A/HRC/36/14 58. Concerning the development of civil society, the establishment of the office of the Government Plenipotentiary for Civic Society was in progress. There were a number of civic dialogue channels at the national, regional and local levels. 59. The Ministry of the Interior and Administration collected data on hate crimes cases against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender persons. In 2015, a new system had been introduced to record all hate crime investigations led by the police, including the investigations of crimes motivated by sexual orientation or gender identity. As for antiMuslim and anti-Semitic hate speech, the Government condemned all such incidents. All cases of hate speech constituting a crime were subjected to criminal liability according to the Criminal Code and subjected to the criminal proceedings. 60. According to the Constitution and family law, including the regulation on recording marital relationships, civil partnerships, including same-sex relationships, could not be registered. 61. Every foreigner who wanted to enter Poland without fulfilling the necessary conditions was subject to an individual assessment in terms of his or her reasons for entering and non-refoulement. Every asylum seeker could therefore apply for international protection. 62. Regarding protection of the right to privacy in the context of secret surveillance and antiterrorist legislation, the Police Act — adopted in compliance with the judgment of the Constitutional Tribunal — had improved procedural standards for conducting secret surveillance and had introduced a new control mechanism for data retention, whereby supervision was conducted by independent courts. As for the Anti-Terrorism Act, the right to privacy was guaranteed under the supervision of the Prosecutor General and, to a certain extent, by independent courts. 63. Concerning accessibility to abortions, the Act on Family Planning, Protection of the Human Foetus and Conditions of Admissibility of Abortion set specifically conditions under which abortion was possible and the time frame. Individuals covered by social security were eligible for free abortion treatment in medical establishments listed as providing guaranteed services. The Act on the Rights of Patients and the Commissioner for Patients’ Rights protected the rights of women who had been refused an abortion under the circumstances laid down in the Act to raise objections to the decision of a doctor. Contraceptives were available, some of which were reimbursed by the State. A clause in the Act on the Professions of Doctor and Dentist allowed a doctor to refrain from providing certain health-care services for reasons of conscience. However, that did not affect the patient’s right to obtain such health-care services. 64. In total, 777 institutions and 612 call centres provided assistance to the victims of domestic violence. Domestic violence policies had been implemented through a programme covering the period 2014-2020. 65. Poland had been working on strategies for persons with disabilities, covering all areas of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, with an emphasis on health, education, accessibility and employment. 66. Concerning the situation of women in the labour market, there was equality of treatment in line with European Union standards. The gender pay gap in Poland was among the lowest in the European Union and was being further reduced. 67. Poland had chosen to merge the functions of the Prosecutor General and the Minister of Justice in conformity with the acceptable international standards. Furthermore, despite the merge, the 2016 Law on Prosecution had provided explicitly for the independence of the prosecution services. 68. There were no obstacles preventing the Constitutional Tribunal from carrying out its duties. The acts that had been adopted and initiated by Parliament at the end of 2016 were in line with European standards for the functioning of a constitutional court. Those laws regulated matters relating to the system and functioning of the Constitutional Tribunal, taking into account a number of recommendations issued by the European Commission for Democracy through Law (the Venice Commission). 7