Ewolucja pośmiertnej ochrony zmarłych w prawie karnym na ziemiach polskich do XIX wieku
The evolution of the posthumous protection of the deceased on Polish territories until the 19th century

Summary/Abstract: The article presents the method of criminalization of various types of behaviour directed against human corpses or their resting places on the Polish territories as well as the criminal law regulations which were in force on Polish lands in the 19th century. It portrays the influence of the culture, religion, and customs of a given historical period on the attitude of contemporary people towards human remains, their resting places as well as the relevant legal regulations. As Juliusz Makarewicz points out, a case in which a crime and the object of a criminal action is the corpse of a dead person, their grave, or another resting place are among the oldest criminal acts. Simultaneously, they are among the most severely punished crimes in the early stages of social development. This was a result of the belief that violating a corpse or its resting place disturbs the balance between the world of the living and the world of the dead and, consequently, it puts the society as a whole in jeopardy. Furthermore, the article constitutes an attempt to demonstrate that history, religion, and culture are law-making factors.

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