(Not)expunged criminal conviction of a person applying for a firearms license – a case study Cover Image

(Nie)zatarte skazanie osoby ubiegającej się o pozwolenie na broń – analiza przypadku
(Not)expunged criminal conviction of a person applying for a firearms license – a case study

Author(s): Adam Pachucki
Subject(s): Politics / Political Sciences, Law, Constitution, Jurisprudence, Constitutional Law, Civil Law, Public Law, Administrative Law
Published by: Wydawnictwo Naukowe Uniwersytetu Szczecińskiego
Keywords: a firearms license; a right to keep and bear arms; expungement of a criminal record; medical or psychological certificate of the firearms license applicant; appeal in administrative proceedings

Summary/Abstract: Under Polish law a person applying for a firearms license (the author uses the example of a person applying for a firearms license for hunting purposes) is obliged to attach thereto medical and psychological certificates confirming that an applicant may bear a firearm. These certificates may be challenged on appeal by the competent police authority, only on the grounds of an expunged conviction. Police authority can legally state that such conviction itself implies a defectiveness thereof, despite the lack of any other allegations, evidence or information that the candidate should not keep and bear a firearm. According to the law, an expunged conviction should not have any negative legal consequences, the record of the sentence is deleted from the register of offenders, and such conviction shall be considered void. Based on the current jurisprudence, the author discusses the problems of the current wording of the legal provisions, shows possible abuses, indicates the violation of the institution of expungement and proposes changes to the provisions that could reduce the problems mentioned in the article.

  • Issue Year: 2021
  • Issue No: 13
  • Page Range: 59-69
  • Page Count: 11
  • Language: Polish