The Right to Defence in Poland. Remarks on the Latest Amendments of the Code of Criminal Procedure from the European Perspective

Abstract

The article discusses the issue of standards of the right to defence and takes into account the recent amendments of the Code of Criminal Procedure. The analysis is conducted against the background of minimum standards of the right to defence set out under European law. A reference introduced to the title of the Code includes the assertion that the legislator has implemented the provisions of Directive of 22 October 2013 on the right of access to a lawyer in criminal proceedings and in European arrest warrant proceedings, and on the right to have a third party informed upon deprivation of liberty and to communicate with third persons and with consular authorities while deprived of liberty as well as Directive of 9 March 2016 on the strengthening of certain aspects of the presumption of innocence and of the right to be present at the trial in criminal proceedings. However, it seems that as a result of changes made in the discussed scope in the years 2016-2019, the legislator not only failed to fully implement the aforementioned Directives, but even introduced modifications that led to lowering the standards of the right to defence and guarantees of its implementation, both in material as well as formal terms.