Supreme Court allows war pension by reclassifying Soviet internment camps as NKWD prisons under combatant law.
Poland (PL)
Legislator summary
AI generatedThe Supreme Court of Poland overturned the Social Insurance Institution's denial of a war disability pension for a former combatant. The applicant argued that his 1944-1945 detention in Soviet camps constituted 'internment' under Article 3(1) of the Combats Act, while the insurer claimed this status precluded recognition as a prisoner of the NKWD under Article 3(2). The Court ruled that Soviet authorities' labeling of these facilities as 'internment camps' was a fiction masking their actual nature as NKWD-run prisons and labor camps, thereby allowing the applicant to qualify for the pension under the alternative provision.
Legislator headnote
AI generatedArt. 3 pkt 1, Art. 3 pkt 2, Art. 12 ust. 2 pkt 1 ustawy z dnia 24 stycznia 1991 r. o kombatantach; The court established that Soviet designations of 'internment camps' for political prisoners do not preclude classification as NKWD prisons or labor camps for the purpose of war pension eligibility.