The internationalization of the Polish criminal law: how the Polish criminal law changed under the influence of globalization

Abstract

Globalization changed the Polish criminal law. During the last 15 years the Polish criminal law has been transformed under the influence of globalization. The purpose of this study is to assess the extent and character of this process. The change was mainly a result of the implementation of legal instruments adopted by international organizations, to which Poland already belonged or aspired (European Union, Council of Europe, OECD, UN). This is what we can call the internationalisation of the Polish criminal law. Modifications affected many areas, in particular criminalisation. Definitions of certain existing offences were extended to cover interests which were not protected before (i.e. corruption offences). Also, new definitions were introduced (i.e. act of terrorist character). Additionally, other elements were changed. However, the impact of globalization on Polish criminal law goes beyond internationalisation. Certain criminalisations were introduced under the influence of foreign laws as a tool of fight against new types of crime, characteristic for the era of unification of cultural and social behaviours (e.g. stalking).