Sens czy bezsens stosowania aktu łaski generalnej jako środka resocjalizacji? O amnestiach w obliczu doświadczeń Polski Ludowej

Abstract

In the first part, the author of the article describes the detailed form of the act of grace in the form of amnesty. The general assumptions of the theory of law, criminology and politics concerning amnesty are presented, as well as its history in Poland in the 20th century (especially in the period of PRL). A considerable part of the analysis is based on the regulations contained in the normative decree on amnesty, issued on the 21st of July 1969, and on the published results of research on the effects and efficiency of this solution as regards resocialization. These results show that nearly 68% of the amnestied returned to criminal activity in a short time or neglected the imposed work obligation. The results thus form a basis for the recognition that using amnesty as a tool of resocialization is unjustified. On the grounds of both theoretical assumptions and the conducted sociological research, it has been concluded that amnesty cannot realise most of the goals of the judicial institutions and the legal and penal policy of a democratic lawful state. The final part of the article concerns the policy of pardon after the system transformations of 1989. A doubt-raising practice of issuing individual acts of grace (which, to a large extent, replaced the devalued institution of amnesty) again encourages the acceptance of the claim that the widely-understood act of grace (in any form), as an exceptional act, should be used with great caution and solely to express the obvious sense of justice felt by the society, which, in the ever-changing conditions, is not always closely followed by the law.