In the Polish legal system, it is possible to replace a fine with a penalty of imprisonment. Pursuant to § 1 of Art. 46 of the CC the court orders the execution of a substitute imprisonment sentence in a situation where it is found that:
- enforcement turned out to be ineffective or the circumstances of the case show that it would be ineffective;
- the convicted person did not consent to undertake socially useful work changed pursuant to art. 45 of the CC or declines to comply with it; or when
- it is impossible or unnecessary to convert the fine into socially useful work.
In the doctrine of criminal law, it has been assumed that the most interfering in the sphere of the offender’s goods, the form of substitute execution of a fine (…) takes place only after the possibility of executing the penalty is exhausted at earlier stages of the proceedings „[W. Dadak, Grzywna samistna …, p. 177]. This means that „as long as there is a real possibility of paying the fine, also in the form of payment in installments, or replacement in the form of socially useful work, the court should not adjudicate substitute sentence of imprisonment „[K. Dąbkiewicz [in:] Executive Penal Code. Comment, LEX / el. 2020, art. 46.]
What can be the maximum term of a substitute prison sentence?
According to Polish regulations, one day of imprisonment is equivalent to two daily rates of the fine (in the case of a fine – a fine of PLN 20 to PLN 4,000). The substitute penalty may not, however, exceed 12 months of imprisonment, as well as the upper limit of imprisonment specified by law for a given crime. If the law does not provide for an isolation penalty for a given crime, the upper limit of a substitute imprisonment sentence may not exceed 6 months.
