Introduction of Art. 276a of the CCP as a Result of the Impact of the SARS-CoV–2 Pandemic on the Criminal Trial

Abstract

Abstract One of the consequences of the coronavirus pandemic (SARS-CoV–2) in the context of the impact on the Polish criminal trial was the introduction to the Code of Criminal Procedure of a new preventive measure related to the protection of medical personnel, specified in the new editorial unit – Art. 276a of the CCP. This measure was introduced by the Act of March 31, 2020, amending the Act on special solutions related to the prevention, counteraction, and combating of COVID-19, other infectious diseases and the crisis situations caused by them, and some other acts, and is a novelty in the Polish criminal procedure. The purpose of this article is to investigate a new preventive measure defined in Art. 276a of the Code of Criminal Procedure in terms of the legitimacy of its introduction to the Polish Code of Criminal Procedure. Three research problems will be analysed. The first concerns the extent to which the introduction of the new preventive measure under Art. 276a of the Code of Criminal Procedure was necessary in terms of the need to provide special protection to medical personnel in Poland. The second research problem concerns the extent to which the application of the new preventive measure under Art. 276a of the Code of Criminal Procedure corresponds to the assumptions of the Polish legislator and what is the ratio legis of the analysed regulation. The third research problem boils down to the extent to which the amendment to Art. 276a of the Code of Criminal Procedure corresponds to the rules of legislative technique.