5.  The applicant was born in 1934 and lives in Toruń. 6.  The applicant requested that a certificate be issued that he had been carrying out forced labour during his military service. Such a service would have had incidence on the amount of his retirement pension. His claim was dismissed by a decision given by the first-instance administrative authority on 2 April 2007. The applicant appealed. The second-instance authority dismissed his appeal on 23 April 2007. 7.  The applicant appealed to the Bydgoszcz Regional Administrative Court. 8.  By a judgment of 29 August 2007 that court dismissed his appeal. This judgment was served on an unspecified date shortly after 17 September 2007. 9.  Shortly afterwards and, in any event, prior to 8 October 2007 the applicant requested that legal aid be granted to him for the purposes of the cassation proceedings. 10.  By a decision of 29 November 2007 the applicant’s request was granted. On 14 January 2008 the court requested the Bydgoszcz Bar Association to assign a lawyer to the case. By a letter of 16 January 2008 the Bar Association informed the applicant that lawyer D.K. was assigned to represent him for the purposes of the cassation proceedings. 11.  On 28 January 2008 the lawyer requested the applicant to give her a power of attorney. The applicant did so by a letter of 31 January 2008. 12.  By a letter of 17 March 2008 the lawyer informed the applicant that substantive law grounds for cassation appeal did not obtain in his case. Hence, it would have served no purpose to prepare such an appeal. She accordingly refused to do so. 13.  On 25 March 2008 the Bydgoszcz Regional Administrative Court refused to examine a request for retrospective leave to appeal out of time submitted by the legal-aid lawyer on an unspecified date before 4 March 2008. The court noted that she had submitted such a request, but it could not be allowed because she had failed to submit it together with the cassation appeal as required by the applicable procedural provisions (see paragraph 22 below). 14.  On the same day the applicant submitted his own request for retrospective leave to appeal out of time. 15.  On 7 May 2008 the Bydgoszcz Regional Administrative Court summoned the applicant to supplement that request by submitting a cassation appeal prepared and signed by a lawyer. 16.  On 19 May 2008 the applicant submitted a cassation appeal which he had prepared himself. 17.  On 12 June 2008 the court summoned the applicant to submit within seven days a cassation appeal prepared by a lawyer. 18.  The applicant failed to do so. By a decision of 3 July 2008 the Regional Court declined to examine the appeal submitted by the applicant. The applicant appealed. 19.  On 14 October 2008 the Supreme Administrative Court dismissed the applicant’s appeal against this decision.