THE ISSUE OF CIVIL CLAIMS ENFORCEMENT IN A CRIMINAL PROCEDURE

Abstract

The article discusses the issue of a civil plaintiff in the Polish criminal proceedings. The issue has been the subject of discussion in the Polish literature and judicature. A civil plaintiff in criminal proceedings constitutes the injured person who has the rights of a party in litigation. Until the commencement of the judicial proceedings the plaintiff may file a civil complaint against the accused for the purpose of litigating property claims directly resulting from the commission of crime. A claim is brought by means of issuing a procedural writ known as a suit. The civil plaintiff is temporarily excused from the obligation to pay a fee relating to filing a civil complaint. The injured person becomes a civil plaintiff not when he files a claim to a court or a prosecutor but when the court issues the order of admission of the civil complaint. By exercising his rights, a civil plaintiff may file evidence motions, ask the interrogated persons questions and appeal against the verdict concerning civil claims. However, a civil plaintiff may submit evidence for only those circumstances which constitute bases of his civil claims, i.e. facts which have an impact on the basis and amount of claims, therefore he does not have the right to have a say in the degree of penalty. In a situation when the civil plaintiff joins this role with the role of a subsidiary prosecutor, he is granted with the right to take a stand in all the issues being important for the settlement in criminal proceedings, including the punishment. In respect of a civil complaint, the court may: admit the complaint, reject the admission, leave it unheard, grant or dismiss it. The rejection of the admission of a civil complaint may take place when the claim has no direct connection with the charges included in the indictment, the complaint has been filed by an unauthorised person, the same claim is the object of another proceedings valid and final decision has been issued with respect thereto. A complaint is left unheard when the plaintiff does not show up until after the commencement of the judicial examination and has not filed for the examination of the case in his absence. In the event when the civil complaint is left unheard, the civil plaintiff may file for passing the suit to a court having a jurisdiction over civil cases.