Polish prosecutors warn of changes to criminal code

The Polish government is planning to implement changes in the code of criminal procedure, which may lead to a situation when criminals would be able to use money from crimes to pay for favorable opinion of an expert witnesses, Polish news portal TVN24 reported.

Prosecutors are anxious, as they believe that money from illegal gains will be used to pay for expert witness opinions that will paint the accused in a favorable light, TVN 24 said.

Barbara Grabowska, a lawyer from the Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights, said that new regulations may lead to a situation when the law enables the rich to win litigation as they will be able to spend more for the best expert witness opinions.

The Ministry of Justice believes that new regulations should balance out the chances of both sides. Prosecutors emphasized, however, that a “cheap” court commissioned opinion will not stand a chance against privately commissioned opinion, prepared by consulting companies of scientific facilities.

Prosecutors also pointed out that suggested changes may make prosecuting those accused of economic crimes practically impossible, TVN 24 reported.

Allowing privately commissioned opinions is supposed to be another step in revamping of the court system. Judges would see their role limited to that of an arbiter and litigation would be conducted in the fashion of US court proceedings.

According to the government’s plan, new regulations will come into force in July 2015. From that date sides will be able to commission independent expert witnesses to provide legal opinions. These opinions will be later classified as evidence and attached to the court records. Currently, only opinions commissioned by the court may be included in evidence material.