New Terrorist Offences in Polish Criminal Law

Abstract

The author describes the evolution of anti-terrorist substantial criminal law regulations in Poland. It is stressed that the new offences were introduced more because of an international legal pressure to do so than because of the existence of a real need for such regulations, since Poland has not so far directly experienced terrorism. The author especially focuses on the changes to the Criminal Code introduced since 2016, discussing the new offence of participating in a terrorist training (Art. 255a § 2 of the Criminal Code), the offence of crossing the border of Poland with the intention to commit a terrorist act abroad (Art. 259a of the Criminal Code), and the recently much changed shape of the offence of financing of terrorism (Art. 165a of the Criminal Code), which can now be committed even unintentionally.