Miejsce popełnienia przestępstwa abstrakcyjnego zagrożenia a terytorialny zasięg polskiego prawa karnego

Abstrakt

The paper discusses the possibility of prosecuting an offence committed abroad pursuant to the Polish law based on the territoriality principle, if it is an abstract endangerment offence. According to commonly shared understanding of Article 6(2) pcc, such offences, unlike offences of specific endangerment or violations, can be considered as committed only in the location where the offender performed his act, regardless of where the results of their act occurred. Such an interpretation restricts the application of the territoriality principle in the cases in which the offender acts abroad but the legal good is endangered or even violated on Polish grounds and the legislator decided to protect this good even from abstract dangers. Such restriction does not seem to be justified having in regard the main functions of criminal law, such as protection and compensation. Thus the expression ?the result constituting a feature of a prohibited act? used in Article 6(2) pcc, requires rethinking. It should  be read from a new perspective, not the perspective of unlawfulness, but considering the role the ?place of committing an offence? plays in determining Polish jurisdiction and application of the Polish  law.