Criminal Law - summer semester WP-PR-PKr-IIsem
Total number of hours in the winter and summer semesters: 60 (30 per semester).
Course: core
Objectives and goals (general): The course aims to introduce students to the principles of Polish criminal law, in particular the grounds and basis for criminal liability for a crime, as well as the guidelines for sentencing and the imposition of penalties, and the principles governing the application of protective measures.
Objectives and goals (specific):
The primary objectives of the course are as follows:
1) to provide students with the opportunity to master the principles of Polish criminal law,
2) to enable students to acquire and understand the conceptual framework of the “language of criminal law” (legal language and legal terminology as it relates to criminal law), as well as to navigate this framework with relative ease.
DETAILED COURSE SYLLABUS (SCOPE OF TOPICS)
Semester I:
1. Introductory topics. Criminal law in the context of other branches of law and academic disciplines (1 hour).
2. Criminal law in the broad sense versus criminal law in the strict sense (0.5 hours).
3. Functions of criminal law: justice, protection, and guarantee (0.5 hours).
4. Schools and approaches in the study of criminal law (2 hours).
5. Issues of criminalization (1 hour).
6. Criminal law and its application. Temporal and territorial scope of criminal law. Liability for crimes committed abroad (3 hours).
7. The principle of nullum crimen sine lege poenali anteriori and its significance in modern criminal law systems; specific aspects of this principle: nullum crimen sine lege scripta, nullum crimen sine lege stricta, nullum crimen sine lege certa, nullum crimen sine lege praevia (2 hours).
8. The general concept of a crime (1 hour).
9. The structure of a crime: human conduct as the basis of criminal liability, unlawfulness, punishability, social harmfulness, and culpability (9 hours).
10. Forms of committing a crime: stage-based forms (preparation, attempt, commission) and phenomenal forms (perpetration and its variants, incitement, aiding and abetting) (6 hours).
11. Justification defenses, in particular self-defense and defense of others, necessity, conflict of duties (4 hours).
Semester II:
12. Justification defenses – cont. (2 hours).
13. Excuse defences (4 hours).
14. Negligible social harmfulness of the act (2 hours).
15. Concurrence of statutory provisions (2 hours).
16. Concurrence of offenses (2 hours).
17. Penal theory. The penal system (4 hours).
18. Penal measures (2 hours).
19. Probative measures (3 hours).
20. Waiver of punishment for the offender (1 hour).
21. Principles of sentencing: sentencing guidelines, sentencing institutions, ordinary and extraordinary sentencing (4 hours).
22. Protective measures (2.5 hours).
23. Statute of limitations: statute of limitations on criminal liability and statute of limitations on the enforcement of a sentence (1 hour).
24. Expungement of sentence (0.5 hours).
(in Polish) E-Learning
Term 2022/23_L: (in Polish) E-Learning (pełny kurs) z podziałem na grupy | Term 2025/26_L: (in Polish) E-Learning (pełny kurs) z podziałem na grupy | Term 2024/25_L: (in Polish) E-Learning (pełny kurs) z podziałem na grupy | Term 2021/22_L: (in Polish) E-Learning (pełny kurs) z podziałem na grupy | Term 2023/24_L: (in Polish) E-Learning (pełny kurs) z podziałem na grupy | Term 2019/20_L: (in Polish) E-Learning z podziałem na grupy |
(in Polish) Grupa przedmiotów ogólnouczenianych
Subject level
Learning outcome code/codes
Type of subject
Course coordinators
Learning outcomes
PR_W01: The student knows and understands the sources, principles, and institutions of Polish criminal law, as well as the functions and place of criminal law within the legal system; knows the “language of criminal law” (legal language and legal terminology as it relates to criminal law); is able to use the terminological framework of criminal law to the extent necessary for the efficient and reliable practice of the legal profession in the future.
PR_W02: The student knows the sources and nature of criminal law norms.
PR_W04: The student knows and understands the grounds and basis for criminal liability for a crime, as well as the guidelines for sentencing, penal measures, and other measures provided by law as a response to a crime, and the principles governing the application of protective measures.
PR_W06: The student has in-depth knowledge of the role of specific institutions within criminal law and the ability to identify the relationships between them, and is familiar with information technologies and search systems used to obtain information on these topics.
PR_W08: The student is familiar with the principles of enacting criminal law provisions; knows the rules for applying these provisions and is able to formulate a description of simple and moderately complex factual situations from the perspective of criminal law provisions and to conduct a criminal law assessment of them.
PR_W09: The student knows the principles governing amendments to criminal law and their consequences.
Total for both semesters: 5 ECTS * 30 = 150 h
60 hours – lecture
90 hours – other student activities (reading of core and supplementary literature, analysis of case law, preparation for the first-semester assessment, preparation for the second-semester exam)
Continuation of the lecture from the winter semester.
Assessment criteria
Method: conventional lecture with elements of a seminar-style lecture and problem-based lecture.
Assessment criteria:
A written exam is required to pass the portion of the course covering the summer semester.
PR_W01:
Failing grade (2): The student: a) does not know or understand the sources, principles, and institutions of Polish criminal law or the function and place of criminal law within the legal system; or b) does not know the “language of criminal law” (legal language and legal terminology as they relate to criminal law); or c) is unable to use the terminological framework of criminal law to the extent necessary for the efficient and reliable practice of the legal profession in the future.
Grade: Satisfactory (3.0), Satisfactory Plus (3.5): The student, to a satisfactory or slightly better degree: a) knows and understands the sources, principles, and institutions of Polish criminal law, as well as the functions and place of criminal law within the legal system; b) knows the “language of criminal law” (legal language and legal terminology as it relates to criminal law); c) is able to use the terminological framework of criminal law to the extent necessary for the efficient and reliable practice of the legal profession in the future.
Grade: Good (4.0), Good Plus (4.5): A student with a grade of good or slightly better than good: a) knows and understands the sources, principles, and institutions of Polish criminal law, as well as the functions and place of criminal law within the legal system; b) knows the “language of criminal law” (legal language and legal terminology as it relates to criminal law); c) is able to use the terminological framework of criminal law to the extent necessary for the efficient and reliable practice of the legal profession in the future.
Grade: Very Good (5.0): The student very well: a) knows and understands the sources, principles, and institutions of Polish criminal law, as well as the functions and place of criminal law within the legal system; b) knows the “language of criminal law” (legal language and legal terminology as it relates to criminal law); c) is able to use the terminological framework of criminal law to the extent necessary for the efficient and reliable practice of the legal profession in the future.
PR_W02:
Failing grade (2): The student does not know the sources or nature of criminal law norms.
Grade: Satisfactory (3.0), Satisfactory Plus (3.5): The student has a satisfactory or slightly better than satisfactory knowledge of the sources and nature of criminal law norms.
Grade: Good (4.0), Good Plus (4.5): The student has a good or slightly better than good knowledge of the sources and nature of criminal law norms.
Grade: Very Good (5.0): The student has a very good understanding of the sources and nature of criminal law norms.
PR_W04:
Failing grade (2): The student does not know or understand the elements and grounds of criminal liability for a crime, the guidelines for sentencing, penal measures, and other measures provided by law as responses to a crime, or the principles governing the application of preventive measures.
Grade: Satisfactory (3.0), Satisfactory Plus (3.5): The student has a satisfactory or slightly better than satisfactory knowledge and understanding of the elements and grounds for criminal liability for an offense, as well as the guidelines for sentencing, penal measures, and other measures provided by law as a response to an offense, and the principles governing the application of preventive measures.
Grade: Good (4.0), Good Plus (4.5): The student, to a good degree or slightly better than good, knows and understands the grounds and basis for criminal liability for a crime, as well as the guidelines for sentencing, penal measures, and other measures provided by law as a response to a crime, as well as the principles governing the application of preventive measures.
Grade: Very Good (5.0): The student has a very good knowledge and understanding of the grounds and basis for criminal liability for an offense, as well as the guidelines for sentencing, penal measures, and other measures provided by law as a response to an offense, and the principles governing the application of preventive measures.
PR_W06:
Failing grade (2): The student a) lacks sufficiently in-depth knowledge regarding the place of specific institutions within criminal law and identifying the relationships between them, or b) is unfamiliar with information technologies and search systems used to obtain information on these topics.
Grade: Satisfactory (3.0), Satisfactory Plus (3.5): The student has sufficient or slightly better-than-sufficient knowledge regarding the role of specific institutions within criminal law and identifying the relationships between them, and is equally familiar with information technologies and search systems used to obtain information on these topics.
Grade: Good (4.0), Good Plus (4.5): The student has a good or slightly better-than-good understanding of the role of specific institutions within criminal law and identifying the relationships between them, and is equally familiar with information technologies and search engines used to obtain information on these topics.
Grade: Very Good (5.0): The student has a very good understanding of the role of specific institutions within criminal law and the relationships between them, and is equally proficient in using information technologies and search engines to gather information on these topics.
PR_W08:
Failing grade (2): The student does not know the principles of enacting criminal law provisions or the principles of applying these provisions, or lacks the ability to formulate a description of simple and moderately complex factual situations from the perspective of criminal law provisions and to conduct their criminal-law assessment.
Grade: Satisfactory (3.0), Satisfactory Plus (3.5): The student has satisfactory or slightly better knowledge of the principles of enacting criminal law provisions and the principles of applying these provisions, and possesses the ability to formulate a description of simple and moderately complex factual situations from the perspective of criminal law provisions and to conduct their criminal law assessment.
Grade: Good (4.0), Good Plus (4.5): The student has a good or slightly better than good understanding of the principles of enacting criminal law provisions and the principles of applying these provisions, and possesses the ability to formulate descriptions of simple and moderately complex factual situations from the perspective of criminal law provisions and to conduct their criminal law assessment.
Grade: Very Good (5.0): The student has a very good understanding of the principles of enacting criminal law provisions and the principles of applying these provisions, and possesses the ability to formulate descriptions of simple and moderately complex factual situations from the perspective of criminal law provisions and to assess them from a criminal law perspective.
PR_W09:
Failing grade (2): The student does not know the principles regarding amendments to criminal law or the consequences thereof.
Grade: Satisfactory (3.0), Satisfactory Plus (3.5): The student has a satisfactory or slightly better understanding of the principles governing changes to criminal law and their consequences.
Grade: Good (4.0), Good Plus (4.5): The student has a good or slightly better than good understanding of the principles governing changes to criminal law and their consequences.
Grade: Very Good (5.0): The student has a very good understanding of the principles governing changes to criminal law and their consequences.
Bibliography
Core literature:
1) Kodeks karny. Komentarz, red. J. Majewski, Warszawa 2024
2) W. Wróbel, A. Zoll, Polskie prawo karne. Część ogólna, wyd. II, Kraków 2012 (w zakresie zagadnień z zakresu teorii prawa karnego )
Supplementary reading:
textbooks on criminal law available on the market.
Additional information
Information on level of this course, year of study and semester when the course unit is delivered, types and amount of class hours - can be found in course structure diagrams of apropriate study programmes. This course is related to the following study programmes:
Additional information (registration calendar, class conductors, localization and schedules of classes), might be available in the USOSweb system: