Victimless crimes in the light of the Polish Constitution and the jurisprudence of Constitutional Court
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.34767/SIIP.2018.17.16Keywords:
libertatianism, constitutionalism, paternalism, seatbelts, abortion, marijuanaAbstract
The term “victimless crimes” is one of the leading concepts of American criminology, also used by libertarian circles. It assumes that
acts that do not cause harm to the other person (or are made with his consent) should be legal.This theory has also found a resonance in American constitutionalism, whereas in Polish science of constitutional law this concept is virtually unknown. The case law of the Constitutional Tribunal is also more conservative and paternalistic than libertarian. The Tribunal did not consider unconstitutional provisions to drive a car with fastened seatbelts. Possession of marijuana for own use also, in the Court’s
opinion, may also be prohibited by Polish law and the justifi cation used typical conservative arguments. The Polish Constitution also protects public morality, which is in direct contradiction to libertarianism. The author of the concept, Edwin Schur, also considered abortion as “victimless crime”. The Constitutional Tribunal has an extremely diff erent position, recognizing the need to protect unborn life. The axiology of the Polish Constitution is closer to the same spirit of Christian democracy than to extreme liberalism.
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