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The Polish President’s act of pardon as a negative premiss causing the inadmissibility of: criminal proceedings, proceedings on misdemeanours, or criminal enforcement proceedings K 9/17

Ref. No. K 9/17

JUDGMENT
IN THE NAME OF THE REPUBLIC OF POLAND

Warsaw, 17 July 2018

The Constitutional Tribunal, composed of:

Zbigniew Jędrzejewski – Presiding Judge
Grzegorz Jędrejek – Judge Rapporteur
Leon Kieres
Julia Przyłębska
Andrzej Zielonacki,

having considered, at a sitting in camera on 17 July 2018 – in accordance with Article 92(1)(1) of the Act of 30 November 2016 on the Organisation of the Constitutional Tribunal and the Mode of Proceedings Before the Constitutional Tribunal (Journal of Laws – Dz. U. item 2072) – the application lodged by the Public Prosecutor-General with the Tribunal to consider the conformity of:

1) the provisions of:

a) Article 59, Article 60, Article 61(1) and (2) as well as Article 62 of the Act of 23 November 2002 on the Supreme Court (Journal of Laws – Dz. U. of 2016 item 1254, as amended)

b) Article 390(1) and Article 39817(1) of the Act of 17 November 1964 – the Civil Procedure Code (Journal of Laws – Dz. U. of 2016 item 1822, as amended)

c) Article 441(1) and (2) of the Act of 6 June 1997 – the Criminal Procedure Code (Journal of Laws – Dz. U. of 2016, item 1749, as amended)

d) Article 3(2) of the Act of 25 July 2002 on the Organisational Structure of Administrative Courts (Journal of Laws – Dz. U. of 2016 item 1066, as amended)

e) Article 15(1)(2) and Article 15(1)(3), Article 187(1), Article 264, Article 267 and Article 269 of the Act of 30 August 2002 on the Mode of Proceedings Before Administrative Courts (Journal of Laws – Dz. U. of 2016 item 718, as amended)

− construed in the way that, where given subject-matter is both regulated at the constitutional and statutory level, the above provisions enable, respectively, the Supreme Court or the Supreme Administrative Court, adopting resolutions on the clarification of legal terms, to interpret constitutional terms on the basis of the meanings of terms included in legal acts equivalent to ordinary statutes – to Article 8 as well as Article 7 in conjunction with Article 2 of the Constitution of the Republic of Poland;

2) the provisions of:

a) Article 17(1) of the Act referred to in point 1(c),

b) Article 5(1) of the Act of 24 August 2001 – the Code of Procedure Concerning Misdemeanours (Journal of Laws – Dz. U. of 2016, item 1713, as amended),

c) Article 15(1) of the Act of 6 June 1997 – the Executive Penal Code (Journal of Laws – Dz. U. of 2017, item 665, as amended)

− insofar as the provisions do not provide for the Polish President’s act of pardon as a negative premiss causing the inadmissibility of, respectively: criminal proceedings, proceedings on misdemeanours, or criminal enforcement proceedings – to Article 139, first sentence, of the Constitution,

adjudicates as follows:

1) Article 17(1) of the Act of 6 June 1997 – the Criminal Procedure Code (Journal of Laws – Dz. U. of 2017, item 1904, as amended),

2) Article 5(1) of the Act of 24 August 2001 – the Code of Procedure Concerning Misdemeanours (Journal of Laws – Dz. U. of 2018, item 475, as amended),

3) Article 15(1) of the Act of 6 June 1997 – the Executive Penal Code (Journal of Laws – Dz. U. of 2018, item 652, as amended)

− insofar as they do not render amnesty granted in individual cases as a negative premiss for conducting, respectively, criminal proceedings, proceedings on misdemeanours, or criminal enforcement proceedings – are inconsistent with Article 139, first sentence, of the Constitution of the Republic of Poland.

Moreover, the Tribunal decides:

pursuant to Article 59(1)(2) and Article 59(1)(4) of the Act of 30 November 2016 on the Organisation of the Constitutional Tribunal and the Mode of Proceedings Before the Constitutional Tribunal (Journal of Laws – Dz. U., item 2072), to discontinue the proceedings as to the remainder.

The ruling was adopted by a majority vote.

Zbigniew Jędrzejewski
Grzegorz Jędrejek
Leon Kieres
(votum separatum)
Julia Przyłębska
Andrzej Zielonacki