The article concerns the report by The New York Times correspondent, Paul Staats Underwood, concerning the Polish draft Criminal Code of 1963. It discusses the main issues, which Underwood concludes lead to a negative overall view of the draft code. One of the issues addressed is the public opinion about increasing penalization of social and economic life in the Polish People’s Republic. The study also discusses the reaction of ministerial authorities to the publication of the text by Underwood in The New York Times. In addition, the analysis covers the reasons for such a one-sided negative assessment of the draft and the question of whether the journalist was motivated by a desire to cause the rejection of another draft of the Criminal Code of the Polish People’s Republic.