Topic: Minors before the law. What am I not allowed to do?

Author: Anna Rabiega

Addressee:

high school / technical school student

Core curriculum:

• old curriculum:

standard level:

3. Security.

The student:

5) explains the principles under which minors are responsible for committing an offence (educational and corrective measures);

6) presents the legal provisions on the sale and consumption of alcohol, cigarettes and drugs and describes the consequences of their violation.

extended level:

33. Criminal law.

The student:

3) presents the criminal penalties and measures in force under Polish law and the rights of a victim, defendant and witness.

• new curriculum:

standard level:

I. Man and society.

The student:

9) recognises life problems of young people in Polish society and formulates judgments on these issues.

V. Law of the Republic of Poland.

The student:

3) recognises matters regulated by civil, family, administrative and criminal law; indicates the code applicable in the Republic of Poland where provisions concerning a specific matter can be found; interprets legal provisions.

extended level:

XI. The legal system of the Republic of Poland.

The student:

21) presents criminal penalties and measures regulated in the Code of Petty Offences and the Criminal Code in the Republic of Poland;

24) considers treating punishment as retribution, method of resocialisation and influencing society.

The general aim of education:

Student assesses his/her own decisions and actions in social life.

Learning outcomes:

The student:

• analyses the principles of legal responsibility of minors.

• presents educational, corrective and educational‑therapeutic measures that can be taken against a minor.

• presents and explains the provisions on consumption of alcohol, cigarettes and drugs.

Key competences:

• communicating in a foreign language,

• digital competence,

• learning to learn,

• social and civic competences.

Teaching methods:

• flipped classroom,

• discussion,

• source material analysis,

• WebQuest.

Forms of work:

• group work,

• whole‑class activity.

Material & equipment needed:

• computers with loudspeakers/headphones and internet access,

• multimedia resources from the e‑textbook,

• interactive whiteboard/blackboard, felt‑tip pen/a piece of chalk.

Lesson plan overview (Process):

Introduction:

1. The teacher presents the goal of the lesson: You will analyse the issue of criminal liability of minors.

2. Classes conducted using flipped learning method. During one of the previous meetings the teacher divides the class into four groups, whose task is to prepare multimedia presentations on the subject:

I. Teenagers in various fields of law (civil, criminal, labour law) – understanding the concept, scope of regulation, possible sanctions.

II. Sale and consumption of alcohol – legal regulations.

III. Sale and consumption of tobacco products – legal regulations.

IV. Drugs – legal regulations.

When preparing the presentations, students use materials from the abstract, including interactive schemes „What does a minor mean?”, „Measures for minors” and Internet sources. The students' task is to find (or develop) mainly visual materials (short films, photographs, diagrams) and include them in their presentations. Presentations should contain as little text as possible. Each presentation should last no more than 8 minutes.

Implementation:

1. Groups give their presentations – they comment on the visual materials contained in their presentation. The groups may also encourage other students to guess what the visual materials included in the presentation mean (e.g. what provision/prohibition concerning drugs is shown in the selected picture).

2. After each presentation, the teacher initiates a short discussion. The teacher asks: What are the reasons for adoption of the presented regulations? Do you think that such regulations are justified?

3. After each presentation, the teacher asks the students who have been the audience to comment on the work of their colleagues: what do they like about the presentation and what could be presented in a different way?

Summary:

1. At the end, the teacher briefly presents the most important issues discussed during the classes. The teacher answers additional questions of students and clarifies any doubts. Students complete their notes.

2. Homework proposal:

a. Write a plan of the fight against crime of minors for your municipality. Write your suggestions in 10 points.

b. Listen to the abstract recording to review the material and new vocabulary. Then do the vocabulary exercise at the end of the chapter.

The following terms and recordings will be used during this lesson

Terms

Texts and recordings

Minors before the law

The Polish law, in relation to young people (minors), uses various legal definitions, depending on the branch of law.

For those under the age of 13, parents are liable for the child's actions. In the range of 13–17 years, liability for punishable acts (criminal offenses and some petty offenses) is in line with the provisions of the Act of October 26, 1982 on proceedings in juvenile cases. Over 17 years of age, we face normal criminal liability, except that according to art. 10 § 4 of the Criminal Code „in relation to the perpetrator who committed the offense over the age of 17, but under the age of 18, the court applies educational, therapeutic or corrective measures provided for minors instead of punishment, if it is deemed appropriate given the circumstances of the case and the degree of mental development of the perpetrator, his characteristics and personal situation.”

However, art. 10 § 2 of the Criminal Code allows for criminal liability of juveniles over the age of 15 in case of certain offences:

• homicide,

• grievous bodily harm,

• causing a life‑threatening event,

• piracy,

• causing disasters,

• rape,

• active assault,

• taking a hostage,

• armed robbery,

A juvenile will respond as an adult „if it is deemed appropriate given the circumstances of the case and the degree of mental development of the perpetrator, his characteristics and personal situation”, and in particular „if the previously used educational or corrective measures proved ineffective”.

As a rule, the juvenile is responsible before a family court. Liability before a criminal court comes into play, for example when the acts listed in the table are committed.

According to art. 5 of the Act on proceedings in juvenile cases, a juvenile faces educational measures or a corrective measure in the form of placement in a correctional facility. The punishment may only be imposed in cases provided for by law, and if it is not possible to ensure resocialization of a minor otherwise.

Persons who are over 13 and under 18 years of age and have not entered into marriage (Polish law stipulates that if a person has married before reaching the age of 18, he or she is considered to be of legal age), have the so‑called limited active legal capacity. Legal actions carried out by such a person require the consent of the representatives of that person (e.g. parents, guardians). Its absence results in the invalidation of these activities by law. Persons with limited legal capacity may independently:

• conclude contracts in small, current matters of everyday life (e.g. shopping at a grocery store),

• dispose of their earnings,

• dispose of the objects given to this person for free use.

Article 65 § 3 of the Constitution of the Republic of Poland prohibits the permanent employment of children under 16 years of age. Persons in the range of 15 to 18 years may work, but are subject, as minors, to special protection based on art. 190–206 of the Labor Code. The most important provisions in this respect are:

• a ban on employing minors who have not at least graduated from elementary school,

• the obligation to employ minors without qualifications only for the purpose of vocational training,

• the principle that work performed by a minor must not endanger his health,

• the obligation to train an employee under the age of 16 up to 6 hours a day, and employees aged 16 to 18 up to 8 hours a day,

• a ban on employing minors overtime and at night.

The rules of alcohol consumption and sale are regulated by the Act of October 26, 1982 on Upbringing in Sobriety and Counteracting Alcoholism. The Act prohibits selling, serving and consuming alcoholic beverages:

• on the premises of schools and other educational institutions, adoption and care centres and students’ dormitories,

• in workplaces and at employees’ cafeterias,

• at the venue of and during mass gatherings,

• in vehicles and facilities of public transportation,

• in streets, squares and parks, with the exception of places designated for on‑premises alcohol consumption, at the points of sale.

Article 15 of the Act prohibits to sell or serve alcoholic beverages to persons under the age of 18. In case of doubts as to whether a customer is of legal drinking age, persons serving or selling alcoholic beverages shall be entitled to demand a document confirming their age from the customer. Persons breaching the ban are be obliged to pay a fine, according to article 43 of the Act.

Bans regarding smoking were included in the Act of November 9, 1995 on protection of public health against the effects of tobacco use. According to art. 5 of this Act, smoking is forbidden, among others:

• in hospitals or clinics,

• on the premises of schools and universities, workplaces, public cultural and leisure facilities, food and entertainment establishments, sport facilities, and other premises designated for public use,

• in passenger public transportation means, and establishments servicing travelers and public transportation stops,

• on public playgrounds for children.

According to article 6 of the Act it is forbidden to sell tobacco products to persons under 18 year of age. If in doubt about the age of a person buying tobacco products, the seller can ask for a document confirming the consumer’s age. Breaching the ban results in a fine.

As far as drugs are concerned, Polish law prohibits, among other things:

• possession of narcotic drugs or psychotropic substances (punishable by imprisonment of up to 3 years, and if the offender has a significant amount of such substances - up to 10 years),

• sale of narcotic drugs, psychotropic substances or poppy straw (punishable by fine and imprisonment from 6 months to 8 years, and if the offender sells a significant amount of these intoxicants - fine and imprisonment from 2 to 12 years),

• offering a narcotic or psychotropic substance to a minor (punishable by imprisonment from 6 months to 8 years),

• offering an intoxicant or psychotropic substance to another person, facilitating the use or persuading to use such a substance in order to obtain a material or personal advantage (punishable by imprisonment from one year to 10 years, and if the offender commits it to a minor - the penalty of imprisonment cannot be shorter than 3 years).

The most important legal provisions concerning counteracting drug addiction are contained in the Act of 29 July 2005. According to this document, the activity in this area takes place in many areas. Counteracting drug addiction includes:

• upbringing, educational, informative and preventive activities,

• medical treatment, rehabilitation and reintegration of addicted persons,

• reduction of health and social harm,

• control of addictive substances,

• combating illicit trade, manufacture, processing, conversion and possession of addictive substances,

• control of cultivation of plants containing addictive substances.

The legal situation of minors is regulated in various areas of law. The most restrictive regulations are found in criminal law, according to which, after the age of 15, criminal liability may be incurred in the event of committing particularly serious crimes. Persons under the age of 18 cannot legally buy cigarettes or alcohol. However, particularly restrictive regulations concern the possession, manufacture and trade in narcotic drugs.