The Institution of the Crown Witness in the Light of the Directive Prohibiting the Exchange of Procedural Roles and Selected Evidentiary Prohibitions of the Polish Criminal Procedure

Abstract

The institution of the crown witness in Poland was introduced into the legal order in 1997 and its aim was to effectively counteract organized crime, which at that time was experiencing its heyday. Being very controversial from the very beginning, with numerous voices of criticism and approval at the same time, over the years it has consolidated its position and for 25 years has continuously contributed to breaking the conspiracy of silence of the perpetrators of crimes of the greatest severity. The subject of the article is the analysis of the institution of the crown witness in the context of the element of the procedural role of the perpetrator and selected evidentiary prohibitions of the Polish criminal procedure. The author confronts the eponymous institution with the prohibition of changing procedural roles, the prohibition of excluding the freedom of expression of the person being questioned, and the prohibition related to obtaining an evidentiary statement that cannot constitute evidence. The role of these prohibitions is to shape truthful findings in the criminal process and to guarantee its fairness. The procedure for granting the status of a crown witness, which is a kind of compromise between the fairness of the trial and the purpose of the institution, carries the risk of abuse in this area. The threat concerns the violation of the principle of material truth and the protection of the procedural position of the accused who has not obtained the status of a crown witness.