Realistic measures to protect the rights and security of an immigrant on the Belarusian border from the perspective of the Law on Foreigners, the Law on the Protection of Foreigners and acts of international law

Abstract

The refugee crisis on the Polish-Belarusian border related to the appearance on the border of a significant number of people who were brought to the territory of Belarus and then directed to the territory of Poland in an organized manner by Belarusian services led to a number of actions by, among others, Polish authorities, the legal aspects of which required urgent elaboration. This article addresses the issue of realistic measures to protect the rights and security of an immigrant on the Belarusian border from the perspective of the Law on Foreigners, the Law on the Protection of Foreigners and acts of international law. Statutory instruments for the protection of foreigners arriving in Poland are contained in a number of relevant legal acts. Among them, the most important are: the Law on Granting Protection to Foreigners on the Territory of the Republic of Poland, the Law on Foreigners, the Law on the Border Guard, the Law on the Protection of the State Border and others of lesser importance. In addition, relevant international conventions and rulings of tribunals, including the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg, are also in force in the Polish legal system with regard to foreigners’ cases. These acts relate to proceedings in cases involving foreigners who, under various circumstances and for various reasons, found themselves on the territory of Poland, with relatively the most detailed regulation of issues related to foreigners who entered the territory of the Republic of Poland illegally. In its entirety, this study is devoted only to issues related to illegal stay in Poland after crossing the border between Belarus and Poland, which is also the EU border (the external border of the Schengen zone). As an aside, we will only point out that the treatment of foreigners illegally crossing the border with Poland is the same at all sections of the border.