Zawieszenie postępowania przygotowawczego a czynności dowodowe – postulaty de lege ferenda

Abstract

In recent years, there has been a noticeable abuse by prosecution bodies of the institution of suspension of proceedings during the pre-trial proceedings. While it is possible on the basis of article 22 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, the prerequisites indicated in this provision are not enumerated and the catalog of prerequisites is open. It can lead to opportunism going too far as a basis for suspension of the proceedingsdue to the lack of statutory limits within which proceedings can be suspended. At the same time, it is considered that article 22 of the Code of Criminal Procedure applies not only to court proceeding already pending, but also to pre-trial proceedings. As a result, law prosecution bodies are even entitled to arbitrarily using the institution of suspension of proceedings, thereby leading not only to the possibility of losing evidence or distorting it, but also causing a restriction of the victims’ right to justice. The aim of the presented article is to show that the current form of the institution of suspension does not fully realize the requirements in accordance with the principles of criminal procedure, so the de lege ferenda postulate is a more detailed regulation of the issues relating to the actions that can be taken by law prosecution bodies, as well as those relating to securing of evidence.