Tajemnica zawodowa dziennikarza i jej ochrona w polskim systemie prawnym
A Journalist’s Professional Secrecy and its Protection in the Polish Legal System

Summary/Abstract: The article undertakes the issue of journalist secrecy, which is treated by the legal system as professional secrecy. Journalists’ professional secrecy is not to be viewed as this professional group’s prerogative but rather as its duty. Regulations concerning journal-ist secrecy are included in the press law, code of civil procedure, code of criminal pro-cedure, offence procedure code and administrative code. A journalist cannot free him-self/herself from journalist secrecy. This may happen only by a license of a court and only in the case where it is necessary to secure the benefit of justice administration, and a circumstance may not be ascertained on the basis of other evidence. The license may relate to the circumstances of certain events but it may not include any data which would enable the identification of the author of press material, if he reserved his right to anonymity (the so-called right of anonimat). The regulations are not applicable if the acquired information relates to most serious crimes against the interest of the state or against the human life. If a court exempts a journalist from the professional secrecy, he/she can not refuse to testify. In a case of the evasion of this duty, he/she shall not stand trial for the offence of criminal support. The case is quite different when a jour-nalist appears in court as a defendant. He/she may then breach their journalist secrecy as the exercise of his/her right to defend.

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