Remarks on the direction of changes of substantive criminal law in the years 2015–2019

Abstract

The author of the study presents the main assumptions carried out under the penal codification of 1997. She refers to the most extensive amendments of the Penal Code that entered into force on 1st July 2015 and also to the amendments provided for in the Act of 13th June 2019, that were re-ferred by the President of the Republic of Poland to the Constitutional Tribunal on 28th June 2019. In the course of considerations, the author refers to the most frequently discussed regulations, that point out the formation of a new philosophy of punishment. She has reservations about the direction of the changes that significantly increase the range of punitive measures of the penal system and set the direction of penal policy aimed at a distinct tightening of criminal repression. The author emphasises the inconsistency of system solutions, casts doubt on their legitimacy and expresses disapproval regarding the recently adopted strategy for the development of penal law.