THE PENALTY OF RESTRICTION OF LIBERTY – EXPECTATIONS AND REALITY
THE PENALTY OF RESTRICTION OF LIBERTY – EXPECTATIONS AND REALITY

Summary/Abstract: This study attempts to answer the question whether the assumptions and expectations of thelegislators, as expressed in the 2015 amendment to criminal law concerning the penalty ofrestriction of liberty, have been fulfilled in judicial practice. Based on the analysis, it appearsthat the main goal of the reform has been achieved: namely, a significant reduction in theadjudication of the penalty of restriction of liberty with conditional suspension of executionin favour of non-custodial penalties. Consequently, the role of the penalty of restriction ofliberty in criminal policy has significantly expanded; however, these changes have also hada negative outcome by increasing the use of unconditional imprisonment. This indicates thatfor some offenders, limiting the application of conditional suspension of penalty executionhas led to a rise in the frequency of unconditional imprisonment. When analysing issuesrelated to the adjudication and execution of the penalty of restriction of liberty, particularattention was drawn to the importance of accurately selecting this penalty in the form ofan obligation to perform unpaid, supervised community service in specific cases, and thenon-compliance in practice with the directive in Article 58 § 2a of the Polish Criminal Code.This led to an increase in the number of substitute imprisonment penalties ordered in place ofthe restriction of liberty penalty. Additionally, based on established data, serious concerns ariseregarding the effectiveness of the penalty of restriction of liberty, as measured by recidivismrates. This is because it brings the penalty of restriction of liberty closer in effectiveness tounconditional imprisonment and significantly deviates from the effectiveness of other non-custodial penalties and measures.penalty of restriction of liberty, substitute penalty, recidivism, criminal policy,criminal law reform

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