Nowelizacja art. 217c Kodeksu karnego wykonawczego a ograniczenie prawa do obrony
Amendment of article 217c of the Executive Penal Code and the restriction of the right to defence

Summary/Abstract: The Constitution of the Republic of Poland in Art. 42 sec. 2 guarantees all persons against whom criminal proceedings are pending the right to defense. The implementation of this right in relation to persons under temporary arrest manifests itself, among others, in contacting the attorney by phone. This issue has been regulated in Art. 217c of the Executive Penal Code. The recent amendment to this provision of law raises many doubts regarding the possibility of the uninterrupted exercise of the right to defence guaranteed in the Constitution of the Republic of Poland at all stages of the proceedings. This article aims to analyze the rights of persons under temporary arrest in the context of their ability to use means of distance communication to exercise their rights of defence. In addition, consider whether the changes introduced by the legislator have a real impact on implementing this right in practice. The current legal norm regulating telephone contact between a detained per-son and a defence lawyer significantly limits this right. In addition, it imposes on the detained person or his defender the obligation to perform additional technical activities in the form of submitting an appropriate request for contact. This leads to a time limitation of the exercise of the right to defence, which should be unrestricted at every stage of the proceedings.

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