In short, the accused is a person accused of committing an offense (e.g. speeding), specifically the person against whom an application for punishment in an offense has been brought.

Law of the accused.

The accused has the right to a defense, including the use of the assistance of one defender. If the accused does not speak Polish, the application for punishment and decisions subject to appeal or ending the proceedings shall be announced or served on the accused along with the translation. The accused is not required to prove his innocence or to provide evidence against him. The accused has the right to explain; he may, however, without giving reasons refuse to answer individual questions or refuse to provide explanations. He should be instructed about this law. The accused present at the taking of evidence has the right to explain each evidence

Obligations of the accused

The accused is obliged to surrender:

1. external examination of the body and other tests not combined with violation of body integrity; in particular, you may, in particular, take fingerprints from the accused person, photograph him and show him for identification purposes to other persons,
2. psychological and psychiatric examinations as well as examinations connected with carrying out procedures on his body, except for surgical ones, provided that they are carried out by an authorized health care professional in accordance with medical knowledge and do not endanger the health of the accused, if such examinations are necessary; in particular, the accused is obliged, under these conditions, to submit to blood, hair or body secretions,
3. a police officer collecting a swab from the mucous membrane of the cheeks, if it is indispensable and there is no fear that this would endanger the health of the accused or other persons.

The accused who remains at liberty is obliged to appear at every summons in the course of criminal proceedings and to notify the authority conducting the proceedings of any change in his place of residence or stay lasting longer than 7 days, of which the accused should be notified at the first interrogation. In the event of an unjustified failure to appear, the accused may be detained and brought back forcibly.

Defendant's defense

If the accused is a minor or incapacitated, his statutory representative or the person under whose custody the accused remains, may take in his favor all procedural steps, and above all lodge appeals, submit applications and appoint a defender.

In proceedings for an offense, the accused must have a defense attorney if:

1. is deaf, dumb or blind;
2. there is a reasonable doubt as to his sanity

When required by the interests of justice, the accused who has no defense counsel by appointment is appointed at his request by a legal counsel, if he duly demonstrates that he is unable to bear the costs of defense without seriously harming the necessary maintenance of himself and his family. The basis for refusing to appoint a defender from office cannot be the accused person's free legal assistance or free civic counseling referred to in the Act of 5 August 2015 on free legal assistance, free civic counseling and legal education (Journal of Laws from 2017 item 2030 and from 2018 item 1467).

An attorney in misdemeanor cases can be an attorney or legal advisor.

[legal status: 14/12/2019]

Glossary of basic terms