Archive 1992–2014

This work discusses broadly understood psychiatric themes in the following Codes: the Penal Code, the Penal Proceedings Code and the Executory Penal Code due to be enforced on September l, 1998. Special attention is paid to those regulations which differ from previous ones. As far as the Penal Code is concerned, the focus is on the premises underlying therapeutic security measures and responsibility for criminal acts against life. All regulations of the Penal Proceedings Code which deal with participation of expert psychiatrists and psychologists in the legal proceedings are presented briefly together with a more extensive discussion of giving evidence based on court-psychiatric expert opinions and the procedure for adjudgement of therapeutic security measures. As far as the Executory Penal Code is concerned, the discussion focusses on the effects of ruling the insanity defense on the executory procedure, criminal commitment and therapeutic security measures. Analysis of the regulations of the new codes leads to the conclusion that the position of the psychiatrist and the psychologist in the Polish penal proceedings should be even stronger than before.