Penal policy in Poland from the international perspective

The author of the article analyzes the contemporary tendencies present in criminal law, both in Poland and globally. He emphasizes the importance of criminal policies in their broad sense, in particular comprising prevention of all phenomena which are considered to be negative by the society, to include those that meet the statutory definition of crimes, the importance of penal policy and its structures related to criminalization or decriminalization of public life, the statutory and judicial determination of penalties and the execution of pronounced sentences, and the importance of the rational legislator in this matter. The author distinguishes three models of penal policy: a repressive model whose characteristic property is its severity; a moderate model which emphasizes the principle of justice in adjudicating penalties; and a lenient model where courts tend to choose a broad range of non–prison sentences and probation measures. In the article’s conclusion, the author states his support for a liberal model of penal policies, which guarantees the greatest security and certainty of life to the society and prevents excessive criminalization of the social life. Also, the author expresses his belief that non–prison penal measures should enjoy the highest priority in the penal law.Uniwersytet Warmińsko–Mazursk