Ewa Łętowska (pronounced: ; born 22 March 1940 in

Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...

) is a Polish lawyer, a specialist in civil law and professor of legal science. Since 1985, she has worked at the Institute of Law of the

Polish Academy of Sciences The Polish Academy of Sciences (, PAN) is a Polish state-sponsored institution of higher learning. Headquartered in Warsaw, it is responsible for spearheading the development of science across the country by a society of distinguished scholars a ...

and since 1997, she has been a member of the Polish Academy of Arts and Sciences. In 1988, she became the first person to be appointed the Ombudsman for Citizen Rights in Poland. Between 1999 and 2002, she served as a judge at the

Supreme Administrative Court of Poland The Supreme Administrative Court of the Republic of Poland ( , NSA ) is the court of last resort in administrative cases e.g. those betweens private citizens (or corporations) and administrative bodies. This court deals with appeals from lower admi ...

and between 2002 and 2011 as a judge of the Polish Constitutional Tribunal.

Life and career

She was born as Ewa Ołtarzewska on 22 March 1940 in Warsaw. In 1962, she graduated from the Faculty of Law and Administration of the

University of Warsaw The University of Warsaw (, ) is a public university, public research university in Warsaw, Poland. Established on November 19, 1816, it is the largest institution of higher learning in the country, offering 37 different fields of study as well ...

. In 1968, she obtained a doctoral degree and in 1975 a

habilitation Habilitation is the highest university degree, or the procedure by which it is achieved, in Germany, France, Italy, Poland and some other European and non-English-speaking countries. The candidate fulfills a university's set criteria of excelle ...

in civil law. In 1986, she was granted the title of professor of legal science. Between 1977 and 1987 she was head of the Department of Civil Law of the Institute of Law at the

. After the introduction of the post of ombudsman for Citizen Rights in Poland she became the first person to hold this office, which she assumed on 1 January 1988 and left on 13 February 1992. Between 1999 and 2002, she served as a judge at the

. In 2002 she was appointed a judge of the Polish Constitutional Tribunal after receiving endorsement from the

Democratic Left Alliance Democratic Left Alliance may refer to: * Democratic Left Alliance (Poland) The Democratic Left Alliance () was a social democracy, social-democratic list of political parties in Poland, political party in Poland. It was formed on 9 July 1991 as ...

(SLD),

Polish People's Party The Polish People's Party (, PSL) is a conservative political party in Poland. It is currently led by Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz. Its history traces back to 1895, when it held the name People's Party, although its name was changed to the pre ...

(PSL) and

Labour Union A trade union (British English) or labor union (American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers whose purpose is to maintain or improve the conditions of their employment, such as attaining better wages ...

(UP). She worked as professor at the Institute of Legal Science of the Polish Academy of Sciences and was a visiting professor at numerous universities including the

University of Paris 1 Pantheon-Sorbonne A university () is an institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly means "community of teachers and scholars". Uni ...

. She has been a member of many organizations such as

Collegium Invisibile Collegium Invisibile is an Learned society, academic society founded in 1995 in Warsaw, Poland, Warsaw that affiliates outstanding Polish students in the humanities and science with distinguished scholars in accordance with the idea of a libera ...

, Helsinki Committee, Experts' Committee of the

International Labour Organization The International Labour Organization (ILO) is a United Nations agency whose mandate is to advance social and economic justice by setting international labour standards. Founded in October 1919 under the League of Nations, it is one of the firs ...

, International Lawyers' Council ''Académie de Droit Comparé'', Polish Academy of Arts and Sciences and Polish Academy of Sciences Committee.

Selected honours and awards

* Friedrich Ebert Foundation Human Rights Award (1994) *Commander's Cross of the

Order of Polonia Restituta The Order of Polonia Restituta (, ) is a Polish state decoration, state Order (decoration), order established 4 February 1921. It is conferred on both military and civilians as well as on alien (law), foreigners for outstanding achievements in ...

(1996) *Tolerance Medal conferred by the Ecumenical Foundation (2000) *Honorary doctorate from the University of Gdańsk (2008) * Commander's Cross with Star of the Order of Polonia Restituta (2011) *Special Award of the Polish Red Cross (2011) *Barbara Skarga Prize awarded by the Leviathan Confederation (2013) *Honorary doctorate from the

(2016)

Selected publications

*''Bezpodstawne wzbogacenie'', C.H. Beck, Warsaw 2000. *''The commissioner for citizens' rights in Central and Eastern Europe: the Polish Experience'', Saint Louis Univ. School of Law and Warsaw Univ. School of Law, Saint Louis 1996. *''La constitution, oeuvre de la société?'', Schulthess Polygraphischer, Zurich 1995. *''Courts and tribunals under the constitution of Poland'', Saint Louis Univ. School of Law and Warsaw Univ. School of Law, Saint Louis 1997. *''Europejskie prawo umów konsumenckich'', C.H. Beck, Warsaw 2004. *''Jak zaczynał Rzecznik Praw Obywatelskich'' olumns 1988–1991 Agencja Master, Łódź 1992. *''Komentarz do ogólnych warunków umów konsumenckich'' (co-written with Czesława Żuławska), Wydawnictwo Prawnicze, Warsaw 1986. *''Nieuczciwe klauzule w prawie umów konsumenckich'' (co-editor), C.H. Beck, Warsaw 2004. *''Ochrona niektórych praw konsumentów: komentarz'', C.H. Beck, Warsaw 2001. *''Po co ludziom konstytucja'', Exit, Warsaw 1994. *''Podstawy prawa cywilnego'', Ecostar, Warsaw 1993. *''Poradnik konsumenta'' (co-written with Krystyna Wójcik), Instytut Wydawniczy Związków Zawodowych, Warsaw 1983. *''Prawo umów konsumenckich'', C.H. Beck, Warsaw 1999. *''Prawo zobowiązań – część ogólna'' (editor), C.H. Beck, Warsaw 1999. *''Sąd Najwyższy USA. Prawa i wolności obywatelskie'' (co-written with Roger Goldman and Stanisław Frankowski), Biuro Instytucji Demokratycznych i Praw Człowieka OBWE, Warsaw 1997. *''Umowa o świadczenie przez osobę trzecią'', Wydawnictwo Prawnicze, Warsaw 1970. *''Umowy odnoszące się do osób trzecich'', C.H. Beck, Warsaw 2006. *''Ustawa o ochronie niektórych praw konsumentów: komentarz'', C.H. Beck, Warsaw 2000. *''Wzorce umowne: ogólne warunki, wzory, regulaminy'', Zakład Narodowy im. Ossolińskich, Wrocław 1975. *''Zbieg norm w prawie cywilnym'', C.H. Beck, Warsaw 2002.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Łętowska, Ewa 1940 births Living people Polish human rights activists Polish women human rights activists Ombudsmen in Poland Lawyers from Warsaw University of Warsaw alumni 20th-century Polish lawyers 21st-century Polish judges 20th-century Polish women lawyers 21st-century Polish women lawyers

Life and career

Selected honours and awards

Selected publications

See also

References