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The Right to Claim Innocence in Poland

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The Right to Claim Innocence in Poland This article from Erasmus Law Review is published by Eleven international publishing and made available to anonieme bezoeker The Right to Claim Innocence in Poland Wojciech Jasiński & Karolina Kremens* Abstract ment, leaving it on the fringes of interest for Polish aca- demics. Only occasionally do miscarriages of justice, Wrongful convictions and miscarriages of justice, their their reasons and effects, attract academic debate.1 The reasons and effects, only rarely become the subject of aca- issue of the compensation for wrongful conviction demic debate in Poland. This article aims at filling this gap attracts more attention.2 However, the studies rarely and providing a discussion on the current challenges of involve analysis of quantitative and qualitative data con- mechanisms available in Polish law focused on the verifica- cerning wrongful convictions and their reasons.3 Alto- tion of final judgments based on innocence claims. While gether, the research relating to this issue is not even there are two procedures designed to move such judgment: comparable to that carried out on that topic, especially cassation and the reopening of criminal proceedings, only in the US, but also in Europe.4 This seems intriguing. the latter aims at the verification of new facts and evidence, Miscarriages of justice affect their victims in various and this work remains focused exactly on that issue. The ways. They range from physical and psychological to article begins with a case study of the famous Komenda social and financial harm of the persons directly or indi- case, which resulted in a successful innocence claim, serving rectly affected by wrongful conviction.5 But they also as a good, though rare, example of reopening a case and impact the whole society since convicting the innocent acquitting the convict immediately and allows for discussing means that criminal justice system failed to protect the the reasons that commonly stand behind wrongful convic- victims of crime. Erring in doing justice undermines the tions in Poland. Furthermore, the article examines the inno- public trust in the criminal justice system and in the cence claim grounds as regulated in the Polish criminal rule of law.6 The miscarriages of justice may also gener- procedure and their interpretation under the current case law. It also presents the procedure concerning the revision of the case. The work additionally provides the analysis of 1. Ł. Chojniak, Niesłuszne skazania – przyczyny i skutki (2016); Ł. Choj- 44 the use of innocence claim in practice, feeding on the statis- niak and Ł. Wiśniewski, Przyczyny niesłusznych skazań w Polsce tical data and explaining tendencies in application for revi- (2012); A. Sowa, ‘Przyczyny pomyłek sądowych’, 1-2 Palestra 138 (2002). See also in English A. Górski and M. Ejchart, ‘Wrongful Convic- sion of a case. It also presents the efforts of the Polish tions in Poland’, 80 University of Cincinnati Law Review 1079 (2012). Ombudsman and NGOs to raise public awareness in that 2. See e.g. P. Cioch, Odpowiedzialność Skarbu Państwa z tytułu niesłusz- field. The final conclusions address the main challenges that nego skazania (2007), Ł. Chojniak, Odszkodowanie za niesłuszne ska- the Polish system faces concerning innocence claims and zanie, tymczasowe aresztowanie oraz niesłuszne oskarżenie (2013); K. Dudka and B. Dobosiewicz, Odszkodowanie za niesłuszne skazanie, indicates the direction in which the system should go. tymczasowe aresztowanie lub zatrzymanie w praktyce orzeczniczej sądów powszechnych (2012); W. Jasiński, ‘Odszkodowanie i Keywords: wrongful convictions, right to claim innocence, zadośćuczynienie za niesłuszne skazanie, wykonanie środka zabezpiec- reopening of criminal proceedings, miscarriage of justice, zającego oraz niezasadne stosowanie środków przymusu po nowelizacji kodeksu postępowania karnego’, 9 Prokuratura i Prawo 49 (2015), See revision of final judgment also in English: K. Wiśniewska, ‘Liability of State Treasury for Judicial Errors – Polish Experiences and Legal Solutions’, 7 Czasopismo Prawa Karnego i Nauk Penalnych 1 (2019), www.czpk.pl/artykuly/liability-of- state-treasury-for-judicial-errors-polish-experiences-and-legal-solutions 1 Introduction (last visited 1 August 2020). 3. Chojniak and Wiśniewski, above n. 1; J. Widacki and A. Dudzińska, ‘Pomyłki sądowe. Skazania osób niewinnych w Polsce’, 11-12 Palestra Wrongful convictions, miscarriages of justice and the 64 (2007); Sowa, above n. 2; O. Mazur, ‘Niesłuszne skazania w Polsce right of the convict to claim innocence are not necessar- w opinii prokuratorów i policjantów’, 3-4 Palestra 23 (2002). ily topics that claim the attention of Polish scholars. The 4. See e.g. C. Hoyle and M. Sato, Reasons to Doubt. Wrongful Convic- legal literature, engaged in the discussion on a variety of tions and the Criminal Cases Review Commission (2019); B. Forst, Errors of Justice: Nature, Sources and Remedies (2004); C.R. Huff and appellate measures available during criminal proceed- M. Killias (eds.), Wrongful Convictions and Miscarriages of Justice: ings, devotes surprisingly little attention to the measures Causes and Remedies in North American and European Criminal Jus- allowing for reopening cases closed with a final judg- tice Systems (2013); C.R. Huff and M. Killias (eds.), Wrongful Convic- tion: International Perspectives on Miscarriages of Justice (2010); M. Naughton, The Innocent and the Criminal Justice System: A Sociologi- * Wojciech Jasiński is Assistant Professor in the Department of Criminal cal Analysis of Miscarriages of Justice (2013); M. Naughton, Rethink- Procedure of the University of Wroclaw, Poland. orcid.org/ ing Miscarriages of Justice: Beyond the Tip of the Iceberg (2007); R. 0000-0002-7427-1474 Karolina Kremens is Assistant Professor in the Nobles and D. Schiff, Understanding Miscarriages of Justice (2002); R. Department of Criminal Procedure of the University of Wroclaw, Nobles, D. Schiff & G. Teubner, Understanding Miscarriages of Justice: Poland. orcid.org/0000-0002-2132-2645 This publication has been Law, the Media and the Inevitability of a Crisis (2000). developed as part of the project Compensation for Wrongful Depriva- 5. Naughton (2013), above n. 4, at 165-78. tion of Liberty. Theory and Practice (Registration No. 2017/26/E/ 6. S. Poyser, A. Nurse & R. Milne, Miscarriages of Justice. Causes, Conse- HS5/00382) financed by the National Science Centre, Poland. quences and Remedies (2018), at 128. ELR 2020 | No. 4 - doi: 10.5553/ELR.000179 This article from Erasmus Law Review is published by Eleven international publishing and made available to anonieme bezoeker ate substantial financial costs that should not be easily ter nova grounds).11 Proceedings may also be reopened if bypassed.7 an offence has been committed in connection with the It is hard to judge what reasons lie behind that relative closed proceedings and there are reasonable grounds to lack of interest of Polish scholars in wrongful convic- believe that this might have affected the ruling in ques- tions. It is definitely not because the criminal justice tion (propter falsa grounds).12 These two grounds are system is perceived as not producing such cases. There seamlessly present in Polish criminal procedure since are a host of studies showing how shortcomings in the enforcement of the first procedural regulations after investigation, bias, false testimonies other factors pro- Poland regained independence in 1918.13 duce false convictions.8 The belief that the public trial is But during the twentieth century, additional grounds able to counterbalance those risks or that criminal jus- for reopening of the proceedings were added. Currently, tice system is immune to them has been widely contes- the reopening is possible as a result of the judgment of ted. The criticism concerning the shortcomings of the the Constitutional Court14 or international tribunal15 criminal justice system that may result in wrongful con- establishing a violation of the Constitution or inter- victions is continuously expressed by practitioners and national treaty that occurred in the course of the rele- academia. Yet it may be that the scale of that phenom- vant proceedings.16 It is also possible in cases where enon is not perceived as large enough to launch an aca- conviction has been passed in absentia without notifi- demic discussion on a wide scale. Another reason might cation of the defendant about the date of hearing,17 be that Poland had long been waiting for a case that when a convicted defendant, whose penalty was extraor- would trigger a nationwide public debate and engage the dinarily mitigated in return for his or her cooperation media. This happened with the widely covered Komen- with law enforcement authorities, did not confirm the da case, which shocked the public and opened a discus- disclosed information in investigation during the trial,18 sion on the reasons for wrongful convictions, the ways and as a result of establishment of serious procedural in which the wrongfully convicted should be reim- errors that took place in the course of proceedings.19 bursed for their time in isolation, and the legal measures Most recently, upon the adoption of the new law on the available to re-verify the final cases. Supreme Court at the end of 2017,20 the third extraordi- The Polish Code of Criminal Procedure9 provides for nary measure has been introduced to the Polish legal many options to question the final judgment. A long- system. In the course of efforts to subordinate the judi- standing Polish tradition is a two-fold system of proce- ciary to the executive, undertaken by the Law and Jus- dures designed to verify final court judgments: the cas- tice party (Prawo i Sprawiedliwość), the so-called extra- sation and the reopening of criminal proceedings. The ordinary complaint (skarga nadzwyczajna) was intro- 45 former mechanism is designed to correct judicial deci- duced. The new procedure provides that if it is necessa- sions tainted by legal defects that occurred in the course ry to ensure compliance with the principle of a demo- of the proceedings (violations of either substantive or cratic state implementing the rules of social justice, an procedural law provisions).
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