Relation between the injured party being under the influence of alcohol and the liability of the perpetrator due to the crimes under Article 197 of the Polish Criminal Code and Article 198 of the Polish Criminal Code

Abstract

The paper constitutes an attempt at presenting the views of legal scholars and commentators and the judicature on the possibility of attributing criminal liability under Article 197 of the Polish Criminal Code and Article 198 of the Polish Criminal Code to the perpetrator in the case of alcohol consumption by the injured party. This issue is the basis of a crucial dogmatic problem, extremely up-to-date from the point of view of the study of criminal law, since the solution thereof determines the criminal liability of the alleged perpetrator. Therefore, the analysed issue raises the question of the limits of impunity for violations in the sphere of sexual life of the injured party in comparison with the features and circum- stances directly related to the victim. Thus, the paper attempts to answer the question wheth- er actions belonging to so-called sexual offences should be predominantly assessed with the use of a literal interpretation or taking into account the formal-dogmatic interpretation.

Keywords

• rape
• sexual abuse
• sexual offences