Institute of National Remembrance - Commission for the Investigation of Crimes against the Polish Nation does not get involved into political arguments and is not a carrier of any political interests. The results of its work are to serve the truth, freedom and remembrance, and thus should serve the long-term interests of the Polish Nation and Polish State. This however, does not imply that the Institute is free from a public political assessment. None public institution is and should be. The assessments of the Institute often refer to its mission.

With regard to the activities of the Institute of National Remembrance from its inception to the end of the second report year of its existence, namely to the end of June 2002, following facts should be emphasized:

• The Institute independently, due to its own invention and good co-operation with the representatives of state and self-government authorities got hold of, renovated and adapted its premises, on the basis and within the budgetary means;

• The Institute accumulated a significant part of important archival record groups which constitute its statutory resources. Where necessary, the Institute secured the documents against further biological or mechanical degradation. The Institute has been intensely working to conscientiously elaborate the accumulated documents. It also prepared and launched the process of making records available to the repressed people in the first case;

• The Institute's prosecutors conducted 1271 investigations, including 245 in the cases of Nazi crimes, 937 in the cases of Communist crimes and 89 in the cases of other war crimes as well as crimes against humanity. In terms of evidence and organizational matters these crimes are particularly complicated. The prosecutors interrogated next to 8000 witnesses in the period from July 1, 2001 to June 30, 2002. In the same period 18 indictments were directed to courts, in the next 29 cases prosecutors presented 49 defendants with charges. One extradition application was issued. In two cases the trials were concluded by sentences. Some of the cases which are now in the process have not had any precedence and judgments in these cases will constitute a significant contribution to the development of a legal culture of a democratic state;

• The Institute has become a constant and vital center of historical and patriotic education of the Polish youth;

• In the activities of the Institute, combatants' circles find support and the Institute offers a forum for other organizations of soldiers and veterans of the war and fight for independence as well as of democratic opposition in the post-war period;

• Within the two years of its existence, the Institute has become an important research center. This success is a result of significant scientific conferences, six publication series and two important periodicals. The Institute has been carrying out its research programs which focus on important events and phenomena of the years 1939-1989. The Institute co-operates closely with the Institute of History and the Institute of Political Studies at the Polish Academy of Science and with a majority of Polish universities, on the basis of appropriate co-operation agreements;

• The Institute has initiated a substantive co-operation with its counterparts in other countries (Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary, Israel, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia and the USA). Where no counterpart institutions have been established, the Institute co-operates with historians and archivists, which is the case of Russia and Ukraine. The Institute's prosecutors co-operate closely with the German Center for Prosecution of Nazi Crimes in Ludwigsburg, with the Simon Wiesenthal Center and the Department of Justice in the USA. The Institute's prosecutors co-operate, within the frames of legal assistance, with prosecutors from Germany, Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, Lithuania, USA, Canada, Israel and Great Britain. At the service of truth, the Institute has become an element of a reconciliation of the Polish Nation with German, Russian, Ukrainian, Lithuanian, Belarussian and Jewish nations.

The Institute's Budget

For the year 2001 the Institute's budget equaled 84 694 000 PLN. The Institute used up the budget in 95 %, spending 83 421 000 PLN. This was assessed by the Supreme Chamber of Control in Poland as rational management of public means when fulfilling its mission. The execution of the budget has also met with a positive response from the Parliamentary Commissions for Justice and Human Rights and for Public Finance.
The limitation of the Institute's budget in the year 2002 caused a slow down in the processes of document elaboration, public education (exhibitions, seminars, workshops, trainings and publishing projects) and delayed the adaptation and renovation of the Institute's buildings.

Prosecution of Crimes

The policy of the investigative department of the Institute was accepted by the Council of the Institute of National Remembrance. The statutory responsibility of the investigative units prosecutors is the conduct of investigations in the cases of Nazi and Communist crimes as well as crimes against peace, humanity and war crimes. Nazi and Communist crimes are defined in the statute of the Institute of National Remembrance - Commission for the Prosecution of Crimes against the Polish Nation. The crimes described in the law are prosecuted in the international law as the war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide crimes. The prosecution of crimes against Communist officials was accepted by the European Court of Human Rights which in the sentence of March 22, 2001 in the case of Streletz, Kessler and Krenz against Germany noted that the problem Germany had to deal with after reunification as regards the attitude to adopt vis-à-vis persons who had committed crimes under a former regime has also arisen for a number of other States which have gone through a transition to democratic systems. In this judgment the Court considered that it is legitimate for a State governed by the rule of law to bring criminal proceedings against persons who have committed crimes under a former regime; similarly, the courts of such a State, having taken the place of those which existed previously, cannot be criticized for applying and interpreting the legal provisions in force at the material time in the light of the principles governing a State subject to the rule of law. The Court accordingly, took the view that the applicants who, as leaders of the GDR, had created the appearance of legality emanating from the GDR's legal system but then implemented or continued a practice which flagrantly disregarded the very principles of that system, cannot invoke the protection of Article 7 of the Convention. To reason otherwise would run counter to the object and purpose of that provision, which is to ensure that no one is subjected to arbitrary prosecution, conviction or punishment.

Similarly to Czech Republic and Germany's practice, the Institute's prosecutors take into account only such deeds which were forbidden by the biding criminal code at the time of their commitment. At that time, like this is today, it was forbidden to , according to Polish law and UN conventions ratified in Poland, physically abuse people during investigations, to sentence them on the basis of not binding law, or to be in charge of mass repressions and associations showing traits of criminal character within the state structures.

Institute of National Remembrance - Commission for the Investigation Crimes against the Polish Nation prosecutes these crimes which were committed against people of Polish citizenship, regardless the place of their commitment, as well as against the victims of other nationalities, committed in the territory of the Polish State.

Investigations whose subject-matter concerns Nazi, Communist and war crimes, have initiated by the Institute's prosecutors on the basis of their own preliminary information as well as on the basis of requests submitted by victims, witnesses and other subjects. A prosecutor makes a decision to launch an investigation in all the cases, in which there exists a legal qualification of a crime which subjects the crime to the prosecution of the Institute of National Remembrance.

The Institute continues a series of investigations in the cases of Nazi crimes. Approximately 95% of these investigations in the cases of Nazi crimes and other war crimes concern victims of Polish nationality. The following current investigations can be mentioned: the case of germanisation of Polish children, Nazi crimes in Fort VII in Poznań.