Certain acts satisfy the constituent elements of both a petty offence (wykroczenie) and a criminal offence. Their legal classification depends on the value of the harm caused by the act.
Petty Offence vs Criminal Offence
Under the Polish legal system, liability for a prohibited act may take the form of criminal liability (in the case of more serious violations) or liability for a petty offence (wykroczenie) (for considerably less serious violations). This distinction is of fundamental importance — not least with regard to the available penalties (the most severe penalty that may be imposed for a petty offence is 30 days’ detention, though in practice a fine is almost invariably imposed), the applicable procedure, and the consequences of a conviction. A person found guilty of a petty offence may still obtain a certificate of no prior convictions. Crucially, the limitation periods also differ — being significantly shorter for petty offences than for criminal offences.
Bisected Offences
The Penal Code (Kodeks karny) and the Petty Offences Code (Kodeks wykroczeń) provide for a range of acts that may be treated as either a petty offence or a criminal offence, distinguished only by a single, yet decisive, characteristic. In most cases, the distinguishing factor is the value of the property constituting the subject matter of the act (currently set at the threshold of PLN 800), though it may also be the degree of severity of the violation (as in the case of driving a vehicle after consuming alcohol).
In such situations, it is particularly important to establish the factual circumstances that differentiate criminal offences from petty offences.
Examples of Bisected Offences
- Theft — theft of property with a value of up to PLN 800 constitutes a petty offence (Art. 119 of the Petty Offences Code); where the property exceeds that value, the act constitutes a criminal offence (Art. 278 of the Penal Code).
- Criminal damage — the threshold is identical to that applicable in cases of theft: damage up to PLN 800 constitutes a petty offence (Art. 124 of the Petty Offences Code), whilst damage exceeding that amount constitutes a criminal offence (Art. 288 of the Penal Code).
- Driving a vehicle under the influence of alcohol — a person who drives a vehicle in a state indicating alcohol consumption (between 0.2 and 0.5 per mille) will be liable for a petty offence (Art. 87 of the Petty Offences Code), whereas a person whose blood alcohol level exceeds 0.5 per mille (i.e. who is in a state of intoxication) will be liable for a criminal offence (Art. 178a of the Penal Code). Crucially, however, a driving ban is imposed in both cases — though the duration of that ban differs accordingly.