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Problems of the criminalization of propagating and glorifying of totalitarianism (Art. 256 of the Penal Code) : Part I

praising Nazism, fascism, or communism propagating the totalitarian regime totalitarian doctrine (ideology) public presentation of the Nazi or communist symbols Art. 256 of the Penal Code

Part I of the article discusses legal and criminal issues connected with Art. 256 of the Penal Code, concerning mainly the crime of propagating totalitarian regimes — be it Nazi, fascist, or communist. The beginning of the presented text presents statistics of these types of illegal actions committed in Poland in the years 1999–2020, as well as the most frequently identified forms of aggravated offences under this article and the typology (classification) of the perpetrators. The actual extent of propagating and glorifying totalitarianism in Poland is exposed and then confronted with the applicable legal status based on the provisions of Art. 256 of the Penal Code. The article makes statements and compares two divergent ways of interpreting the terms included under the discussed law, i.e. “praise,” “propagate,” “totalitarian ideology,” and “totalitarian regime.” The considerations presented in the article are based on literature related to criminal law and political and law doctrines, as well as on the judicial decisions in the cases regarding acts referred to in Art. 256, § 1–2 of the Penal Code.

Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Wrocławskiego

ISSN 0239-6661 ISSN 0137-1126

10.19195/2300-7249.44.1.10

PAd P 101182 II

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