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Criminal proceedings

The purpose of criminal proceedings is to determineto determinedetermine whether a crime has been committedto commitcommitted and to detectto detectdetect its perpetrator and hold him criminally liableto hold somebody criminally liablehold him criminally liable.

We are dealing with criminal liabilitycriminal liabilitycriminal liability when:

• an act was committed which was prohibited by the penalpenalpenal law in force at the time it was committed,

• the perpetrator has reached the minimum age, allowing for him to be held criminally liable (in Poland it is 17 years),

• the act was not committed in self defenseself defenseself defense or in a state of higher necessitystate of higher necessitystate of higher necessity,

• the act was committed culpablyculpablyculpably (nullum crimen sine culpa - no crime without guilt); the fault may be intentional (the perpetrator intends to commit the offence) or unintentional (the perpetrator does not intend to commit an offence, but commits it, e.g. not being cautious enough).

The basic principle of criminal law is also that you are only responsible for your own actions.

A participant in criminal proceedings is any person who participates in proceedings in a role defined by law.

The public prosecutor is usually the state prosecutorstate prosecutorstate prosecutor, but this function may also be performed by police officers, municipal guards, and state labor inspectors. The task of the public prosecutor is to present accusations of committing a prohibited act and support it with evidence.

The subsidiary prosecutorsubsidiary prosecutorsubsidiary prosecutor is a victim who may participate in a criminal trial alongside or instead of a public prosecutor.

A private prosecutorprivate prosecutorprivate prosecutor may be a victim or the representative of a victim who raises and supports accusations in cases prosecuted by private accusation.

An accused in a criminal trial is a person against whom an indictment was filedto file an indictment against somebodyindictment was filed before the court or a person against whom the prosecutor filed a motion for conditional discontinuance of proceedings.

The criminal proceedings consist of several stages. The preparatory stage includes clarifying the circumstances of the crime, hearing of the witnesses, preparing documents for the court. The trial is conducted before the court of the first instance (district or regional).

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Grafika podpisana jako "Criminal trial overview", która składa się z następujących kafelków: 1. the beginning of a trial, 2.court proceedings (reading of the indictment, hearing of the accused, analyzing evidence), 3. statements by the parties, 4. issuing a judgment.

Appeal proceedings are carried out in the second instance court (regional or court of appeal) in the case of appeal against the judgment by one of the parties. The reason for filing an appeal include:

• infringement of the procedural rules, if it could have influenced the content of the judgment under appeal,

• an error in factual findings which were the basis of the judgment under appeal, if it could have an impact on its content,

• gross disproportion of punishment.

The court of appeal may:

• maintain the contested judgment in force,

• revoke the appealed judgment and direct the case for reconsideration or discontinue the proceedings,

• change the appealed judgment.

The enforcement proceedings begin when the judgment becomes legally binding. It is the implementation of the court's judgment (e.g. imprisonment).

In criminal proceedings, there is a possibility to use an extraordinary mean of recourse against the verdict of the court of the second instance – cassation, considered by the Supreme Court. A party (ordinary cassation) or the Attorney General, the Supreme Military Prosecutor or the Ombudsman may appeal in cassation (extraordinary cassation). The reason for filing a cassation may be a serious violation of the provisions of the proceedings or other gross violations of the law, if they could have a significant impact on the content of the court’s decision.

Civil proceedings

Civil liability regards property. It concerns natural persons, legal persons, and the State Treasury.

The basic principle of civil liability is responsibility on guilt basis - just like in criminal law it is a liability for culpable action or omission.

Types of civil liability:

• for damage caused by a tort,

• for failure to perform or improper performance of an obligation arising from a legal transaction (e.g. contract),

• for damage caused as a result of an event (e.g. warranty or insurance).

Civil proceedings are divided into judicial (court) and out‑of‑court ones. In the court procedure, the following stages can be distinguished:

• examination – in which the case is recognized and resolved,

• auxiliary – carried out to identify the side‑effects that remain in connection with the main proceedings (e.g. proceedings regarding the reinstatement of the deadline),

• enforcement – which serves the purpose of meeting the rights and fulfilling the obligations.

Parties in civil proceedings:

• a plaintiff – the party that initiates proceedings by filing a lawsuit to the court,

• defendant – the person against whom the lawsuit was directed.

The lawsuit must meet the requirements for procedural documents. It should include, among others, the identification of the court to which it is addressed, the name and surname or the names of the parties, their legal representatives and proxies, the content of the request succinctly described, factual circumstances justifying the request and evidence to support the circumstances cited, the value of the subject (in the case of property claims).

In addition, the lawsuit may contain various types of requests, for example: for securing the claims, conducting the trial in the absence of the plaintiff, summoning witnesses and experts for hearing, making an inspection, requesting evidence to be brought into court for the trial from the court, offices or third parties. The defendant has the right to respond to the claim after is being delivering to him.

According to art. 210 of the Code of Civil Procedure, the hearing takes place in such a way that after calling the party's case - first the plaintiff and then the defendant report their claims and conclusions orally and provide statements and evidence to support them. The parties may also indicate the legal basis of their demands and conclusions. Each party is obliged to make a statement regarding the facts as to the claims of the opposing party. In addition, the trial includes, depending on the circumstances, evidence and analysis of its results. A party may, up to the end of the hearing, cite facts and evidence to substantiate its conclusions or refute the conclusions and claims of the opposing party. The settlement of a case in civil proceedings takes the form of a decision or judgment. In proceedings before the civil courts, you can also appeal to a higher instance and lodge a cassation complaint to the Supreme Court.

Mediations

Mediation is a process of resolving a dispute by the parties involved with the participation of a third party – a mediator - whose task is to help the parties' reach an agreement. A mediator can be any person with full active legal capacity, enjoying full public rights. A judge cannot be a mediator. Mediation is voluntary. It is conducted on the basis of a mediation agreement or a court order that directs parties to mediation. The basic principles of conducting mediation are:

• voluntariness,

• impartiality of the mediator,

• confidentiality,

• speed.

If mediation leads to a settlement, it must be approved by the court. It has then the same legal force as the settlement made directly before the court. Such a settlement is just as enforceable as a final court decision. Solving a dispute through mediation is very beneficial for both parties and the judiciary. The mediation procedure is many times faster, and allows the parties to find solutions that will satisfy each of them. In addition, it relieves courts, in which civil cases tend to go on for a long time. Mediations are more and more often used in proceedings before criminal and family courts, too.

Proceedings before criminal and civil courts in Poland differ from each other. We initiate criminal proceedings by submitting a notification on suspicion of committing a crime (or through a private indictment), and the civil proceedings - by filing a lawsuit to a court. Proceedings before a criminal court are preceded by preparatory proceedings which are not present in civil proceedings. In civil proceedings, the burden of proof rests with the plaintiff, in criminal proceedings, in most cases, the responsibility to prove guilt lies with the public prosecutor. In civil proceedings, the court is bound by the content of the lawsuit, and in criminal proceedings it is obliged to comprehensively examine the case. Therefore, in criminal cases the scope of the judgment may be broader or narrower than what the victim expects. As far as the similarities are concerned, proceedings before criminal and civil courts have a two‑instance character. The first instance is usually district courts, in exceptional cases regional courts. In both types of proceedings, the same means of recourse apply: an appeal and a cassation (in civil proceedings it is called cassation complaint).

Keywords

criminal proceedings, criminal liability, investigative bodies, state prosecutor, subsidiary prosecutor, private prosecutor, the accused, victim, suspect, defense attorney, witness, expert, rights of the accused, first/second instance court, enforcement proceeding, civil liability, responsibility on guilt basis, civil proceedings, plaintiff, defendant, lawsuit, mediation

Glossary