The pandemic from the criminal-law perspective. Selected issues.

The recent pandemic, which is affecting virtually all the countries in the world, has posed a range of formidable challenges for public authorities. One of these has involved developing legal procedures to protect the lives and health of citizens, as well as to maintain a functional State apparatus and economy. It was necessary, however, that the regulations adopted to that end did not undermine core principles, even in emergency and dangerous situations. They were meant to safeguard core democratic values, while also setting certain limitations. It was imperative that the legislation be passed in accordance with constitutional rules. And this particularly involved legal sanctions, which are the focus of this paper. The paper examines Polish Penal Code provisions in terms of their alignment with the current pandemic situation. Consideration is given to whether they require improvements, and, if so, what could be improved