Legal summary
November 2025
Kłucinska-Głuszczak v. Poland (dec.) - 33274/22
Decision 14.10.2025 [Section I]
Article 37
Matter before Court resolved by retrospective increase of the applicant’s old-age pension: struck out
Article 1 of Protocol No. 1
Article 1 para. 1 of Protocol No. 1
Deprivation of property
Matter before Court resolved by retrospective increase of the applicant’s old-age pension: struck out
Facts – On 16 March 2006 the applicant was granted the right to an old‑age pension for former functionaries of the uniformed services.
In 2009 the Director of the Board for Pensions issued a decision decreasing the applicant’s pension on the basis of a 2009 Act introducing new rules for the calculation of the pensions of former functionaries of the State security service into a 1994 Act on old‑age pensions of functionaries of the police and certain other entities . In particular, one of the coefficients relevant for the calculation of pensions of former functionaries was decreased from 2.6% to 0.7% for each year of service with the former communist State security authorities in the period from 1944 to 1990.
On 1 January 2017 further amendments to the 1994 Act came into force. In particular, section 15c was added, which provided that one of the coefficients relevant for the calculation of the pensions of former functionaries was decreased from 0.7% to 0% for each year of service for the former communist State security authorities in the period from 1944 to1990. Section 22a provided that a disability pension was to be reduced by 10% for each year of service for a totalitarian regime. Section 8a provided that the Minister of Internal Affairs and Administration could, in particularly justified cases, exclude the application of sections 15c, 22a and 24a.
On 20 June 2017 the Director of the Board for Pensions issued a decision on the recalculation of the applicant’s monthly pension whereby the benefit was reduced from the equivalent of approximately EUR 1,180 to EUR 420. The applicant appealed against that decision. On 23 June 2021 the Regional Court determined her old-age pension in the amount set before the decision of 20 June 2017. On 24 February 2022, upon an appeal by the Director of the Board for Pensions, the Court of Appeal partly amended the judgment and determined that the coefficient of the applicant’s pension for the years 1976-1990 should be 0%, holding that in that period she had served a totalitarian regime. The court considered, however, that the applicant should retain the rights to her pension in the full amount as regards her service after she had passed the verification procedure in 1990. On 18 May 2023 the Supreme Court refused to examine the cassation appeals of both parties.
On 20 August 2024 the Minister of Internal Affairs and Administration excluded the application of sections 15c, 22a and 24a in relation to the applicant. Consequently, she became eligible to receive the pension in the amount determined before its decrease in 2017.
On 19 September 2024 the Director of the Board for Pensions redetermined the amount of the applicant’s pension and on 26 September 2024 she was paid the outstanding pension due from 1 October 2017 until 30 September 2024.
Law – Article 1 of Protocol No. 1:
Following the redetermination and retrospective payment of the applicant’s old-age pension in 2024, the circumstances complained of no longer obtained and the effects of a possible violation of the Convention on account of those circumstances had been redressed.
As regards the applicant’s arguments that she had been paid the amount due without interest, it appeared that she was free to claim damages before the domestic courts and to request any outstanding interest.
Accordingly, the matter giving rise to the application under Article 1 of Protocol No. 1 could be considered to have been “resolved”.
Conclusion: struck out (unanimously).
© Council of Europe/European Court of Human Rights
This summary by the Registry does not bind the Court.
To access legal summaries in English or French click here.
For non-official translations into other languages click here.