Critical commentary on the Supreme Court Judgment of 4 October 2023, case No. IV 496/22

Anna Świerszczewska-Gąsiorowska

WSPiA Rzeszowska Szkoła Wyższa
https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9631-1708

Abstract

The commentary concerns the Supreme Court ruling of October 4, 2023, which addressed the issue of criminal liability of a police commander for exceeding his powers (Article 231 § 1 of the Criminal Code) in connection with personnel decisions taken against an officer subordinate to him. The author criticises the ruling, claiming the commander’s actions complied with the Police Act and professional standards, so they should be judged under administrative or disciplinary law rather than criminal law. The commentary also emphasizes that official decisions made within the framework of the Police’s organizational authority are of an administrative and public nature and are a manifestation of the exercise of state functions, rather than actions that in themselves constitute an abuse of power within the meaning of criminal law. The author points out that the excessive application of criminal law provisions to official actions leads to a distortion of the function of criminal law and constitutes a form of criminalisation of official practice. This phenomenon violates the principle of subsidiarity of criminal law, disturbs the balance between liability systems, and limits the decision-making autonomy of superiors, which in turn may disrupt the functioning of uniformed services.

Keywords:

criminal law, professional practices, abuse of power, officer