Diff erentiation of solutions in view of the public prosecutor’s supervision over preparatory proceedings in criminal and tax off ence cases based on selected provisions of the code of criminal procedure and the penal fi scal code from the perspective of good law characteristics

Abstract

This article is an attempt to show the consequences of differences in regulations on Public Prosecutor’s supervision over proceedings as provided for by the Penal Fiscal Code and the Code of Criminal Procedure, from the perspective of good law characteristics. On the basis of selected regulations, the author attempts to demonstrate that the marginal supervision of the Public Prosecutor over the investigation in the penal fi scal proceedings as provided for in the legislation contradicts the clarity, coherence and effectiveness of law. The differentiation between solutions adopted in this respect gives rise to problems with normative regulations based on the Penal Fiscal Code and makes the regulations inconsistent with other legislation: the Act of 28 January 2016 — Law on the Prosecutor’s Offi ce and the Act of 17 June 2004 — on complaint regarding infringement of the party’s right to examine the case in preparatory proceedings conducted or supervised by a prosecutor and court proceedings without unreasonable delay. Further, in the content of the article the author refers to selected legislation applicable also to investigation regulated by the penal fi scal proceeding regulations. They serve as an example to demonstrate the thesis that the differentiation introduced in this respect in the legislation is entirely unreasonable as compared to the related regulations of the Code of Criminal Procedure. The analysis of those regulations proves that there is no system-related or legal argumentation that would justify this kind of exceptions. In the conclusions drawn on the basis of the analyses carried out in the article, the author states that the introduction of different regulations in the Penal Fiscal Code and the Code of Criminal Procedure as regards the Public Prosecutor’s supervision over the investigation conducted by the fi nancial authority responsible for preparatory proceedings and some exceptions in respect of investigations does not fulfi l the requirements of good law.