Blanket criminal provisions as
a constitutional issue – summary

The article aims to answer the question whether and if yes, then under what conditions
blanket criminal provisions meet constitutional requirement of definiteness
of an offense. This question is one of the most important legal issues that arises
at the level of relations between the criminal law and the constitutional law.
The rulings of the Polish Constitutional Tribunal relating to this issue show a farreaching
evolution. This evolution has proceeded from the thesis on an absolute
prohibition of referrals in the criminal law towards the thesis on conditional permission
of using blanket provisions in the criminal law. In the currently established
judgments the Tribunal has stated that, from perspective of the constitutional
principle of definiteness of an offense, blanket provisions are admissible if they
meet the so-called foreseeability test. This test is met if the addressee of a criminal
provision is able to determine – merely from the wording of the provision – main
elements of the offense. It is worth noting that the Tribunal accepts both the partially
blanket provisions and in exceptional situations the fully blanket provisions.
The direction of changes in the judgments indicates a definitely needed pragmatism
in balancing between the protective and the guarantee functions of the
criminal law.

Załączniki:
Pobierz plik (9-2012 Kustro.pdf)9-2012 Kustro.pdf488 kB

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