Freedom of Speech and Protection of Public Order in Petty Offenses Law (Article 63a of the Code of Petty Offenses). Commentary on Judgment of the District Court in Bełchatów of 7 December 2020, II W 297/20 Cover Image

Wolność wypowiedzi a ochrona porządku publicznego w prawie wykroczeń (art. 63a Kodeksu wykroczeń). Glosa do wyroku Sądu Rejonowego w Bełchatowie z 7 grudnia 2020 r., II W 297/20
Freedom of Speech and Protection of Public Order in Petty Offenses Law (Article 63a of the Code of Petty Offenses). Commentary on Judgment of the District Court in Bełchatów of 7 December 2020, II W 297/20

Author(s): Jan Kulesza
Subject(s): Law, Constitution, Jurisprudence, Criminal Law, Civil Law
Published by: Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Jagiellońskiego
Keywords: public order; freedom of expression; symbolic speech; misdemeanor; Greenpeace;

Summary/Abstract: The current Polish Code of Petty Offenses entered into force in a different political, legal, and socio-economic reality. Despite many amendments, it does not fully correspond to contemporary realities, therefore the interpretation of its provisions requires particular care, due to the necessity to consider, in particular, the current Constitution of the Republic of Poland. The guarantees of individual rights and freedoms it contains need to be included in the process of legal interpretation, even though they did not exist in the present form when the Code of Petty Offenses was introduced into the legal system. Article 63a of the Code of Petty Offenses protects against behavior that violates the aesthetics of public space by littering or defacing. It sanctions the placement of an advertisement, poster, leaflet, inscription, or drawing in a public place not intended for this purpose. However, such behavior may not be punished when, in a specific case, it does not violate public order, as it constitutes a form of exercising individual freedom of expression.

  • Issue Year: 20/2021
  • Issue No: 4
  • Page Range: 143-150
  • Page Count: 8
  • Language: Polish