‘Intervention’ Draft Amendment to the Penal Code in the Context of Changes Made to Criminal Law Pursuant to the Act of 7 July 2022 (Selected Problems)

Abstract

This study examines the changes in substantive criminal law already made and planned for the years 2022–2025. The starting point for the analysis is the issue of the motives for and scope of the changes introduced to the Penal Code under the Act of 7 July 2022, which radically tightened criminal liability, significantly increasing the level of punitiveness of criminal law, while being based on an unreliable diagnosis of the reality concerning the picture of crime. In this context, proposals for a corrective and, at the same time, interventionist amendment to the Penal Code of 14 June 2024, presented by the Criminal Law Codification Commission, are discussed. Expressing a positive opinion on the proposed changes, it is considered that their scope is narrow, and the need to undertake work on the preparation of a new Penal Code in the near future is indicated. Following the comments made on the draft amendments to the Penal Code prepared by the Codification Commission, a proposal for the government draft amendment to the Penal Code of 28 October 2024 (UD 153), developed on the basis of the draft of the Criminal Law Codification Commission and adopted by the Council of Ministers on 15 July 2025, is presented. Although the direction of changes in both drafts is similar, not all solutions proposed by the Codification Commission received government support. The final part of the study indicates those proposals of the Codification Commission that were rejected by the government, which points to a very narrow, albeit necessary, scope of the proposed amendment. Nevertheless, in the opinion of the author of the study, the proposed changes presented in the draft significantly increase the court’s discretion in the imposition of punishment and may contribute to the rationalisation of the administration of justice.