Czasopismo Prawa Karnego i Nauk Penalnych
Czasopismo Prawa Karnego i Nauk Penalnych to kwartalnik naukowy założony w 1997 r. w Krakowie. Obejmuje zagadnienia prawa karnego materialnego, procesu karnego, prawa wykonawczego i kryminologii, teorii i filozofii prawa karnego oraz problemy z pogranicza prawa karnego i innych nauk społecznych. Łączymy idee najwyższych standardów badań z realnym wpływem na tworzenie, wykładnię i stosowanie prawa karnego. Pielęgnujemy najlepsze tradycje naukowe Krakowskiej Szkoły Prawa Karnego.
Krakowski Instytut Prawa Karnego Fundacja. Polska Akademia Umiejętności
Odpowiedzialność odszkodowawcza Skarbu Państwo za „pomyłki sądowe” – polskie doświadczenia i rozwiązania prawne
In recent years, Poland has seen significant legislative changes in the criminal procedure which also affected State Treasury’s liability for „judicial errors”. These amendments and the frequency with which they were introduced underscore the need for appropriate analysis on the extent to which the law currently in force ensures effective compensation. The assessment is undertaken from the perspectives of international regulations, constitutional standards, as well as practical experiences. The following paper concentrates on the liability of the State Treasury for unfair application of coercive measures in criminal proceedings.
Prawa autorskie (c) 2026 Krakowski Instytut Prawa Karnego Fundacja https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0
Charakter prawny wniosku odwoławczego w procesie karnym (art. 29 § 2 Kodeksu postępowania karnego)
The purpose of this work is to analyze the legal nature of demands contained in the appeal, including their function in the criminal trial, as well as to determine whether and to what extent their content is binding on the appellate court, and whether the appellant is entitled to amend them during the appeal proceedings. The article focuses on presenting the views expressed so far in this matter in the literature of polish criminal procedure and jurisprudence of criminal courts. In the next step, the author analyzes the possible impact of the amendment of July 19, 2019, on those views. The article also contains the presentation of how to interpret Article 29 § 2 of the Code of Criminal Procedure in its current wording.
Odpowiedzialność karna parlamentarzysty za zachowania się prowadzące de facto do nielegalnej zmiany konstytucyjnego ustroju Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej
The article concerns the problem of criminal responsibility for parliamentarian’s conventional acts in the legislative process, primarily voting, which result in the adoption of a normative act whose content remains in conflict with constitutional norms to such an extent that it means the factual illegal change of the constitutional system of the state with the circumvention of the procedure provided for in the constitution. The author analyses the issue from the perspective of the concepts of excess of authority and neglect of duty. The study includes considerations concerning the contents and scope of application of parliamentary immunity.
the Constitution of the Republic of Poland
Zbieg przestępstw czy zbieg kar? (na marginesie postanowienia Sądu Najwyższego z dnia 13 listopada 2019 r., I KZP 8/19)
The main purpose of this article is to discuss the consequences of changes made to the premises of the aggravated penalty by the amendment to the Criminal Code of February 20, 2015. The main part of the analysis consists of critical remarks to the Supreme Court’s opinion in the above-mentioned matter. The article includes historical, systemic, and functional arguments in favor of the position according to which the concurrence of penalties is not a premise of the aggravated penalty.
Podstawy zaskarżenia skargi z art. 7 § 1 Kodeksu karnego wykonawczego na decyzje organów wykonujących orzeczenia (zagadnienia wybrane)
The text refers to the grounds for complaint under Article 7 § 1 of the Executive Criminal Code (k.k.w.) against decisions of authorities executing judgments in criminal cases. Article 7 § 1 k.k.w. indicates that such a decision can be challenged because of its contrariety to law. This expression has a very broad meaning. Therefore, it is possible to contest the findings on which the decision is based, as well as the disparity of the penalty imposed on the convicted.
Postępowanie dowodowe w przypadku usprawiedliwionej nieobecności oskarżonego lub obrońcy (art. 378a Kodeksu postępowania karnego)
The article presents the normative analysis of Article 378a of the Code of Criminal Procedure (k.p.k.) and discusses the following issues: the premises for, and the scope of evidentiary proceedings in the event of a justified absence of the accused or defence counsel, and the grounds for an appeal against the court’s decision on the application of this mode of proceedings. The above-mentioned Article is also analyzed in the context of constitutional standard (i.e. Article 42 Section 2, Article 45 Section 1, Article 2, and Article 31 Section 3 of the Polish Constitution) and the case-law of the European Court of Human Rights. These considerations are supplemented by an examination of possible threats to procedural guarantees arising from the application of Article 378a k.p.k., as well as with de lege ferenda postulates. In summary, the author gives his assessment of the provision in question.
Neuroprawo: próba zaklasyfikowania dowodu w postaci obrazowania mózgu z badania fMRI w polskim procesie karnym
“Neurolaw” is an interdisciplinary field that combines issues related to law and other sciences such as psychology or criminology. The emergence of this field is associated with the rapid development of new techniques and research methods. This article focuses on the possibility of using functional magnetic resonance imaging in a criminal trial. To prove whether it is possible to use an fMRI image as evidence in a criminal trial, linguistic, systemic, and functional interpretations of given legal provisions were presented. The only reasonable solution seems to be to admit such evidence as a part of psychiatric expert evidence or to conduct an fMRI test during an expert examination using technical means which allow controlling the unconscious reactions of the subject’s organism.
Konstrukcja art. 157 § 4 i § 5 k.k. a ochrona pokrzywdzonych będących osobami najbliższymi
Before the amendment in 2010, regulation of Article 157 of the Polish Criminal Code was clearer, and thus gave the injured party a better chance to react appropriately in the event of being injured by this type of prohibited act. Currently, § 4 of this Article prefers the protection of the immediate family members who live together with a perpetrator. However, this regulation does not pay the same attention to other persons who could also live together with such perpetrators. Moreover, it is more “profitable” for a perpetrator to pour boiling water on his sister than to scratch her hand with a fingernail, because the defective regulation has led to a distortion of the amendment’s aim which was to prevent domestic violence. Furthermore, the regulation does not comply with the definition of domestic violence and it does not regulate the problem in more reprehensible cases, while with minor injuries it interferes before domestic violence even takes place.
Aborcja w orzecznictwie Sądu Najwyższego USA
The paper presents the analysis of the jurisprudence of the US Supreme Court in cases concerning criminalization and admissibility of abortion which fundamentally influences the law in force concerning abortion in the US. In particular, attention is given to arguments stated by individual judges and justification of their judgments. The paper confronts conclusions from reading the justifications of the decisions of the US Supreme Court and the accompanying opinions of scholars with the only Polish decision in this respect that has been published so far, i.e. the judgment of the Constitutional Tribunal of May 28, 1997, as well as with numerous judgments of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR). In the conclusion, it is argued that there are certain important similarities between the Strasbourg and the American approach to the rationale behind a legal intervention in the procedure of terminating a pregnancy, while significant differences in the approach to available methods and purpose of imposing restrictions on abortion remains.
Przestępstwo fałszowania świadectwa depozytowego
The paper discusses the amendment to the Act on Trading in Financial Instruments which introduced Article 178i criminalizing forgery of a certificate of deposit, or use of such forged document. Taking into account the current provisions of the Polish Criminal Code concerning false documents, the authors conclude that the amendment, in the commented scope, is unnecessary. Moreover, no relevant amendments have been made to the Polish Code of Commercial Companies, therefore Article 18 of this act will not apply to the persons convicted under Article 178i of the Act on Trading in Financial Instruments.
Warunkowe zawieszenie wykonania kar jednostkowych i kary łącznej (na marginesie uchwały siedmiu sędziów Sądu Najwyższego z dnia 21 listopada 2001 r., I KZP 14/01)
The major topic of the article is the outcome of the amendment of February 20, 2015, to Article 89 § 1 of the Polish Criminal Code. The author presents critical remarks to the position expressed by the Supreme Court in the resolution of November 21, 2001.
conditional suspension of the enforcement of the imposed penalty
Odpowiedzialność karna kontrolera Najwyższej Izby Kontroli za przestępstwo fałszu intelektualnego
The article analyses the elements of the crime of intellectual forgery, with particular emphasis on the criminal liability of auditors of the Supreme Audit Office (NIK) for certifying falsehood in the post-control statements. The author presents that NIK auditors are public officers within the meaning of Article 115 § 13 of the Polish Criminal Code (k.k.). It is also presented that the post-control statement is the document within the meaning of Article 271 k.k. and it contains a certification of the legally significant circumstances by an authorized person. The aim of this article is to demonstrate the possibility of imposing criminal liability for the crime described in Article 271 k.k. on the NIK auditors.
Bezpośredni zakaz reformationis in peius a rozstrzygnięcia sądu odwoławczego w przedmiocie kosztów procesu
The article concerns the relation of the reformationis in peius prohibition and the decisions of the appellate court regarding the costs of proceedings, in particular the fee from Article 8 of the Act on Fees in Criminal Proceedings. The author analyses the institution stated in Article 426 § 2 and Article 434 of the Polish Code of Criminal Procedure (k.p.k.), taking the position that the prohibition stated in Article 434 k.p.k. applies to decisions regarding the costs of proceedings. Particular consideration was given to Article 8 of the Act on Fees in Criminal Proceedings. The author states that this provision is contrary to the idea of reformationis in peius prohibition and seems to be inconsistent with the constitutional model of the right to appeal and the principle of two-instance proceedings.
Zasada odpowiedniego vacatio legis jako część zasady przyzwoitej legislacji – uwagi z perspektywy prawa karnego
The paper concerns the role of the principle of appropriate vacatio legis in substantive criminal law. The author starts from the role of system principles within branches of law. Next, he indicates the admissibility of deriving specific principles from principles already known. First, the author indicates the role of the principle of decent legislation, and then the role of the principle of appropriate vacatio legis derived from the first principle.
Normy compliance w strukturze odpowiedzialności karnej za przestępstwa gospodarcze
The purpose of compliance norms is to ensure the lawfulness of conduct. For the theory of criminal law, they may set the standard appropriate to the rules of conduct with legal goods. The sources of compliance norms can be legally binding regulations, as well as non-binding regulations, such as codes of good practices or business habits. Therefore, the compliance norms exemplify the rules of conduct with legal good in concreto, and thus may be used to interpret criminal unlawfulness contained in the sanctioned norm in the cases of white-collar crimes, where the criminality of a given behaviour is also determined by the breach of the economic norms.
Glosa do wyroku Europejskiego Trybunału Praw Człowieka z 21 lipca 2020 r. w sprawie Velkov v. Bułgaria (kumulacja postępowań za ten sam czyn)
The judgment of the European Court of Human Rights in Velkov v. Bulgaria case regards the accumulation of proceedings concerning penal responsibility for the same act. If there is ”a sufficiently close connection in substance and time” between such proceedings, they are treated as integrated ”mixed” proceedings. The criteria for the assessment of those connections between proceedings were formulated in the judgment in A and B v. Norway case. This judgment was met with fair criticism, which was mainly due to the imprecise nature of the given criteria. However, the judgment in Velkov v. Bulgaria case demonstrates that the adoption of these criteria does not mean that the accumulation of penal responsibility for the same act is generally permissible, and a careful examination of the connections between proceedings from the perspective of the above-mentioned criteria may lead to the assessment of the accumulation as inadmissible in the light of Article 4 of Protocol No. 7 to the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms.
Art. 10c tarczy antykryzysowej – czy to przepis na bezkarność władzy?
The study concerns the provision of Article 10c of the so-called anti-crisis shield which excludes criminal liability for behavior related to combating the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. Although this provision has lost its binding force, its temporal scope covers numerous socially significant behaviors the criminal evaluation of which does not seem to be unreasonable. The discussion of this imprecise provision aims to formulate a catalog of premises for the application of this institution which can be useful when circumstances arise that allow authorities for the prosecution of the above-mentioned behaviors. The method of pro-constitutional interpretation turns out to be very important in the context of decoding the normative content of the provision because a literal reading could lead to completely unacceptable effects in a democratic state ruled by law and based on the principle of legalism.
Kara pieniężna za naruszenie zakazu przemieszczania się przez osobę niepełnoletnią w stanie epidemii COVID-19
The paper concerns the possibility to impose a financial administrative penalty on a minor for a violation of the restriction on movement without the adult, which was introduced by the ministerial regulations. These provisions referred to the Tax Ordinance Act and did not include any exceptions related to, for example, the difficult situation of the minor’s family due to the epidemic outbreak. There was also a question of whether a minor can be held responsible for violation of such restriction. Equally impor- tant is the problem of applying lex mitior principle in administrative law and the issue of opportunism.
Przestępstwo samouwolnienia a system dozoru elektronicznego i praca poza zakładem karnym
The authors, referring to the problems faced by the Supreme Court, analyse the elements of crime stated in Article 242 § 1 of the Polish Criminal Code, in particular, the phrase “being deprived of liberty”. Taking into account the functions of this provision, they conclude it should be applied neither to persons serving sentences in the electronic monitoring system, nor those employed outside a prison without a guard.
Karalność tworzenia i rozpowszechniania fałszywych treści pornograficznych deepfake
The article examines the criminal responsibility for the creation and dissemination of pornographic deepfake content under Polish criminal law. The dogmatic-legal analysis reveals that these acts are only selectively criminalized, most notably under the provisions on defamation and insult, and a significant number of cases are not punishable. Subsequently, the feasibility of a new provision expressly criminalizing this phenomenon and its optimal formulation are considered. The author proposes the introduction of a new provision criminalizing the dissemination of a manufactured or processed image of another person without his or her consent if the image may give the impression that the person is naked or is in the course of sexual activity.
Prawa autorskie (c) 2025 Krakowski Instytut Prawa Karnego Fundacja https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0
Optymalizowanie odpowiedzialności karnej. Postdeliktualne klauzule bezkarności – przydatne narzędzie kryminalnopolityczne czy wyraz niezdecydowania prawa materialnego?
Criminal law provides a variety tools for optimizing the scope of eventual criminal liability of an individual. Some of them are associated with the act’s or perpetrator’s features that determine due to axiological reasons the lack or strong reduction of liability. There is however another category of instruments that determine the lack of liability based on a behavior of a perpetrator undertaken after the crime has been committed. What is the rationalization behind such a peculiar solution? Why the legislature considers it as a useful tool? In this paper some threads of that rationalization are analyzed and explained.
Europejski Nakaz Dowodowy w sprawach karnych (zagadnienia wybrane)
The article gives an overview of selected issues concerning the provisions of the Directive regarding the European Investigation Order in Criminal Matters. First, it starts with an introduction to the topic and takes a brief look at the background of the EIO (pt 1). The reader is then provided with an abstract of the most important provisions of the Directive (pt 2) and an overview of the grounds for refusal (pt 3). These topics are followed by two special issues: the „forum regit actum” principle in Article 9 (pt 4) and the relation between the grounds of refusal and the possibility to have recourse to a different type of investigative measure (pt 5).
Kettling jako pozbawienie wolności na gruncie polskiego prawa
One of the techniques of operational activities used by police officers is kettling. It involves police officers encircling or surrounding a group of people, usually part of a public gathering. This paper tackles this operational technique from the perspective of both international law and Polish Constitution. It provides an in depth analysis of intertwined character of variety of regulation regarding the concept of „deprivation of liberty”.
Udział w przestępstwie na podstawie austriackiej monistycznej teorii sprawstwa
The law knows an exception to almost every rule. In general, one should only digress from its general principles as far as the individual case requires. The need for uniform treatment of cases is more than a mere dogma; much rather is it precisely the consistent application of a rule that guarantees equal treatment of equal matters. Therefore, it is for jurisprudence to reveal contradicting evaluations of cases and try to standardize them. Accordingly, any deviation from the general participation model by the model of participation in special offences appears to require justification. This paper analyses this particular problem from the Austrian perspective.
Nowe ujęcie rozróżnienia pomiędzy zamiarem a nieumyślnością
This paper focuses on the substantive law problem of whether certain types of car accidents, namely those caused due to extremely extensive speed (i.a. „daredevil” street races) may be qualified by using not the provisions typically describing traffic offences, but the general provisions related to i.a. murder (or attempted murder). The prevailing opinion of Austrian jurisprudence and legal doctrine requires for the intent that, in addition to being aware of a substantial risk, a further positive mental statement must be demonstrated, which means a voluntary decision to accept explicitly the impending result has to be proven. Is this the only possible interpretation?
Obowiązki gwaranta w zakresie zarządu przedsiębiorstwem
According to the Austrian Criminal Code, in case of an offence committed by omission, in addition to the elements of the active commission of a criminal offence, the requirements of § 2 StGB must be fulfilled in order to trigger criminal liability. This paper focuses on issues related to the liability of corporate management whose inactivity in certain spheres may invoke some substantial damage to the assets of the company.
Obowiązkowe środki o charakterze medycznym w prawie karnym Republiki Kazachstanu
This study concerns the institution of compulsory medical measures in the criminal law of the Republic of Kazakhstan. Concurrently, the analysis will be juxtaposed to the regulations in force in the Russian Federation, as the leading system among the countries of the former Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, and the solutions in force in the criminal law of the Republic of Uzbekistan, as an exemplar of a traditional approach to the adopted solutions regarding compulsory medical measures. The provisions adopted in the criminal law of Kazakhstan provide many interesting viewpoints. These include the codification of health protection legislation, and, from the position of the Polish system, regulations concerning the possibility of treatment as part of security measures for perpetrators whose mental health deteriorated during the proceedings before the court, and the perpetrator was sane at the time of the act.