Criminal liability for undertaking duties in a foreign army (foreign military organization) or as a part of mercenary military service prohibited by international law (Article 141 §1 and 2 of the Polish Penal Code)

The Constitution of the Republic of Poland imposes on a citizen of the Republic of Poland the obligation to defend the Homeland (Article 85(1) of the Act of March 11, 2022 – Homeland Defense Act; Article 3(1) of the Act also stipulates that Polish citizens capable of performing this duty due to age and health are subject to the obligation to defend the state). Violation of this obligation may lead to the realization of criteria defining criminal acts specified in Chapter XVIII of the Act of June 6, 1997 – Polish Penal Code. The subject of the analysis regards crimes under Article 141 §1 and 2 of the Polish Penal Code. The fundamental problem is the issue of the defense capacity of the Republic of Poland, which may be threatened by the participation of Polish citizens in foreign troops and the destabilization of the international community by the actions of mercenary forces. The issue of service in a foreign army or the activities of mercenaries, in the perspective of numerous armed conflicts and the tense situation in regions with high political instability, becomes a very relevant issue, especially for those who take part in activities in this area due to their professional experience (professional soldiers, officers of special services).

The main theses of the Polish Supreme Court's recent decisions in penal and fiscal cases concerning the error of punishability under Article 10 § 4 of the Polish Penal and Fiscal Code in the context of the organization of gambling games

The article presents an overview of the recent decisions of the Polish Supreme Court on the institution of an error as to punishability under Article 10 § 4 of the Polish Penal and Fiscal Code, which originated in the context of the factual situations in the field of fiscal offenses of organizing illegal gambling under Article 107 § 1 of the Polish Penal and Fiscal Code. Based on the analyzed judgments, using the dogmatic-legal method, it is possible to reach general conclusions in the context of the criteria for recognizing an error of punishability as excusable and inexcusable. The subject of an error of punishability is the criminal legal status of the behavior that fulfills the elements of the criminal act. Mistake as to punishability means that the Polish Penal and Fiscal Code places fewer requirements on the perpetrator than in the Polish Criminal Code, since in the case of mistake as to the punishability of an act it is only a matter of not knowing that the act is punishable. The exemption of guilt in case of an error of punishability occurs only if the perpetrator's mistake is considered excusable, i.e., one that the perpetrator could not avoid, not due to their recklessness or negligence.

It is necessary to accept the general conclusion from the Polish Supreme Court's decisions about stricter requirements in the context of justifying the offender's unawareness of criminality as an entrepreneur, for in the case of a business person, as a rule, a personal model with a higher standard of requirements is expected.

The role of attorney-at-law as defense counsel of choice in pre-trial proceedings

This article aims to present selected issues related to the participation of an attorney-at-law in pre-trial proceedings in criminal cases as a defense counsel of choice (excluding offense cases, fiscal offenses and fiscal crimes), taking into account the relevant rights and obligations of attorneys-at-law in connection with the provision of legal assistance set by the regulations of the Act on Attorneys-at-Law, the Polish Code of Criminal Procedure, as well as rules of professional deontology, particularly the Code of Ethics for Attorneys-at-Law.

Signalling a gross breach of procedural duty by attorney-at-law in criminal proceedings

The purpose of this article is to present the institution of signalling a gross breach of procedural duties by an attorney-at-law who is a defense counsel or an attorney of a party in criminal proceedings. This institution is regulated by the provisions of Article 20 of the Polish Code of Criminal Procedure, while this provision is also applicable in other procedures: proceedings in cases regarding fiscal crimes and fiscal offenses, misdemeanour proceedings and executive criminal proceedings. The analysis of the applicable regulation leads to the conclusion that signalling constitutes an action of the procedural authorities "outside" the pending criminal proceedings. A notification of a breach of a procedural duty addressed by a public prosecutor or a court to the council of the competent district chamber of attorneys-at-law does not in itself hold the alleged offending attorney-at-law liable for professional liability. The decision as to whether any consequences are to be drawn against him or her as a result of the finding of a violation is taken autonomously by the organs of the attorneys-at-law self-government. They are obliged to take action about the prosecutor's or court's signalling, and the dean of the council is obliged to inform the body of the violation of such action.

Representation of a juvenile victim in criminal proceedings

This article concerns the representation of a juvenile victim. It analyzes the differences between the statutory representative, the person under whose constant care the injured party remains and the child's representative. The article aims to draw attention to a situation in which there is a conflict of interests between the representative representing a juvenile victim and the other parent, which entails the need to exclude the representation of the juvenile victim by the statutory representative, giving primacy to the child's representative.

Can the polygraph be a resource to aid defense attorneys in the criminal process?

Article 2(1)(1) of the Polish Code of Criminal Procedure indicates that its provisions intend to shape the criminal process so that the perpetrator of a crime is detected and held criminally responsible, while a person who has not been proven guilty is not. For this to happen, defense counsel must be able to use the tools that make it feasible to realise the constitutional right to defense by effectively rebutting the accusation. Polygraph tests, which have been present in the Polish criminal procedure for several decades, can successfully serve such a purpose. Their results in the majority of cases constitute exculpatory evidence for the persons examined. Unfortunately, they are still wrongly perceived as a method for detecting lies and providing proof of guilt.

Conditional early release from life imprisonment – considerations in the light of the amendment to the Polish Penal Code

This article discusses the issue of conditional early release from life imprisonment. In the beginning, the author presents the characteristics of life imprisonment and the institution of conditional early release. Then, the author focuses on the changes introduced in the provisions of the Polish Penal Code regarding conditional early release from life imprisonment, pointing out the doubts and controversies related to them.

Selected issues of the practice of interruption and postponement of the execution of a sentence

This article focuses on selected issues in the practice of parole, postponed execution of sentences and the challenges arising from their implementation. It attempts to analyse the institution of a conditional early release from the remainder of a prison sentence under Article 155 of the Polish Executive Penal Code, which introduces a probationary element into the process of granting parole. It addresses the aspects that are most difficult to interpret. In the context of postponed executions of sentences, the article draws attention to the problem of competition with the electronic monitoring system. Furthermore, the article discusses the provisions of Article 9 § 4 of the Polish Executive Penal Code in light of amendments effective on January 1, 2023.

The study also looks at a topic rarely discussed in the literature, namely the gap in the scope of parole and postponement during the implementation of security measures. The analysis examines the current regulations in the context of the aims and nature of psychiatric detention, parole and deferred sentences. The article concludes by proposing a direction for interpreting the current legislation and makes de lege lata and de lege ferenda suggestions.

Remarks on the new shape of psychiatric internment. Practical and executive penal law perspective

The publication presents the most important regulations concerning the 2015 amendment of the system of protective measures. The main focus is analyzing the most distressing measure, i.e. the placement of the offender in a psychiatric establishment. Psychiatric internment was examined mainly from the perspective of the Polish Executive Penal Law proceedings and, to a limited extent, also in the criminal law context. The article identifies the advantages and disadvantages of the new psychiatric internment’s construction and points out the impact of that changed institution on the practice of implementing these protective measures. For this reason, the science paper presents a range of de lege lata and de lege ferenda suggestions, which may be helpful for attorneys and legal counsels in the performance of their work in the enforcement stage of criminal proceedings.

Dilemmas within the case law of administrative courts on the abuse of the right to public information

The right to public information is one of the systemic principles of the functioning of the state. However, restrictions in access to this particular right form exceptions to the constitutional principle. Recently, the case law of administrative courts and the views of legal authors and commentators have begun to invoke the framework of the abuse of the right to public information as a circumstance based on which an entity may deny the applicant access to information. In the absence of statutory regulation, the boundaries and guidelines for applying the framework of the abuse of the right to public information are set by the case law of administrative courts. When analysing the most recent rulings of the Supreme Administrative Court of Poland and the provincial administrative courts, one can see a certain dualism in the applicability of the framework in question. The lack of uniformity in this respect stems primarily from the need to balance the values between respecting the constitutional principle of the right to public information and the possibility of limiting it in events of abuse of an individual's right.

As a result of the analysis of the recent case law of administrative courts, a position is outlined indicating that, according to the dominant line of case law, entities obliged to provide public information may invoke the framework mentioned above to protect themselves from actions that are contrary to the assumptions of the Polish Act on Access to Public Information.

Gloss to the judgment of the Court of Appeals in Warsaw of June 14, 2023, case file no. II AKa 272/22 concerning compensation for undoubtedly wrongful detention (approving)

In the glossed decision, the Court of Appeals addressed the issue of compensation for unquestionably wrongful arrest. The Court of Appeals, while awarding the amount of PLN 15,000 on this ground, stated that it is adequate to the duration of deprivation of liberty, the physical suffering and negative psychological experiences suffered by the claimant, while also corresponding to the current socio-economic realities in Poland, without causing undue enrichment. The approving gloss to this ruling refers more extensively to the required standards regarding arrest and the procedural guarantees to which a detained person is entitled. Separate considerations concern the criteria for measuring compensation for unquestionably wrongful arrest.

Overview of the decisions of the Polish Supreme Court

The judgment of the Polish Supreme Court of December 20, 2023 (case file no. III CZP 41/23) is of particular importance for legal practice. The Court indicated that in the case of notifying the party or their representative about the impossibility of preparing a justification for the contested decision, appealing against this decision is not conditioned upon the effective submission of a request for justification and the delivery of the decision along with the justification. In the judgment of December 14, 2023 (case file no. III CZP 32/23), the Polish Supreme Court stated that in divorce cases, both those not concluded by July 3, 2021, and those initiated between July 3, 2021, and April 14, 2023, the first-instance court shall adjudicate with a single judge unless the president of the court orders the case to be heard by a panel of three judges. If such a case is heard by a single judge and two lay judges, the proceedings are null and void (Article 379 point 4 of the Polish Code of Civil Procedure).