Deputy justice minister announces planned new restitution laws

Dubbed the big restitution bill, it will allow for cash payments of up to 20 percent of the values of properties at the time of their “nationalisation”, Jaki told private broadcaster TVN24, adding that the bill was “absolutely fair”.

He said returns of property after 1989 were flawed since buildings were confiscated in a state of ruin as a result of World War II but were handed back rebuilt and renovated.

He added that under the new bill, if a property's return was deemed corrupt it could be taken back by the state.

“I’m ashamed that it has taken Poland until now, 28 years after the fall of communism, to prepare such a bill. This should have been taken care of a long time ago,” Jaki said.

Restitution in Poland dates back to the seizure of property under the October 1945 Bierut Decree, named after former Polish communist leader Bolesław Bierut, which legalised the confiscation of private property.

Thousands of buildings were taken from their owners. After the fall of communism in Poland in 1989, it has been possible to submit claims for the return of such confiscated property.

Many property returns which took place since 1989 are being probed by a Jaki-led commission and by prosecutors following suspicions of malpractice at Warsaw City Hall.

(vb/pk)

Source: PAP