The first part of the publication presents the legal and social background for the adoption of the Act of 19 July 2019 on ensuring accessibility to people with specific needs (Journal of Laws of 2020, item 1062, as amended), pointing to its special role and addressing disability issues. The second part focuses on the objective and subjective scope of the Act. The Act is not the first act of accessibility law in Poland. In the diagnosis of accessibility, the project implementer of the Act noted that the provisions of law in this respect are, however, dispersed and insufficiently effective. They came to the conclusion that accessibility should be a horizontal principle in the implementation of all public policies. One of the instruments for the implementation of the principle of accessibility was to be an act which broadly defined measures to ensure various aspects of accessibility for people with specific needs and the obligations of public entities in this respect. The goal is to be achieved through the use of universal design and reasonable accommodation in three areas of accessibility and to the extent resulting from at least the minimum requirements. Public entities also have obligations to take into account the needs of people with specific needs in planning activities, removing and preventing the emergence of barriers.

The Act of 19 July 2019 on ensuring accessibility to persons with specific needs (Journal of Laws of 2020, item 1062) is a special act for a number of reasons. It has a horizontal and relatively comprehensive scope. It covers various areas of social life previously regulated by separate legal acts. Implementing the principle of accessibility from the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, it predates EU law in this regard. It treats the issue of disability in a mainstream manner/way. In the sense that it addresses different groups of people with even temporary difficulties related to the barriers they face. This does not mean that the solutions adopted are free of defects. Many of them are pointed out in detail in the commentary to the Act (Roszewska, (ed.), 2021). Regardless of the substantive assessment of the act itself, it certainly deserves a look at the grounds for its introduction. The aforementioned UN Convention has also been adopted by the EU. However, the interaction between human rights conventions and EU law is complex. The social background of the law's adoption/of the enactment of the act was also unique. It was preceded by an intensive social campaign of the community of persons with disabilities for accessibility, which culminated in the adoption of the Accessibility Plus Program. One of its results is precisely the act on ensuring accessibility to persons with specific needs. Part one is devoted to these issues. In part two, the scope of the act will be indicated.