to counteract the restriction of the right to life.
Collegium Intermarium has started its academic year. The inauguration ceremony took the form of an international conference attended by scholars, politicians and commentators from the US, France, Hungary, Croatia and Poland, among other countries. The guests included French politician Marion Maréchal, New York Post columnist Sohrab Ahmari, Prof. Adrian Vermuele from Harvard University, and former Speaker of the Sejm Dr Józef Zych. The conference is titled “Collegium Intermarium: a space for truth in the era of cancel culture”.
Representatives of state authorities, outstanding academics and journalists from Poland and abroad take part in the conference inaugurating the establishment of Collegium Intermarium. The goal of the new university is to create a platform of co-operation between academics from the Intermarium region. Its flagship field of specialisation is law, but it also offers a rich programme of postgraduate study courses.
An impediment to the realization of real women's rights is the frequent presentation of the concept in ideological ways. One of the most promoted directions in contemporary discourse to realize women's rights is the gender perspective. However, as it turns out, this concept raises a number of doubts, which stem from its strongly ideological nature and lack of effectiveness in real improvement of the situation of women in the world. The second in the series of conferences "In Defense of Women's Rights" was devoted to these issues.
There is currently a wide-ranging discussion on the concept of women's rights. The Ordo Iuris Institute organized the first in a series of debates on this issue. Two panels were devoted to presenting the political and doctrinal context of the issue of women's rights and women's right to health. The main premise of the conference was to address the issue of women's rights in an ideology-free manner.
The values which form the basis for law have a profound impact on modern Europe. This was the topic of the House on the Rock “Axiology of Law for the Europe of Tomorrow” Conference, which saw many prominent researchers engage in discussion in Rome. The event was organised by the Ordo Iuris Institute and the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas.
© 2016 ORDO IURIS - Instytut Na Rzecz Kultury Prawnej
