The Substantive Criminal Aspects of the Offence of Simulated Child Pornography under Polish Law

Abstract

The objective scope of the research problem concerns the content and sense of the elements characterising one of the types of child pornography, criminalised under Art. 202 §4b of the Criminal Code, i.e. simulated child pornography. This offence is understood as producing, disseminating, presenting, storage and possession of pornographic material presenting a generated or processed image of a minor participating in sexual activity. The main goal of the text is to perform a substantive criminal analysis of the act criminalised under Art. 202 §4b of the Polish Criminal Code. The scope of the analysis has been elaborated with the following research question concerning the degree of effectiveness: To what degree is the legal solution concerned with criminalisation and penalisation of the activities of »production, dissemination, presentation, storage or possession of pornographic material presenting a generated or processed image of a minor participating in sexual activities« effective and realises the ratio legis intended by the legislator? The analysis of the problem has been performed with the aid of chiefly institutional and legal approach in the form of textual, functional and doctrinal interpretations, which have been supplemented with the author’s own conclusions and opinions.