the Constitution were no longer regulated at a level below that of the law; what kind of compensation was envisaged for victims of repression during wartime and the post-war period; what controls existed to ensure that the President's decisions on the appointment of judges were not arbitrary; what efforts were being made to disseminate information on human rights at the grass-roots level; how Polish citizens would be informed of the provisions of the Optional Protocol and of their possibilities of recourse to the Human Rights Committee; and what efforts were being made to introduce basic human rights education into school curricula. 131. In reply, the representative of the State party said that the relationship between the Covenant and domestic legislation had not yet been fully decided upon, since it had not been specified clearly in the Constitution. However, the Constitutional Court had stated that the international human rights instruments prevailed over ordinary national legislation. Draft amendments to the Constitution, which would be approved shortly by Parliament, had been prepared with the Covenant as a model. Since Poland became a democratic State in 1990, international legal instruments came increasingly to be regarded as having direct application in the Polish system. 132. The legal tradition in Poland of incorporating, in effect, the provisions of international agreements into national legislation continued to be reflected not only in statute law but also in the judicial precedents of the courts. Thus, for example, article 14, paragraph 1, of the Covenant was invoked in a decision of the Administrative High Court on 5 July 1991 and article 18, paragraph 1, of the Covenant was cited as the basis for a decision of the Constitutional Court on 30 January 1991. The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights has similarly been invoked by the courts. With regard to the status of the Covenant in the Polish legal system, the following rules had been proposed in connection with the drafting of a new Constitution: Polish law should be compatible with international conventions ratified by Poland and with generally accepted international norms; an international treaty ratified by consensus in Parliament should have priority when it was not compatible with national law; and the rights and freedoms laid down in the Constitution should not be interpreted as limiting the human rights enjoyed by individuals under the provisions of international law. 133. The publicity given to the provisions of the Covenant had not been as extensive as it should have been and measures were now being taken to remedy that shortcoming. A joint initiative was under way with the Centre for Human Rights of the Secretariat to strengthen human rights documentation and information services in Poland and the Government was cooperating closely with the Council of Europe and the Helsinki Committee in promoting human rights in Polish schools, law faculties and work-related courses. 134. With regard to judges, the representative of the State party pointed out that judges in all Polish courts were appointed by the President on the motion of the National Council of the Judiciary. The participation of the Minister of Justice in the process was confined to his role as a member of the Council. The Civil Eights Spokesman was an independent agent who, in conformity with the Constitution and the Act of 14 July 1987 as amended by the Act of 24 August 1991, was responsible for monitoring the exercise of rights and freedoms, particularly with regard to the issuing of passports, the activities of the misdemeanour commissions and conditions of detention. The -29-