ABSTRACT
Protection of citizen's privacy is guaranteed by the Constitution of the Republic of Poland. Article 47 of the Constitution ensures the legal protection of citizens' private and family life. References to privacy protection in medical contexts can also be found in Statutes that regulate different aspects of health care delivery. Personal data protection is regulated in Poland by the Act on Personal Data Protection of the 29 of August 1997. The Act protects personal data of natural persons, and it does not apply to dead persons. In agreement with Article 6.1 (b) of the Directive, Polish law exempts processing of personal data which is performed for 'scientific, didactic, historical or statistical research' purposes from the restrictions on lawfulness of data processing. The Act makes processing personal data conditional on the data subject's consent. According to Art. 19 of the Act, official complaints and legal action for breaches of the Act are made by the Inspector General for Personal Data Protection.
