THE PENALTY OF RESTRICTION OF LIBERTY IN THE POLISH PENAL CODE

Abstract

Purpose: to examine the provisions of Articles 34 and 35 of the Polish Penal Code governing the penalty of restriction of liberty and the form in which it is imposed. Methods: the basic method used in the analysis is the legal dogmatic method. Results: pursuant to Article 34 § 1 of the Penal Code, unless otherwise provided by law, the penalty of restriction of liberty shall be for not less than one month and not more than 2 years; it is imposed in months or years. In accordance with Article 34 § 1a PC, the penalty of restriction of liberty involves: the obligation to provide unpaid, supervised work for community purposes; the deduction of 10 to 25% from the monthly salary for the social purpose indicated by the court. The obligations and deductions referred to in § 1a are to be imposed combined or separately. When serving a sentence of restriction of liberty, a convicted person may not change his place of habitual residence without the court’s consent and is required to provide explanations as to the serving of his sentence. Article 35 of the Penal Code provides that unpaid, supervised work for community purposes is to be carried out between 20 and 40 hours per month. A deduction may be imposed against an employed person; in the period for which the deduction is imposed, the person convicted cannot terminate the employment relationship without the consent of the court. Discussion: it is worth noting the increasing importance of the penalty of restriction of liberty in the total number of convictions, which leads to a conclusion that it was appropriate to introduce such a punishment into Polish criminal law. This seems to correspond to current trends in criminal policy.