Legal framework

Serving in the shadows

Powers of officers of the Foreign

According to the provisions of the Act of May 24, 2002 on the Internal Security Agency and the Foreign Intelligence Agency, AW officers perform operational, reconnaissance, analytical and informational activities within the scope of the tasks referred to in Art. 6 section 1 of the aforementioned Act.

Art. 24. 1. states that the Foreign Intelligence Agency officers, while performing the activities referred to in Art. 22, have the right to:

1. demand the necessary assistance from state institutions, government administration and local self-government bodies, as well as entrepreneurs conducting activities in the field of public utility; the aforementioned institutions, bodies and entrepreneurs are obliged, within the scope of their activities, to provide such assistance free of charge, within the framework of the binding provisions of the law; 2. request the necessary assistance from entrepreneurs, organisational units and social organisations other than those mentioned in section 1, as well as, in emergency situations, request assistance from any person, within the framework of the applicable provisions of the law.

Control of special services of the Republic of Poland

The Head of the Foreign Intelligence Agency

Pursuant to Article 3 section 2 of the Act of 24 May 2002 on the Internal Security Agency and the Foreign Intelligence Agency (hereinafter: the Act), the Head of the Foreign Intelligence Agency reports directly to the Prime Minister. Coordinator and Powers of the Coordinator

By Ordinance of December 13, 2017 (Journal of Laws, 2017, item 2332), the Prime Minister authorised the Minister - Member of the Council of Ministers - Special Services Coordinator to perform the tasks assigned by the Prime Minister in the area of control and coordination of the activities of special services (Foreign Intelligence Agency, Internal Security Agency, Central Anti- Corruption Bureau). Supervision over the Service and the Military Counterintelligence Service is exercised by the Minister of National Defence. Council

The Minister - Member of the Council of Ministers - Coordinator of Special Services is a member of the Governmental Council for Special Services, which operates within the Council of Ministers and is chaired by the Prime Minister. It is an opinion-making and advisory body in matters of programming, supervising and coordinating the activities of the Internal Security Agency (Agencja Bezpieczeństwa Wewnętrznego), the Foreign Intelligence Agency (Agencja Wywiadu), the Military Counterintelligence Service (Służba Kontrwywiadu Wojskowego), the Military Intelligence Service (Służba Wywiadu Wojskowego) and the Central Anti-Corruption Bureau (Centralne Biuro Antykorupcyjne), as well as the activities of the Police, the , the Military Police, the Prison Service, the State Protection Service, the Customs and Tax Service, tax offices, tax chambers, tax inspection authorities, financial information authorities and the reconnaissance services of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Poland, undertaken in order to protect . The Council is also composed of the Secretary of the Council and the following members: the minister in charge of internal affairs, the minister in charge of foreign affairs, Minister of National Defence, the minister in charge of public finance and the Head of the National Security Office. The meetings of the Council are also attended by the Head of the Internal Security Agency, the Head of the Foreign Intelligence Agency, the Head of the Central Anti- Corruption Bureau, the Head of the Military Counterintelligence Service, the Head of the Military Intelligence Service and the Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee for Special Services. Powers of the Governmental Council for Special Services

In relation to the Foreign Intelligence Agency and its Head, the tasks of the Council include drawing up evaluations or expressing its opinions on the following matters:

the appointment and dismissal of the Head of the Foreign Intelligence Agency; directions and action plans of the Foreign Intelligence Agency; detailed draft budget of the Foreign Intelligence Agency, before its examination by the Council of Ministers; the performance by the Foreign Intelligence Agency of the tasks entrusted to it in accordance with the guidelines and action plans of the Agency; annual reports presented by the Head of the Foreign Intelligence Agency on the activities of his subordinate Agency; coordinating the activities of the Foreign Intelligence Agency, the Internal Security Agency, the Military Intelligence Service, the Military Counterintelligence Service as well as the Police, the Border Guard, the Military Police, the State Protection Service, customs authorities, tax offices, tax chambers, tax inspection authorities, financial information authorities and the reconnaissance services of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Poland and their cooperation in the field of protection of national security; cooperation of government administration and local government bodies, state institutions and entrepreneurs operating in the field of public utility with the Foreign Intelligence Agency; cooperation of the Foreign Intelligence Agency with competent authorities and services of other countries; organisation of the exchange of information crucial for the external security and international position of the Republic of Poland between the government administration bodies.

Parliamentary Committee on Special Services (PCSS)

The scope of the Committee's activities includes expressing opinions on drafting laws, regulations, orders and other normative acts concerning special services, including those regulating the activities of these services; opinions on the directions of activities and examination of annual reports of the heads of special services; opinions on draft budgets in the area concerning special services, examination of annual reports on their implementation and other financial information on special services; expressing its opinions on proposals for appointing and dismissing individual persons to the positions of heads of special services and their deputies; getting acquainted with information provided by special services on the events which are particularly important for their activity, including suspicious irregularities in the activity of special services and suspicions of infringement of law by these services, through access to and insight into information, documents and materials obtained as a result of performing statutory tasks, in accordance with the provisions of the Act on protection of classified information and the Acts regulating the activity of special services; evaluation of special services cooperation with other authorities, services and institutions authorised to perform operational and reconnaissance activities within the scope of the activities undertaken by them for the protection of state security; evaluation of special services cooperation with the Armed Forces, government administration bodies, law enforcement agencies and other state institutions and local government bodies, competent authorities and special services of other states; evaluation of protection of classified information and examination of complaints concerning the activities of special services. Annex to the Resolution of the Sejm of the Republic of Poland of July 30, 1992 - Rules of Procedure of the Sejm of the Republic of Poland (consolidated text, Polish Official Gazette (Monitor Polski), 2021, item 483) Legislation

Basic legal acts

1. Act of May 24, 2002 on the Internal Security Agency and the Foreign Intelligence Agency (Journal of Laws of 2020, item 27, 2320) 2. Act of August 5, 2010 on the protection of classified information (Journal of Laws of 2019, item 742)

Other legal acts

1. Ordinance of the Prime Minister of December 13, 2017 on the detailed scope of activities of the Minister - Member of the Council of Ministers Mariusz Kamiński - Special Services Coordinator (Journal of Laws, item 2332) 2. Act of May 24, 2013 on measures of direct coercion and firearms (Journal of Laws of 2017, item 1120, Journal of Laws of 2018, items 106, 138, 730,912) 3. Act of June 10, 2016 on Counter-Terrorism Activities (Journal of Laws of 2019, item 796) 4. Act of April 4, 2014 on compensation benefits to be paid in the event of an accident or illness related to the service (Journal of Laws of 2018, item 1448) 5. Act of May 7, 1999 on the financial liability of officers of the Police, the Border Guard, the Customs and Fiscal Service, the State Protection Service, the State Fire Service, the Prison Service, the Internal Security Agency, the Foreign Intelligence Agency, the Military Counterintelligence Service, the Military Intelligence Service and the Central Anti-Corruption Bureau (Journal of Laws of 2018, item 2349) 6. Act of February 18, 1994 on pension provision for officers of the Police, the Internal Security Agency, the Foreign Intelligence Agency, the Military Counterintelligence Service, the Military Intelligence Service, the Central Anti-Corruption Bureau, the Border Guard, the Marshal’s Guard, the State Protection Service, the State Fire Service and the Fiscal Service and Prison Service and their families (Journal of Laws of 2020, items 723, 2320). 7. Ordinance of the Prime Minister of June 26, 2002 on a template of the official ID card and other documents for the Foreign Intelligence Agency officers (Journal of Laws of 2021, item 209) 8. Ordinance of the Prime Minister of April 24, 2003 on the schedule of time of service for the Foreign Intelligence Agency officers (Journal of Laws of 2021, item 135) 9. Ordinance of the Prime Minister of March 24, 2020 on the specific rules and procedures for the Foreign Intelligence Agency officers’ professional training (Journal of Laws of 2020, item 552)