PRINCIPLE OF OPPORTUNISM IN CRIMINAL LAW (ANALYSIS OF THE PROBLEM AND DE LEGE FERENDA POSTULATES)

The article discusses to what extent the principle of opportunism should be used in Polish criminal law in cases where the extent of the criminal case would justify the limitation of its scope in the proceedings. However, to depart rom the principle of legality, which is binding now, it is necessary to satisfy many conditions as well as to account for the costs of the proceedings, and in many cases, to take into account limitation periods in prosecuting and judging them. It is justifi ed to compare the prosecution and judicial authorities to other entities, despite their specific functions, in terms of effi ciency of actions and the level of a product developed. The article also presents certain solutions adopted in German criminal law to formulate de lege ferenda postulates.