On 4 February 2025, the Commission for the Codification of Criminal Law, acting under the Ministry of Justice, prepared a draft amendment to the criminal law provisions. It provides for the introduction of a completely new preventive measure in the form of electronic detention. It is intended to be an alternative to traditional pre-trial detention, being at the same time a kind of ‘golden mean’ between police supervision and pre-trial detention.
Electronic detention according to the draft
Electronic detention, according to the amendment, would consist of the accused being in residence with an electronic monitoring bracelet. Technically, it would thus resemble the Electronic Supervision System, i.e. the method of serving a sentence known to the Executive Penal Code. During the first 3 months, an electronically detained person would be allowed to leave the place of execution of the measure for a maximum of 3 hours per day.
According to the draft, the cumulative conditions for the imposition of electronic detention are to be:
- the availability of a suitable place of residence by the accused for the duration of electronic detention;
- consent by adults living with the accused to the commencement of electronic custody, which also includes allowing the custodian to carry out control activities and, if necessary, to undertake to engage in behaviour that makes it possible to enforce the electronic custody order against the accused or to refrain from behaviour that makes it impossible to enforce such an order;
- appropriate technical conditions.
The duties of an electronic detainee, however, are:
- wearing the transmitter at all times;
- taking care of the technical means entrusted to him;
- to make the technical means entrusted to him available to the custodian for inspection, repair or replacement at any request of the custodian, including allowing the custodian’s staff to enter the premises or the property;
- providing explanations concerning the course of electronic custody and the fulfilment of the obligations imposed, and appearing when summoned;
- answering incoming calls to the landline recorder;
- giving explanations using the stationary recorder.
A number of solutions already existing in the Polish legal order and previously used in the case of, for example, pre-trial detention, such as the issue of compensation and redress, complaints or time limits, have been applied to the regulation of electronic detention.
Full article is available in Polish here.
