Foreigner as a perpetrator of crime in the Polish criminal process (rights and obligations)

Abstract

The refugee crisis on the Polish-Belarusian border related to the appearance on the border of a significant number of people who were brought to the territory of Belarus and then directed to the territory of Poland in an organized manner by Belarusian services led to a number of actions by, among others, Polish authorities, the legal aspects of which required urgent elaboration. This article addresses the issue of a foreigner as a perpetrator of crime in the Polish criminal process. As a rule, foreigners who have committed a crime or a misdemeanor on the territory of Poland bear the same responsibility as Polish citizens. In the proceedings pending against them, they are subjects of certain rights and obligations on the same terms as Poles. In the context of the events that have been taking place over the past few months against foreigners with the involvement of state services and authorities, it is worth noting the basic rights and obligations of foreigners from the moment they are detained in connection with their alleged commission of a crime to which the Polish Criminal Law will apply.