Indicator history

Polish legislative codes include provisions that directly or indirectly penalize acts with racist undertones or those related to someone’s racial, national or ethnic origin. For example:

Article 256 of the Criminal Code prohibits public propagation of a fascist or other totalitarian regime, inciting hate with reference to differences in national, ethnic, racial, denominational characteristics or lack of denomination. Violations are subject to fines or limitation of freedom or deprivation of liberty of up to two years. Also manufacture, recording or importing, storage, possession, presenting, transport or sending of print materials, recordings or other objects containing the aforementioned content and order media with fascist, communist or other totalitarian symbols carry the same penalty. However, the criminal code allows such conduct as part of artistic, educational, collecting, or scientific activities.

Article 257 of the Criminal Code prohibits insulting a group of peoples or particular person due to his or her national, ethnic, racial, denominational or lack thereof membership. It also prohibits battery against another for the above reasons.

Article 118 of the Criminal Code essentially penalizes genocide (as as well as preparations therefore) committed against a national, ethnic, racial, political, denominational group or a group with a defined worldview for the purpose of its total or partial annihilation. These crimes are murder, causing grievous bodily harm, creating living conditions that threaten biological annihilation, use of means to prevent birth or forced seizure of children.

Article 118a of the Criminal Code penalizes a series of crimes and acts committed in connection with participation in a mass attack or even one of repeated attacks in support or execution of state or organizational policy against a group of peoples. Serious persecution of a group of peoples for reasons proscribed under international law, especially for political, racial, national, ethnic, cultural, denominational or lack thereof, worldview or gender, resulting in deprivation of fundamental rights, are crimes subject to deprivation of liberty.

Article 119§1 of the Criminal Code prohibits the use of violence or criminal threats against groups of individuals or a particular person duo to his or her national, ethnic, racial, political, denominational or lack thereof membership.

Polish legislative codes include provisions that directly or indirectly penalize acts with racist undertones or those related to someone’s racial, national or ethnic origin. For example:

Article 256 of the Criminal Code prohibits public propagation of a fascist or other totalitarian regime, inciting hate with reference to differences in national, ethnic, racial, denominational characteristics or lack of denomination. Violations are subject to fines or limitation of freedom or deprivation of liberty of up to two years. Also manufacture, recording or importing, storage, possession, presenting, transport or sending of print materials, recordings or other objects containing the aforementioned content and order media with fascist, communist or other totalitarian symbols carry the same penalty. However, the criminal code allows such conduct as part of artistic, educational, collecting, or scientific activities.

Article 257 of the Criminal Code prohibits insulting a group of peoples or particular person due to his or her national, ethnic, racial, denominational or lack thereof membership. It also prohibits battery against another for the above reasons.

Article 118 of the Criminal Code essentially penalizes genocide (as as well as preparations therefore) committed against a national, ethnic, racial, political, denominational group or a group with a defined worldview for the purpose of its total or partial annihilation. These crimes are murder, causing grievous bodily harm, creating living conditions that threaten biological annihilation, use of means to prevent birth or forced seizure of children.

Article 118a of the Criminal Code penalizes a series of crimes and acts committed in connection with participation in a mass attack or even one of repeated attacks in support or execution of state or organizational policy against a group of peoples. Serious persecution of a group of peoples for reasons proscribed under international law, especially for political, racial, national, ethnic, cultural, denominational or lack thereof, worldview or gender, resulting in deprivation of fundamental rights, are crimes subject to deprivation of liberty.

Article 119§1 of the Criminal Code prohibits the use of violence or criminal threats against groups of individuals or a particular person due to his or her national, ethnic, racial, political, denominational or lack thereof membership.

The current regulations keep sanctioning crimes of incitement to hatred, threats, public insults, or violence towards persons and minorities on, among others, national, ethnic, racial and religious grounds. Non-governmental organisations have been appealing for years to introduce legal changes which would allow to include in the penal code the crimes committed on grounds of sexual orientation, sex, gender identity, age and disablement. Meanwhile, the Parliamentary Club of Platforma Obywatelska (Civic Platform) informed on the beginning of works on the change of the article 256 of the penal code by means of adding an unclear criteria of “natural personal features or beliefs”, which raised protests of non-governmental organisations focused within the Coalition for Equal Opportunities (Koalicja na rzecz Równych Szans).

Source:

• Stowarzyszenie Interwencji Prawnej, 01.10.2012, Stanowisko Koalicji na Rzecz Równych Szans o zmianie kodeksu karnego w zakresie przestępstw nienawiści (Opinion of the Coalition for Equal Opportunities on change of the penal code concerning the hate crimes), http://interwencjaprawna.pl/stanowisko-sip-w-koalicji-na-rzecz-rownych-szans-o-zmianie-kodeksu-karnego-w-zakresie-przestepstw-z-nienawisci/, Accessed on 12.12.2012.