The paper constitutes an attempt at presenting the views of legal scholars and commentators and the judicature on the possibility of attributing criminal liability under Article 197 of the Polish Criminal Code and Article 198 of the Polish Criminal Code to the perpetrator in the case of alcohol consumption by the injured party. This issue is the basis of a crucial dogmatic problem, extremely up-to-date from the point of view of the study of criminal law, since the solution thereof determines the criminal liability of the alleged perpetrator. Therefore, the analysed issue raises the question of the limits of impunity for violations in the sphere of sexual life of the injured party in comparison with the features and circum- stances directly related to the victim. Thus, the paper attempts to answer the question wheth- er actions belonging to so-called sexual offences should be predominantly assessed with the use of a literal interpretation or taking into account the formal-dogmatic interpretation.
The author examines one of the notorious elements of Nazi criminal law, i.e. castration of sexual offenders introduced in 1933. The issue is analysed in the context of documents of the Provizialverband Niederschlesien, preserved in the State Archives in Wrocław, which include fi les entitled Kastration der Sexualverbrecher. The paper combines an analysis — carried out from the point of view of the legal dogma — of Third Reich laws (amended Articles 42k and 226a of the StGB) with the literature on the subject. However, the author’s main objective is to discuss the surviving archive documents from Silesia.
The subject matter of this work constitutes the comparison of the legal regulations governing the obligation to report cases of child sexual abuse in Poland, Austria, and the Federal Republic of Germany. The authors have focused on the analysis of the method of reporting the crime of paedophilia, the legal and social consequences of the failure to notify of that kind of offence, and the differences in the legislative, administrative, social, and educational measures taken to protect a child’s welfare.
PL
Przedmiotem opracowania jest porównanie regulacji prawnych w zakresie obowiązku zgłoszenia przypadków wykorzystania seksualnego dzieci w Polsce, Austrii i Republice Federalnej Niemiec. Autorki skupiły się na analizie sposobu realizacji zgłoszenia przestępstwa pedofilii, konsekwencji prawnych i społecznych niezawiadomienia oraz na różnicach w podejmowanych działaniach ustawodawczych, administracyjnych, społecznych i wychowawczych służących ochronie dobra dziecka.
The purpose of this article is to present results of an examination of judicial records of cases relating to the article 200 of Criminal Code in two judicial districts. It is essential to construct a profile of a perpetrator and a profile of a victim of this offense, particularly in those cases committed by young people. Also, if possible, to answer a question whether the present legal regulation is adequate to control minors’ sexual activity. Interesting issues are the age difference between the perpetrator and the victim, the existence (or not) of some close relation between them, and also the impact of those factors on the decision of a court. Equally important are reasons of reporting the cases to law enforcement, the basis for initiation of criminal proceedings and final sentences. The objective of this study was also to check whether the reduction of age of consent or the introduction of “close in age exception” would reduce the number of convicted young offenders, who were participants of consensual sexual relations with minors under 15 years old. The analysis of data obtained is carried out in the context of socio-cultural acceptance of sexual behavior of youth, legal regulations of protection of their reproductive health, the impact of media and information technologies, as well as the history of childhood and perception of children’s sexuality. Non-criminal-law factors have very significant impact on the knowledge young people have, on the sexual needs they have, and finally implementation of those in everyday life. This study is part of the doctoral thesis analyzing the problem of sexual offenses committed by or against minors, partly illustrating the phenomenon and the problems arising from the criminal law regulations of sexual behavior of young people. This research is not representative for the whole country, because of the limited geographical scope, but allows to draw relevant conclusions and confirm or deny previously constructed hypotheses. It is also possible to prediagnose emerging problems and to present the potential legal solutions, currently existing in other countries, both in Europe and worldwide.
Not only have the regulations in criminal law concerning the crime of rape changed over the years, but so has the evident process of the transformation of its cultural context. In the early decades of the 20th century, physical traces of violence – visible bodily harm experienced by the victim – was required as proof of rape. The 1970s brought an entirely different social image of the phenomenon, revealing that “date rape” constitutes the majority of all acts of rape. Cultural circumstances play a key role in the process of naming an act rape. Statistical data also allow for the claim that the shift in prosecuting cases of the crime of rape has neither resulted in an increase in the number of reported rapes nor in a decrease in the number of such unreported crimes.
PL
Na przestrzeni lat zmieniały się prawnokarne regulacje dotyczące przestępstwa zgwałcenia, przede wszystkim jednak widoczny jest proces przeobrażania kontekstu kulturowego. W pierwszych dekadach XX w. jako dowodu zgwałcenia wymagano śladów przemocy, obrażeń na ciele ofiary. Lata 70. XX w. ukazały już zupełnie inny obraz społeczny tego zjawiska, ujawniając w strukturze zgwałceń przeważający udział tzw. zgwałceń randkowych. Uwarunkowania kulturowe odgrywają kluczową rolę w procesie uznania zachowania za gwałt. W świetle danych statystycznych można również postawić tezę, że zmiana trybu ścigania przestępstwa zgwałcenia nie wpłynęła ani na wzrost stwierdzonych przestępstw zgwałcenia, ani na zmniejszenie ciemnej liczby gwałtów.
Celem prezentowanego badania było sprawdzenie, czy u sprawców przestępstw seksualnych występują deficyty rozpoznawania emocji. Nie stwierdzono obniżonej zdolności w tym zakresie u sprawców skazanych za pedofilię ani za gwałty na osobach dorosłych. Rozpoznawali oni emocje podstawowe na wyższym poziomie niż sprawcy skazani za inne przestępstwa agresywne. W zależności od tego, czy emocje prezentowane były na twarzach osób dorosłych czy dzieci, kobiet czy mężczyzn, trafność ich rozpoznawania była zróżnicowana, co wskazywałoby na bardziej specyficzne mechanizmy. Skazani za przestępstwa seksualne, zwłaszcza za pedofilię, wykazywali jednak dłuższy czas reakcji na prezentowane zdjęcia z ekspresjami mimicznymi. Może to wskazywać, że ich trudności z funkcjonowaniem społecznym wynikać będą z wydłużonego czasu potrzebnego na podjęcie decyzji o czyimś stanie emocjonalnym.
EN
The aim of the study was to verify whether sex offenders exhibit emotion recognition deficits. No reduced level of emotion recognition skills was observed in men convicted of child molesting and rape of adults; they recognized basic emotions even better than violent non-sexual offenders. The accuracy of identifying emotions varied depending on whether the emotions were presented on faces of adults or children as well as males or females, which would indicate that emotion recognition is governed by more complex mechanisms. Sex offenders, especially those convicted of child molesting, exhibited a longer reaction time to facial expressions of emotion. These results suggest that difficulties they encounter in functioning in society may be due to extended time needed to establish one's emotional state.
The law amending art. 240 of the Penal Code has forced Polish Bishop’s Conference to amend the document titled the Guideliens for preliminary canonical investigation in the case of acts against the sixth commandment of the Ten Commandments with a minor under the age of eighteen enacted on 8 October 2014. The purpose of this article is to present, in the form of several comments, a critical assessment of the Guidelines made in the context of the principles of the principles technique and the amendment of the Penal Code.
PL
Ustawa zmieniająca znowelizowany art. 240 kodeksu karnego wymusiła na KEP nowelizację dokumentu zatytułowanego Wytyczne dotyczące wstępnego dochodzenia kanonicznego w przypadku oskarżeń duchownych o czyny przeciwko szóstemu przykazaniu Dekalogu z osobą niepełnoletnią poniżej osiemnastego roku życia z dnia 8 października 2014 r. Celem tego artykułu jest przedstawienie w formie kilku uwag krytycznej oceny Wytycznych dokonanej w kontekście zasad techniki legislacyjnej oraz wspomnianej nowelizacji kodeku karnego.
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