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Mixed marriage in Indonesia: joint property and foreign land ownership restrictions

100%
Mujiburohman D. A., Salim M. N., Junarto R., Sutaryono
Data a výzkum - SDA Info (Data and Research - SDA Info)
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2023
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vol. 13
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issue 4
424-435
EN
The purpose of this study is to examine joint properties in mixed marriages and restrictions on foreign land ownership, as laws pertaining to mixed marriages are frequently ambiguous and difficult to comprehend, including those regarding joint property. The majority of couples in mixed marriages don’t make an agreement regarding the division of assets, as is necessary under the Marriage Law. In the absence of a marriage contract, joint assets are mixed, which means that foreigners own fifty percent of the joint assets. The Land Law (UUPA) prohibits foreigners from possessing land rights other than usufruct and rental rights. This study shows that the land ownership status of Indonesian citizens is the same as that of foreign citizens if a couple in a mixed marriage does not reach an agreement regarding the division of assets. The Marriage Law requires the separation of assets in mixed marriages both at the time of agreement and at the time of consummation, and the institution of marriage can facilitate legal evasion and smuggling in order to acquire land rights in Indonesia.
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Polityka karna wobec cudzoziemców przebywających w Polsce

87%
Wiktorska P., Rychlik M.
Archiwum Kryminologii
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2016
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issue XXXVIII
61-91
EN
The paper focuses on penal policy, or to be more accurate, on its part related to “the operation of the courts of law with a view to preventing and reducing the crime rate through the application of criminal law,”1 though with regard to a selected group only, i.e. foreign nationals who reside in Poland. In very simple terms, it addresses the policy of punishments and punitive measures pursued with respect to foreign nationals who have committed offences expressly prohibited by Polish criminal law, and were subsequently embraced by a formal system of social supervision. The studies at issue were conducted on the basis of statistical data collected by the Ministry of Justice. They comprise information on the kinds of punishment and punitive measures applied to foreign nationals for committing respective types of criminal offences, as revealed and discovered by Polish justice system throughout the country, in the period spanning 2004–2012. It appears that an 8-year period of scrutiny regarding the application of penal policy to foreign nationals allows for the identification of all attendant key trends, as well as any portents of forthcoming changes. An appraisal of the structure of criminal offences committed by foreign nationals reveals that they fall most frequently (87% in total) within 5 key categories, i.e. 21% of convictions against the credibility of documents, 20% against public order, 18% against the safety of transportation, 15% fraud, 13% against property. Criminal offences falling within the scope of other legislative constraints that serve as the conviction basis against foreign nationals are encountered much less frequently and comprise primarily offences against: human life and health, the justice system, family and family care, sexual freedom, public security, environment, commercial endeavours, and against the Republic of Poland. There are also criminal offences whose characteristics fall within the scope of other legal classifications than those comprised in Polish Criminal Code, usually the following ones: the Polish Fiscal Penal Code of September 10, 1999 (Journal of Laws of 1999, No. 83, Item. 930), the Promotion of Sobriety and Prevention of Alcohol Abuse Act of October 26, 1982 (Journal of Laws of 1982, No. 35, Item. 230), the Health Protection Against the Consequences of Consumption of Tobacco and Tobacco Products Act of November 9, 1995 (Journal of Laws of 1996, No 10, Item 55), and finally, the Industrial Property Act of June 30, 2000 (Journal of Laws of 2001, No. 49, Item 508). The current policy of criminal convictions against foreign nationals does not substantially differ from the general trends in Polish penal policy. By far, most frequently the courts of law opt for a term of imprisonment with conditional suspension of its execution as a penal measure. The next option in line comprises a fine, and then comes an immediate custodial sentence, occasionally a restriction of personal liberty.2 It is clear that the key category of criminal offences for which foreign nationals ended up in Polish prisons were offences against property. In this particular category, most offenders had been convicted in pursuance of the provisions of Article 278 § 1, Polish Penal Code (theft), Article 279 §1, Polish Penal Code (burglary with forced entry), and Article 280 §1, Polish Penal Code (aggravated theft). The legislation in place provides for an opportunity to apply a diversity of punitive measures apart from the penalty itself, also as probation measures, or as preventive measures. The legislators clearly aimed for generally increasing the role and overall significance of punitive measures within the penal policy, although an overall body of convictions meted out against foreign nationals over the years 2004–2012 in Poland demonstrates that the courts of law were not particularly forthcoming in this respect, rather seldom ordering punitive measures against the perpetrators, and if so, they would usually reach out for the option of ordering fines and a driving ban, or a forfeiture of property. Statistical data taking into account the lawfully convicted foreign nationals, stratified by a specific type of criminal offence, gender, and punishment meted out for the principal offence, reveal that in 2005 there was a significant reduction in the number of punitive measures ordered by the courts. In fact, compared with 2004, their number decreased fivefold, and remained approximately at the same level throughout the following four years, whereas in 2010, a penal measure was ordered only once, none in 2011, and in 2012 – twice. The sentencing and penal measures policy pursued by the Polish courts, as addressed in the present study, was assessed not only at the level of statistical data made available by the Ministry of Justice, but also through meticulous research conducted on the court’s case files pertaining to foreign nationals whose cases had lawfully been closed, randomly sampled. Both the sampling methodology applied and the number of the records brought under study makes the results of this research project fully representative. Examination of the court’s case files yielded the results fully consistent with the results obtained on the basis of the statistical data obtained from the ministerial records, including in terms of the actual application of the penal policy against foreign nationals committing criminal offences in Poland, although certain exceptions were encountered with regard to the policies applied to the perpetrators of specific types of criminal offences. On the other hand, though, those seem to have much more in common with a particular type and nature of the offence itself, rather than the fact that it was committed by a foreign national. The conclusions drawn from the statistical data under study, as supplemented by a detailed appraisal of the court records, give sufficient grounds to believe that in its essence, the penal policy applied to foreign nationals residing in Poland does not differ from that applied in Poland at large.
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Stan rozpoznania zorganizowanych grup przestępczych z udziałem cudzoziemców w Polsce

87%
Laskowska K.
Archiwum Kryminologii
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2016
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issue XXXVIII
161-173
EN
The paper offers a synthetic insight into the activities of organized crime groups in Poland with foreign nationals as their members. All the relevant data were obtained from the staff officers of the Central Bureau of Police Investigation (CBSP), i.e. directly from the operatives involved in investigating such criminal structures. The interviews were conducted in February 2015, with the three officers serving in the three departments combating: organized crime, organized drug trafficking, and organized fraud, respectively. On the basis of those interviews, it was established that the structures of interest are formed either exclusively by foreign nationals, or by foreign nationals in association with their Polish peers. Some groups might be characterised by specific traits, e.g. organisational tightness, or excessive brutality. Some insight was also gained into the ways of recruitment to the organized crime groups involving foreigners, i.e. diversified ways of recruitment to the structures of different specialisations (crime, drugs, fraud). In due course, the most frequently committed types of criminal offences were identified, i.e. theft, drug production and trafficking, cigarette smuggling, VAT fraud, and money laundering. The study highlights the ‘attractiveness’ of particular offences to respective organized crime groups. It was also possible to gain an understanding of their modus operandi and organizational structuring (be that complex or simple), including consideration for their own security (i.e. making expert use of the most recent advances of modern technology and personal training and vigilance). The research allowed to establish the specific ways of managing the proceeds derived from the committed offences, in due consideration of the respective nationality of their members. A certain proportion of the crime structures consumed the proceeds, others made investments and promoted business development, still others transferred the funds to their home countries. The study revealed that well-organized groups were active in Poland, whereas the highly-organized ones also ventured abroad with their operations, whilst making use of their international contacts with a view to establishing collaboration with some other internationally structured groups in order to promote business development and maximize their illicit revenues. The interviews revealed that police investigators manage to keep very much abreast of the activities pursued by internationally structured, organized crime groups in Poland.
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Zasady legalizacji pobytu cudzoziemców i struktura cudzoziemców w Polsce

87%
Zdanowicz M.
Archiwum Kryminologii
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2016
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issue XXXVIII
441-458
EN
The status of foreign nationals residing in the Republic of Poland is far from uniform. Individuals seeking refuge, to whom assistance should be offered in pursuance of international obligations or nationwide legislation, make up an unique group in many respects. As of May 1, 2015, foreign nationals on the Polish territory are eligible for the following forms of statutory protection: 1) refugee status, 2) subsidiary protection, 3) political asylum, or 4) temporary protection. Yet another privileged group of foreign nationals comprises all individuals benefiting from the freedom of movement of persons within the European Union. The rules applicable to the citizens of EU Member States who reside in Poland, as well as to members of their families, are subject to regulations originating in two legal systems, namely the national legislation and that adopted by the European Union. The EU Directive 2004/38/EC was transposed into the Polish legal system through an act of parliament of 2006. The rules of residence pertaining to EU citizens and members of their families vary, depending on the length of stay: 3 months, over 3 months, and permanent residence. In view of the actual length of residence of an EU citizen (a third-country national) in Poland, the formal requirements regarding the legalization of stay, vary. By far the least formalized approach applies to a foreigner intending to stay in Poland up to 3 months, whereas a stay of over 3 months requires a temporary residence permit. Apart from that, there is still an option of obtaining a permanent residence permit, and a long-term EU residence permit. Low-level cross-border traffic is a legal instrument meant to facilitate cross-border co-operation of local communities with the visa regime between the two neighbouring countries still in place. It makes crossing the border considerably easier in terms of the formalities actually entailed, while tangibly assisting in the development of cooperation between the neighbouring communities in the domain of culture, family relations, social interaction, etc. The total number of foreign nationals residing in Poland is relatively small. The group is well diversified in terms of individual status and the actual length of stay. Out of the group of persons clearly intending to enjoy the benefits offered by an internationally warranted protection status in Poland, a higher proportion satisfies the requirements for a subsidiary protection rather than the bona fide refugee status. EU citizens residing in Poland constitute a varied group with respect to their actual length of stay. By far, the most numerous is the group staying for up to 3 months. In the remaining group of foreign nationals, there are ones who have received a temporary residence permit. Much smaller is the number of persons who have received a permanent residence permit and a long-term EU residence permit. The opportunity to engage in low-level cross-border traffic is highly appreciated by the local communities.
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Zawieranie małżeństw polsko-cudzoziemskich w celu obejścia przepisów legalizacyjnych

87%
Klaus W.
Archiwum Kryminologii
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2016
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issue XXXVIII
269-319
EN
In a changing and increasingly globalized world, in which migration is on the rise, more and more frequently marriages are being entered into between people of different nationalities, and also, often enough, of different confession or ethnicity. Many scholars claim that the widespread nature of this phenomenon may, in fact, attest to a high level of integration of the migrants into the society and their resultant social acceptance. On the other hand, various studies reveal that in numerous societies mixed marriages are not generally approved of. Marriage may be perceived very differently, depending on the actual perspective or an approach opted for when putting it under closer scrutiny. For some, its key component will consist in the relationship between two individuals forming it, others will be happy to see rather as a primary building block of a society, a kind of social nucleus, others still, first and foremost in business terms. Finally, marriage may also be looked upon as a means of controlling and oppressing women. In different domains of the law, the institution of marriage is bound to be perceived very differently. In terms of immigration law, marriage is perceived first and foremost as an instrument for the legalization of a foreign national’s residence in another country. Marriage may also be looked upon as a certain source of risk, including that to public security. The very fact of its conclusion may be considered a criminal offence, e.g. in the case of forcing someone into entering into such a relationship. A number of countries face a recognized problem of the so-called forced marriages. In terms of immigration law, the problem consists in making an instrumental use of the institution of marriage in order to legalize one’s residence in the country. This is referred to as a marriage of convenience, or paper marriage, fictitious union, sometimes also referred to as fake marriage. Under Polish law, they are subsumed under the term “marriages contracted in order to circumvent the legislation in place,” i.e. presumably the Foreign Nationals Act. There are various definitions of virtual marriages to be found in the literature on the subject. They are referred to as relationships in which at least one of the partners contracts a marriage with no intention of pursuing true married life whatsoever. Other definitions highlight a purely instrumental use of the institution of marriage in order to achieve certain benefits, usually with a view to being granted a bona fide residence status, but also for the purpose of escaping from oppressive family relations or cultural pressures exerted by a social group to which they happen to belong. Relevant EU provisions recommend that the Member States introduce mechanisms for the monitoring of mixed marriages and make references to specific cases whereupon a fictitious marriage might well be suspected. Polish legal regulations have been duly adapted to them (provisions of Article 169, Foreign Nationals Act). The number of cases in which provincial governors agreed that a marriage had been contracted in order to circumvent the legislation in place is not high. Over 10 years, only 1,178 of such cases have been identified throughout the country, which accounted for just over 2% of all decisions on legalizing a foreign national’s residence in the country in connection with contracting a mixed marriage. The paper presents the results of a representative sample of residence legalization cases, whereupon provincial governors found marriages to have been contracted under false pretences in the period spanning 2009–2013. A total of 138 of such cases were examined. A vast majority of the surveyed marriages subsequently found to be fictitious was based on the paradigm most popular in the Polish context, i.e. a female Polish citizen marrying a foreign national (72% of cases). Most often, such marriages were contracted by Nigerian nationals, followed by Armenians, Turks, and Ukrainians. The residence in Poland of around a half of the expats might be regarded as a short-term one (as it would not last in excess of 3 years), another 25% might can be described as medium-term migrants, and the remainder, the long-term ones, since they had lived in Poland country for over 10 years. Nigerians and foreign nationals from South Asia and the Mediterranean countries did not usually spend more than three years in Poland, whereas our eastern neighbours and the Armenians tended to stay for at least 4 years, and frequently more than 10 years. A vast majority of married couples, almost 70% of all cases, first met in Poland. In 13% of the cases, they met in another EU country – usually during a longer sojourn of female Polish citizens in that country, or, in a single case, a male Polish citizen. Most foreign nationals marrying Polish women (69%) were over 26 and under 40. There were relatively few older ones, i.e. those over 40 years of age. The average age of female Polish citizens married by them was different, though, as the group of younger ones, i.e. up to 30 years of age, seemed to be dominant. The group of older women, i.e. over 50 years of age, also is quite prominent. In very few cases it was possible to determine during the residence legalization procedure that the spouses had concluded a formal agreement regarding the fictitious nature of their marriage, which would also have its financial aspect: a Polish national was due to receive money in exchange for contracting marriage to a foreign national. Such an aspect was encountered in 15 cases only, and most often the information came from a Polish national who felt cheated out of the payment of the amount originally promised to him/her. When determining the fictitious nature of a marriage, the officials were often aided by the spouses themselves – in 2/3 of the cases under investigation at the time of filing an application for the legalization of residence, they no longer lived together (although sometimes it was due to the fact that the husband still lived abroad having just applied for the right to claim residence in Poland, yet such cases were rather few, as was indicated above). Following an on-site verification whether a married couple actually lived together for the duration of the administrative proceedings, it transpired that in up to 91% of the cases they did not, including the 42 cases, when one of the spouses explicitly described the relationship as over. Polish citizenship as a ‘commodity’ has steadily grown in value in view of the attendant opportunity to obtain legal residence in other EU countries and contracting employment without the need for any permits. Hence, many people are ready to go to any lengths to obtain such a highly prized document. Consequently, the phenomenon of marriages of convenience is expected to rise. On the other hand, this particular type of motivation for contracting marriage by foreign nationals is, and most likely will remain rather hard to detect, so we might just as well acknowledge this as a hard fact of life. There will always be various ways to circumvent legal regulations. While constructing the legislation aimed at preventing fictitious marriages, it should be considered how much effort and resources we are prepared to allocate to preventive measures, to what extent they are expected to be effective (since often they are not, despite the substantial expenditures incurred), and to what extent we can afford to limit the citizens’ rights in this particular respect. When making incursions into someone’s family life and interfering with their marital relations, this is definitely an issue of paramount importance. Finally, it should be borne in mind that marriage is a kind of social contract, and that it has always been so. Marriage out of love is a relatively new concept, and related to a larger extent to a cultural fabric of the global North. In other cultures, marriage has often retained its historical character. One simply needs to acknowledge and accept it as a fact of life when shaping migration policy.
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The Criminality of Foreign Nationals in Switzerland as a Security Threat in the Context of Swiss Migration Policy

86%
Olbrycht P.
Polish Political Science Yearbook
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2023
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issue 3(53)
181-196
EN
The purpose of the research was to investigate the scale of crime by foreign nationals in Switzerland in the context of the effectiveness of the assumptions of the migration policy of that state in the area of security. Materials and methods: The research uses literature sources and statistical data on the crime of foreign nationals in Switzerland and its migration policy. The author used qualitative research methods, including the query of literature and strategic documents (using the content analysis technique) and the analysis of statistical data (using the desk research technique). Results: In the context of the three analysed factors, the following trends can be observed: steadily declining crime in Switzerland; the relatively constant level of crime by foreign nationals, especially since 2018; constant, although relatively mildly growing, percentage of foreign nationals’ crime in the overall crime scale. Conclusions: In the context of the assessment of the effectiveness of the implementation of the assumptions of Switzerland’s migration policy in the area of security, it should be noted that the relatively constant level of the crime rate of foreign nationals, despite their constantly growing population, proves the optimality of these assumptions and their highly effective implementation.
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Zapobieganie przestępczości cudzoziemców w Polsce

75%
Rzeplińska I.
Archiwum Kryminologii
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2016
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issue XXXVIII
5-13
EN
It has been for several decades now that criminological literature has addressed the issue of crime prevention in societies. Helena Kołakowska-Przełomiec argued in 1984: “While trying to formulate a definition of crime prevention, on no account should we disregard the fact that a criminal offence may be committed only by an individual who lives in a certain specific setting, in a society. Crime prevention can therefore be associated with the conditions of the external world in which a person lives, the constraints of social interactions, interpersonal relations, as well as with the person’s own identity, selfdevelopment, lifetime experience, attitudes, aspirations, and the scope of individual activities. Accordingly, crime prevention may be associated with all that effectively makes up the fabric of an outside world in which the person lives, with the overall diversity of human activity, groups of people, and individuals. Indeed, such activity may be closely linked to crime prevention, or only indirectly related to it, or it may also be very far removed from crime prevention. Crime prevention may also exist objectively, without any human activity linked to it whatsoever (e.g. in a mountainous area devoid of roads it is effectively impossible to commit traffic offences).” The author formulated the following definition: “crime prevention is construed as any and all actions which might lead, be that directly or indirectly, to inhibiting the incidence of criminality at large, of criminal offences, and the development of criminal phenomena all over the world.” Ten years later, another definition of crime prevention was proposed by Janina Czapska: “crime prevention should to be construed as all measures aimed at reducing the overall crime incidence and load, either by limiting the circumstances conducive to committing criminal offences, or by exerting an impact on a potential perpetrator, as well as on all members of a society.” In a document of 2002 promulgated by the UN Economic and Social Council, crime prevention is construed as a set of policies and measures that “seek to reduce the risk of crimes occurring, and their potential harmful effects on individuals and society, including the fear of crime.” Modern Europe is a world of people who keep migrating, moving between countries. The presence of foreign nationals (i.e. those who are not the nationals of a particular country) in each of the EU Member States is a natural phenomenon, as they are the EU citizens and the third-country nationals. Criminal offences committed by foreign nationals are also natural enough, from random offences to fully premeditated ones, from minor offences to serious crimes, from common offences to criminal offences specific to foreign nationals in a particular country and during a specific period, committed under certain social, economic and political conditions. In Poland, police crime statistics have taken due note of foreign nationals as suspects since 1984. The proportion of foreign nationals to suspects in total in the period spanning 1984–1988 ranged from 0.1% to 0.5%. This proportion increased throughout the 1990s, from 0.8 in 1991 to 1.8% in 1996, and then to 2.02% in 1997. A decrease in this proportion was noted – 1.6% in 1998, 1.3% in 2000, 0.67% in 2004, and 0.43% in 2012. Foreign nationals suspected of committing criminal offences in Poland in the first decade of the 21st century come from 61 countries. 30% of them are EU citizens. The most numerous are citizens of Germany, Lithuania, Romania, Bulgaria and the Czech Republic. Foreign nationals from non-EU countries constitute 70% of all foreign national suspects, among which the most numerous come from the neighbouring countries: Ukraine, Belarus, the Russian Federation and Armenia. In short, foreign nationals suspected of committing criminal offences in Poland originate from the neighbouring countries: Ukraine, Belarus, Germany, Lithuania, and Russia. The overall picture of criminal offences committed by foreign nationals in Poland in the first decade of the 21st century is as follows: a negligible share of foreign suspects in the human crime category, a high proportion in the specific offences category, i.e. driving while under the influence of alcohol or drugs, whereupon, in the absence of a natural person victim, the only ‘aggrieved’ party is public order, i.e. road traffic safety. The high share of foreign suspects in the offences against the credibility of documents means that foreign nationals who hold residence in Poland, or who enter Poland, make use of forged IDs or travel documents. The overall picture that emerges from the police crime statistics still needs to be supplemented by such rare events as terrorist crime, crime committed in organized groups, or hard to detect crimes, e.g. illegal cigarette or illicit drug manufacturing. In line with the definitions cited above, with regard to each particular type of criminal offence committed by foreign nationals, an appropriate strategy needs to be determined. In each individual case and for each type of crime a separate listing of crime risk factors should be compiled. Smuggling (duly registered by the Customs Service) seems one of the ‘favourite’ types of a criminal offence committed by foreign nationals in Poland (even though Polish nationals also perpetrate this kind of crime). Smuggling takes place both at border crossings and elsewhere, along usually rather desolate, woodland areas straddling a state border, not subject to heavy patrolling by border guard troops. Moving contraband across the border stands to bring substantial profits to all parties involved. In 96% of cases, the contraband commodity of choice are the tobacco products. Foreign nationals are also registered in Poland as the perpetrators of business-related crimes: criminal offences aimed at obtaining material benefits at the expense of other parties involved in business activity. Judicial statistics indicate that foreign nationals are convicted for breaching the Industrial Property Act, including its provisions pertaining to trademark protection, followed by offences under the Copyright and Related Rights Act; here, for the most part, crimes involve illicitly replicated software, music, and movies on the market. The perpetrators of these offences are mostly Bulgarian, Romanian, Ukrainian, Belarussian, Armenian, Slovakian, and Georgian citizens. In the area of business crime, organized criminal groups appear to dominate. As may be gleaned from the case records, most groups dealt with violations of the trademark protection provisions, copyright, money counterfeiting, capital fraud, including bank loan fraud, offences related to ATM cards and Internet accounts, followed by insurance fraud and the offences related to trading in liquid fuels. The groups comprised criminals from nearly 20 nationalities, mostly from Bulgaria, Lithuania, Romania, Ukraine, and Armenia, and less frequently the citizens of the UK, Vietnam, China, Moldova, and Georgia. In the period spanning 2015–2016, a brand-new type of crime was uncovered, i.e. professionally organized illicit manufacture of cigarettes in Poland. The report on the status of national security in Poland for 2014 draws attention to the involvement of foreign nationals in criminal activities. Tax fraud committed by foreign nationals from EU countries appears to be on the rise. Foreigners register business ventures in Poland and then proceed to abuse the Polish tax system with a view to benefiting from undue VAT refunds. Combating business crime, as referenced in the Report, requires fostering closer cooperation between various departments, authorities, and statutory bodies involved in preventing and combating crime. This approach has already spawned a government programme for the prevention and combating business crime for 2015–2020, in which the key principles of the actual action plan have been laid down. Research on organized crime groups, including those involving foreign nationals, reveals that all groups intended to profit from criminal activities, were managed by strong leaders, with ethnicity being of much lesser importance in their operations. They are mobile, moving both across the territory of Poland and beyond its borders. Organized crime groups involving foreign nationals are multi-disciplinary; they are involved in drug-related offences, business crime, and other types of criminal pursuits. Variability in the actual type of criminal activity pursued is always dictated by the principal objective – the achievement of material gain. Prevention and combating terrorist threats in Poland is provided for in the National Counter-Terrorism Programme for 2015–2019. There is no single system for preventing and combating crimes committed by foreign nationals, and hence we are not going to formulate its objectives here. Prevention, i.e. the identification of risk factors for criminal offences committed by foreigners, may be pursued in relation to a particular type of crime committed at any one time (types of criminal offences vary over time). Combating or controlling the criminal behaviours of foreign nationals, to express it in modern lingo, may be pursued through obtaining adequate insight into the actual aetiology of various kinds of criminal offences committed by foreign nationals, and an appropriate penal policy.
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Cudzoziemcy – sprawcy przestępstwa przekupstwa na terenie Polski

75%
Rzeplińska I.
Archiwum Kryminologii
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2016
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issue XXXVIII
175-189
EN
By the end of 2013, some 60,0000 citizens of EU Member States, and 121,000 third- -country nationals, holders of Polish residence permits, were registered in Poland. The aggregate number of foreign nationals who currently reside in Poland amounts to 0.5% of the country’s own population. Among the EU citizens, the most numerous are German, Italian, French, British, Bulgarian, and Spanish nationals. Among the non-EU nationals, the largest proportion of residents comes from Ukraine, Vietnam, Russian Federation, Belarus, China, Armenia, Turkey, India, USA, and South Korea; the Ukrainians making up by far the most populous group among them (i.e. 31% of all third-country nationals residing in Poland). Crime rate among foreign residents in Poland as gleaned from the police statistics on foreign offenders spanning 2004–2012 makes it clear that foreign suspects constitute ca. 1% to 0.43% in 2012 of the total number of suspects investigated. In the course of nine years, these crime dynamics (i.e. officially disclosed crime rate among foreign nationals in Poland) appeared to decline. In total, foreign nationals suspected of committing crimes in Poland come from of 61 countries, with EU citizens accounting for 1/3 of them, the remaining 2/3 originating from the third countries. The overall picture of offences perpetrated by foreign nationals in Poland in the period spanning 2004–2012 reveals some telltale characteristics of their prevalent structure. Firstly, a negligible proportion of human crime offences, secondly, a high proportion of specific crimes, e.g. driving while under the influence of alcohol or drugs, whereupon, in the absence of a human victim, the only ‘aggravated’ party is the public order, and thirdly, a growing rate of foreigners suspected of having committed an offence against the credibility of documents. In the police statistics, foreign nationals suspected of committing offences under Articles 228, 229 and 230 of the Polish Penal Code make up 3.4% of all foreign suspects. Foreign nationals suspected of committing the offence of bribery under Article 229 of the Polish Penal Code, the actual subject matter of the study addressed in the paper, are foreign nationals convicted by Polish courts of law. Ninety-six criminal cases of bribery, originating in 2008–2013, which ended in convictions for foreign perpetrators, were randomly selected for the study. The issues of interest were as follows: the profiles of convicted foreigners, accompanying circumstances, general aetiology of the bribery offences committed by foreigners, the bribe recipients, convictions actually secured in a court of law against the perpetrators, and the types of punitive measures applied. Foreign nationals – perpetrators of bribery offences across Poland, originated from 17 countries. 81.3% of the studied population was made up of Ukrainians (41.7%), Belarussians (22.9%), Lithuanians (9.4%), and Russians (7.3%). Single cases were perpetrated by the citizens of Kazakhstan, Turkey, Sweden, Bulgaria, Romania, Latvia, China, Slovakia, Vietnam, Armenia, India, Czech Republic, and Germany. Men prevailed – ca. 10% of those convicted of bribery were women. The most numerous were perpetrators aged 32–40, while the remaining number of offenders was almost equally split amongst the following age brackets 41–50, 22–30, and 51–63 years; the oldest offenders being the least numerous. Two occupational groups clearly predominated: drivers and construction workers. Nonetheless, the perpetrators also included police officers, doctors, nurses, an office worker, and a teacher. The recipients of financial gains, i.e. those to whom the bribes were either handed out or offered, were police officers (48.9% of cases), border guards (31.3%), and customs service officers (15.6%). Individual cases comprise handing out a bribe to an official at the Registry Office (in connection with arranging for a fictitious marriage), public transport ticket inspector, and state railway security service officers. In the cases under study, two places for handing out bribes have been identified, i.e. border crossings (40.6% of cases) and public highways (51% of cases), where traffic police officers are offered material gain. In the vast majority of cases, it was money (amounts ranged from PLN 50.00 to over PLN 1,000.00). Every third perpetrator, a foreign national, was under the influence of alcohol when offering the bribe. The study of foreigners convicted of bribery in the years spanning 2008–2013 identifies two situations in which acts of corruption take place. The first one, driving under the influence of alcohol. Handing out material benefits to a traffic police officer, usually money, is intended to dissuade him from imposing a substantial fine, or from instigating criminal proceedings (prosecution), and consequently from an imposition of a ban on driving motor vehicles by a court of law. The other one, handing out financial benefits to Border Guard or Customs Service officers. When analysing the explanations provided by the perpetrators of bribery, how they tried to rationalise their attempts to corrupt public officials (the police, border guards, customs service officers), the investigators found that it all seemed to stem from a different legal culture in the societies they come from, i.e. a culture of open disregard for the law, public morality in which everything can be ‘sorted out,’ even if it means that the perpetrator effectively evades criminal liability. A public morality in which both parties, a public official and a citizen, conspire to circumvent the law. I am therefore inclined to brand the social background of origin of the 80% of foreign nationals convicted of bribery in Poland as ‘corruption-spawning communities,’ where in the relationship between a citizen and a government agency official it is perfectly natural to offer/accept a consideration for ‘sorting things out.’ Foreign nationals charged with bribery, except for a single case of conditional discontinuance of the proceedings in progress, were sentenced to fines and other punitive measures. A conditionally suspended term of imprisonment prevailed, followed closely by a fine. Apart from the actual penalties, the courts also applied selected punitive measures, such as driving bans, cash considerations, forfeiture of items originating directly from the offence, forfeiture of items actually used, or intended for use in the perpetration of an offence. Immediate custodial sentence was imposed in three cases, i.e. in convictions for several offences, such as bribery, driving under the influence of alcohol, and assaulting a public official.
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Cudzoziemcy jako sprawcy znęcania się i zgwałcenia w kontekście przemocy „honorowej”

75%
Woźniakowska-Fajst D.
Archiwum Kryminologii
|
2016
|
issue XXXVIII
321-345
EN
The number of foreign nationals convicted of physical abuse in the period spanning 2004–2012 was around a dozen cases a year. The percentage of convicted foreign nationals in comparison with Poles indicted with the offence described in the provisions of Article 207 of the Polish Penal Code, was very low, i.e. 0.1%, throughout all the years studied. In the years 2004–2012, foreign nationals in Poland were convicted of 145 physical abuse offences. The perpetrators originated from 34 countries. Most of them came from Ukraine (24%), followed by Russia (12%) and Germany (7%). In the period under study, 8 convictions were secured for Armenian nationals, and 6 for Rumanian and Turkish, respectively. It should be noted that in the case of physical abuse, the aggrieved parties were mainly family members, spouses, and partners, but also children and the elderly, as well as the persons physically dependent on others for assistance in their activities of daily living (e.g. persons with disabilities). The relevant statistical data may readily be augmented by the materials gathered in the course of analysing the court’s records. Among the persons indicted for physical abuse, women are seldom the perpetrators, as only two were found in the cases analysed (28 offenders were male). The aggrieved parties were not their partners, though, but dependent individuals. The most numerous groups of perpetrators found in the court files included Russians (7 offenders) and Ukrainians (5). 7 offenders were EU citizens. Single cases were represented by other nationalities (2 Armenians, 2 Azerbaijanis, 2 Tunisians, 1 Belarussian, and 1 Iraqi). Much as in the case of other aggressive acts, numerous instances of physical abuse were related to their perpetrators’ inebriation. 18 offenders (i.e. almost 2/3 of the indicted ones) were under the influence of alcohol. The main motive of domestic violence was (besides alcohol abuse which seemed to directly trigger the outbursts of violent behaviour), some sort of conflict between family members in conjunction with an inability to alleviate it or resolve by other means. In the case of persons applying for a refugee status, long-term frustration was also found to be a contributing factor. Immediate family members of, i.e. wife, partner, children, and stepchildren aged 1–17 usually fall victim to domestic violence. In the case files under examination, a majority of the wronged women were of Polish nationality (23), 4 were Chechens, and one was an Azeri woman. In the majority of cases, where the perpetrator came from a country where Islam is the dominant religion (the perpetrator’s religious denomination was not mentioned in all the cases) and the victim was a Polish woman, it was hard to determine whether domestic violence has cultural reasons. These cases in no way differed from those in which the perpetrators were men of European origin. The actual percentage of foreign nationals convicted of rape in relation to the total number of convictions secured in pursuance of the provisions of Article 197 of the Polish Penal Code varies in the respective years of the period under study, ranging from 0.5% (in 2008) to over 2% (in 2012). The number of such convictions with regard to Polish nationals has been steadily decreasing, while remaining fairly stable in the case of foreign nationals (ranging from 4 to 17 per year). In the period spanning 2004–2012, foreign nationals in Poland were convicted of 88 rapes, their perpetrators originating from 29 countries. Over nine years, usually only one or two instances of convictions for rape were related to respective nationalities. Most convictions involved Ukrainians (20%), Bulgarians (17%), and Germans (8%). Romanian citizens were convicted in five cases, while Armenians and Russians 4 times each. A rich source of data on the perpetrators are the court records of criminal cases. In those studied, 18 perpetrators were revealed, all men. It would be rather hard to speculate, though, on any apparent regularity regarding their nationality. In that particular group, the most numerous were the Ukrainians (3). Otherwise, the group comprised single representatives of Russia (Chechen extraction), Tunisia, Morocco, Belarus, Syria, Algeria, Iran, Armenia, and the United States. Six offenders were EU citizens. The reason for a sexual assault was primarily the drive to satisfy one’s sexual desire, which in more than half of the cases was also related to alcohol abuse by the perpetrator. The statistics on the total number of rape offences committed by foreign nationals also differ in terms of the actual location where the rape was perpetrated. The majority (10) of offences described in the records studied took place in apartments and houses (as indeed it usually happens in all cases of reported rape in Poland), but open public spaces (e.g. streets, fields, woodland areas) made up an equally significant category (10 cases). In all cases the aggrieved parties were women, all of them of Polish nationality. They were mostly young or very young women. The youngest victim (of attempted rape) was 11 years old, while the oldest was 32. As with most cases of rape, one rule seemed to prevail throughout, i.e. first and foremost the victims of rape were personally known to the perpetrator. Out of the 20 identified victims, 12 knew the rapist, and 6 of them were members of the perpetrator’s family. In terms of the analysed records, minor victims appeared relatively numerous, also in view of the fact that the two perpetrators raped several girls. In no instance of rape of very young girls was the cultural aspect ever mentioned. In none of those cases was a young girl forced into marriage, or was cultural consent granted to having a sexual intercourse with a minor. Summing up the issue of foreign nationals as the perpetrators of physical abuse and rape, especially in the context of honour based violence, it is clear that currently such acts do not seem to have been committed mainly by the Muslims. Since foreign nationals residing in Poland mostly come from the neighbouring countries (predominantly Ukraine), they are by far the most visible as offenders. As far as the cases of rape are concerned, as referenced in the criminal records under study, the perpetrators’ mode of operation did not differ with respect to their nationality. In the case of foreign offenders, a substantial number of rape victims were very young girls, although this was in no way related to cultures that accept and promote child marriage or forced unions. All the perpetrators originated from our own cultural background.
10
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Macierz wobec zagranicznych rodaków — przykład Niemiec w okresie międzywojennym

72%
Hut P.
Problemy Polityki Społecznej. Studia i Dyskusje
|
2013
|
issue 21(2)
13-33
PL
Niniejszy artykuł opisuje przesłanki i formy wsparcia udzielanego zagranicznym Niemcom w okresie międzywojennym. Następnie przedstawiono relacje państw środkowoeuropejskich i ich zagranicznych rodaków. Współcześnie aktywną politykę umacniania związków z zagranicznymi rodakami prowadzą Węgry i Federacja Rosyjska. W dalszej części zaproponowano typologię modeli związków z zagranicznymi rodakami (model aktywnego wsparcia, model neutralny, model koncentracyjno-państwowy).
EN
This article describes the conditions and forms of support to foreign Germans in the interwar period. Then it presents relations of Central European states and their foreign compatriots. Currently, an active policy to strengthen relations with foreign compatriots takes place in Hungary and the Russian Federation. Later the author proposes a typology of model relationships with foreign compatriots (proactive support model, neutral model, converging-state model).
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Dobre praktyki Francji i Rosji w zakresie zwalczania przestępczości granicznej oraz zorganizowanej z udziałem cudzoziemców

62%
Laskowska K., Perkowska M.
Archiwum Kryminologii
|
2016
|
issue XXXVIII
113-124
EN
The paper addresses the issues of appropriateness and overall effectiveness of endeavours undertaken by selected countries (France and Russia) in the area of preventing, combating, and reducing illegal migration and criminality of foreign nationals. Analyses of the overall body of experience gained by those countries, often struggling with far more serious problems than ours, make it possible to highlight a variety of approaches to the issues under study, along with identifying new, frequently more effective ways of resolving them. In the section dealing with the French solutions, the author focused on those that are aimed specifically at preventing and combating illegal migration, mainly in the form of illegal residence in France. This is due to the fact that criminal offences committed by foreign nationals in France comprise primarily those related to illegal residence or illegal entry into the country. An in-depth review of the available instruments, mainly on the basis of specific regulations comprised in the Code of Entry and Residence of Foreign Nationals, in conjunction with the provisions regulating their right to claim political asylum, allowed to identify certain specific French solutions which might well be deemed good practices, with a view to having them considered for a prospective transposition into the Polish legal system, specifically into administrative and criminal law. When assessing the French regulations in terms of good practices, it appears prudent to consider their prospective transposition into Polish criminal or administrative law, especially with regard to the following areas. First of all, one would need to consider the option of imposing a lifetime ban on the entry into Poland for committing an offence related to illegal migration, but also with regard to other common offences. It is essential in terms of combating illegal migration, to have any individual conduct involving aiding or facilitating a third party’s illegal border crossing, contravening the law regulating the length of residence, or illegal residence in other countries of the Schengen Area, or in other EU Member States, duly criminalized, and not on the territory of Poland only. Another key solution at hand consists in the option to impose a ban on residence in France, also issued in the form of an administrative decision by the Minister of Internal Affairs, which might also apply to those individuals who are not currently residing in France, or those who have never held such residence do date, whereas might be deemed potential threat to public order. In the section dealing with Russia, the author aimed to address specific projects designed to combat illegal migration of foreign nationals and criminality at large (including organized crime) undertaken in that country. It was established that the Russian Federation was actively involved in combating both phenomena. In terms of preventing and reducing illegal immigration into the Russian Federation, several specific projects have been undertaken. In particular, The Concept of State Migration Policy for 2025 was developed, which sets out the objectives, principles, tasks, key directions, and specific constraints in the implementation of state migration policy across the country. It emphasises the need for the introduction of a number of modifications of legal, organizational and social nature, aimed specifically to radically restructure a number of areas within overall state migration policy. Several amendments were made to the Russian Penal Code of 1996, pertaining to illegal border crossings, organizing illegal migration, and others, as well as to the Code of Administrative Breaches of the Law of 2001 (i.e. a series of offences in breach of border security, visa procedures, etc.).
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Wybrane zagadnienia nabywania nieruchomości przez cudzoziemców w Szwajcarii

51%
Szalkowski P.
Rejent
|
2022
|
issue 5 (373)
48-73
EN
In this article, some of the primary rules that regulate acquiring property by foreign citizens in Switzerland, have been described. In the article, the legal definition of a “foreign national” as well as the particular situation of EU countries’ citizens who reside in Switzerland with the intention of gaining permanent residency, have been subject to discussion. In the study, the legal premises that are essential to acquire a property by a foreign national, and that need to be met in order to obtain an obligatory permission (issued in the form of administrative decision), that allows transfer of rights to the properties, have been widely discussed. The premises mentioned have been outlined in both the objective, as well as the subjective aspect. The article indicates the great importance that the properties of residential use have for the swiss legislator, which in return causes that transfer of rights to such kind of properties is a subject to relevant legal restrictions, which are strictly connected with the currently applied immigration policy of Switzerland. Simultaneously, the study indicates the legal rule of the free acquisition of property that is used for running an economic activity by foreign nationals, which doesn.t require any administrative authorisation. Moreover, another exceptions from the rule of acquiring a property by a foreign citizen (based on a permission from the competent authority) and the competences that the cantonal authorities have in that field, have also been listed in the article. The study highlights the legal consequences of undertaking a legal action that is contrary to the act or to the ordinance, or that is undertaken with the intention of dodging existing regulations. Based on the analysis of the swiss regulations, the article suggests the polish legislator implementing legal changes de lege ferenda in case of the polish act of acquiring properties by foreigners in Poland from 1920.
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