The right to appoint a defense attorney and a court-appointed representative for a foreigner

Czasopismo Prawa Karnego i Nauk Penalnych Rok XXVI: 2022, numer 3-4
Journal of Criminal Law and Penal Studies Volume XXVI: 2022, No. 3-4

Daniel Macur, Ewa Niezabitowska, Magdalena Pająk, Michał Sykała

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Keywords

Summary

The refugee crisis on the Polish-Belarusian border related to the appearance on the
border of a significant number of people who were brought to the territory of Belarus
and then directed to the territory of Poland in an organized manner by Belarusian ser-
vices led to a number of actions by, among others, Polish authorities, the legal aspects
of which required urgent elaboration. This article addresses the issue of the right to
appoint a defense attorney and a court-appointed representative for a foreigner. Some
countries offer comprehensive legal assistance to foreigners. In our country, there is no
comprehensive system of legal aid covering the various proceedings pending against and
involving a foreigner. As a result, a foreigner demonstrating a need for legal aid or legal
representation is forced to file multiple applications at different stages and for individual
actions under different procedures.
A foreigner may be in different procedural roles, which triggers the need to apply for
free legal assistance on diverse legal grounds. Some proceedings contain gaps in access
to legal aid, this is clearly evident in the case of administrative proceedings. While the
law on granting international protection to foreigners provides for access to free legal
aid, this only happens at the stage of appealing a negative decision.

Bibliography

< https://interwencjaprawna.pl/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/raport_SIP_w_dzialaniu_2020.pdf >.
< https://www.unhcr.org/protection/globalconsult/3b389254a/asylum-processes-fair-efficient-asylum-procedures.html >.
< https://www.echr.coe.int/documents/guide_art_6_pol.pdf >.
< https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/PL/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:32013R0604&from=PL >.

 

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Detention (deprivation of liberty) of foreigners by the Border Guard Service

Czasopismo Prawa Karnego i Nauk Penalnych Rok XXVI: 2022, numer 3-4
Journal of Criminal Law and Penal Studies Volume XXVI: 2022, No. 3-4

Tomasz Sroka

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Full text in PDF (open access)

 

Keywords

Summary

The refugee crisis on the Polish-Belarusian border related to the appearance on the
border of a significant number of people who were brought to the territory of Belarus
and then directed to the territory of Poland in an organized manner by Belarusian
services led to a number of actions by, among others, Polish authorities, the legal as-
pects of which required urgent elaboration. This article addresses the issue of detention
(deprivation of liberty) of foreigners by the Border Guard Service. The Border Guard’s
provision of security at the border of the Republic of Poland may require actions that
lead to restrictions on the rights or freedoms of individuals – both foreigners and cit-
izens of our country. The provision by the Polish state of adequate guarantees for the
protection of individual or common property, as well as enabling the implementation
of procedures for the entry or control of the stay of foreigners in the territory of Poland
is not possible without authorizing Border Guard officers to take actions that may result
in the restriction of various rights and freedoms, especially freedom of movement. Due
to various circumstances, this may sometimes require Border Guard officers to resort
to the measure that most interferes with the sphere of individual freedom, namely
deprivation of liberty.
Since deprivation of liberty constitutes the most far-reaching interference with an
individual’s personal liberty, the legislator in Article 41 of the Constitution pointed to
special guarantees for the protection of persons from arbitrary deprivation of their liberty.

Bibliography

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Hofmański P., w: Konwencja o Ochronie Praw Człowieka i Podstawowych Wolności, t. I: Komentarz do artykułów 1–18, red. L. Garlicki, Warszawa 2010.
Sroka T., Home Quarantine or Home Isolation During the Covid-19 Pandemic as a Deprivation of Liberty under Polish Law, „Medicine, Law & Society” 2021, nr 2.
Sroka T., Prewencyjne pozbawienie wolności, Kraków 2021.

 

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Criminal liability for destruction of border facilities (in humanitarian perspective)

Czasopismo Prawa Karnego i Nauk Penalnych Rok XXVI: 2022, numer 3-4
Journal of Criminal Law and Penal Studies Volume XXVI: 2022, No. 3-4

Joanna Hetnarowicz-Sikora

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Full text in PDF (open access)

 

Keywords

Summary

The refugee crisis on the Polish-Belarusian border related to the appearance on the bor-
der of a significant number of people who were brought to the territory of Belarus and
then directed to the territory of Poland in an organized manner by Belarusian services
led to a number of actions by, among others, Polish authorities, the legal aspects of which
required urgent elaboration. This article addresses the issue of criminal liability for de-
struction of border facilities (in humanitarian perspective). The brutality of Belarusian
officers in such situations covers the entire spectrum of actions far beyond the act of
exceeding their authority. In order to force people to cross over to the Polish side, they
beat people with batons, kick them, break their ribs, legs, threaten them with knives, cut
them with knives, put a rifle to their heads, shoot at their feet or in the air, rat out dogs,
treat them with stun guns, burn them with cigarettes, throw them on concertina (barbed)
wire. In addition, they take away passports, charge high fees for water or the ability to
meet basic needs if placed in detention, and take away clothing and items to facilitate
survival in the forest. In this analysis, the catalog of crimes and offenses involving inci-
dents bearing the hallmarks of destruction of border facilities should be juxtaposed with
specific incidents identified in reports by the Grupa Granica, the Helsinki Foundation
for Human Rights and in newspaper articles.

Bibliography

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< https://www.grupagranica.pl/files/Raport-GG-Kryzys-humanitarny-napograniczu-polsko-bialoruskim.pdf >.
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Kalitowski M., w: Kodeks karny. Komentarz, red. M. Filar, Warszawa 2016.
Kosierb I., w: Kodeks wykroczeń. Komentarz, red. J. Lachowski, Warszawa 2021.
Leciak M., w: Kodeks wykroczeń. Komentarz, red. P. Daniluk, Warszawa 2019.
Mozgawa M., w: M. Budyn-Kulik, P. Kozłowska-Kalisz, M. Kulik, M. Mozgawa, Kodeks karny. Komentarz aktualizowany, LEX/el. 2021.
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Temporary ban on border zone and humanitarian crisis

Czasopismo Prawa Karnego i Nauk Penalnych Rok XXVI: 2022, numer 3-4
Journal of Criminal Law and Penal Studies Volume XXVI: 2022, No. 3-4

Piotr Tuleja

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Full text in PDF (open access)

 

Keywords

Summary

The refugee crisis on the Polish-Belarusian border related to the appearance on the
border of a significant number of people who were brought to the territory of Belarus
and then directed to the territory of Poland in an organized manner by Belarusian ser-
vices led to a number of actions by, among others, Polish authorities, the legal aspects of
which required urgent elaboration. This article addresses the issue of a temporary ban on
border zone and humanitarian crisis. Currently, we do not have a state of emergency, but
it is entirely up to the goodwill of the minister to ensure that the proportionality of the
restriction of rights is respected when imposing a stay ban. The ordinance on imposing
a temporary ban on staying in a certain area undermines the constitutional mechanism
for protecting human rights, preventing or hindering the weighing of principles when
there is a collision between the protection of life, human health and other constitution-
al rights and public safety in the border sphere. The most dramatic situations involve
making it impossible or difficult to save the lives and health of people who unlawfully
cross the border and are under Polish law.

Bibliography

Chojnacka I., Proces prawotwórczy w świetle orzecznictwa Trybunału Konstytucyjnego, Warszawa 2015.
Gutowski M., Kardas P., Wykładnia i stosowanie prawa w procesie opartym na Konstytucji,Warszawa 2017.
Kryzys humanitarny na pograniczu polsko-białoruskim. Raport Grupy Granica, red.W. Klaus, < https://www.grupagranica.pl/files/Raport-GG-Kryzys-humanitarny-napograniczu-polsko-bialoruskim.pdf >.