one of the many legislative traps from crisis shields concern the running of time limits for criminal offences. The Ombudsman requests Zbigniew Ziobra to regulate this issue.
According to a letter to the Minister of Justice:
„Doubts in this respect have arisen on the basis of another version of the so-called "crisis shield", i.e. Act dated 14 May 2020 amending certain laws on shielding activities in connection with the spread of the virus SARS-CoV-2 (Journal of Laws of 2020, item 875). This law entered into force on 16 May 2020 Provision Article 15zzr(6) Act dated 2 March 2020 specific prevention, prevention and eradication solutions COVID-19, other infectious diseases and the resulting crisis situations (Journal of Laws, items 374, 567, 568, 695) is worded as follows: ‘for the period in question Under section 1, there is no limitation of the criminality of the act and the limitation of the enforcement of the penalty in criminal matters, offences and fiscal misdemeanour and in criminal matters.’ In turn Article 68(5) Act dated 14 May 2020 amending certain laws on shielding activities in connection with the spread of the virus SARS-CoV-2 provides that ‘on the date of entry into force of this Act, the limitation period for criminal offences and the limitation period for the enforcement of criminal offences shall begin. At the same time, Article 46(20) Act dated 14 May 2020 repealed Article 15zzr Act dated 2 March 2020 Consequently, there is doubt as to the correctness of the terminology used as to whether the statute of limitations resumes or starts again. Repeal Article 15zzr Act dated 2 March 2020 Whereas it would have the effect of resuming the limitation periods (as the legal basis for suspending them would have dropped). Additional introduction of the standard expressed under Article 68(5) Act dated 14 May 2020 while using the term ‘start the run’ instead of ‘restart the run’ (or similar), may lead to the conclusion that the intention of the legislator is that those terms run again. Although it is in principle permissible to extend the limitation periods, provided that their original period has not yet expired, there are no reasonable grounds for the possibility that, after the period of suspension of those time limits relating to the epidemic situation between March and May 2020, they were to run again, not from the point where they were suspended. Given the regularity of legislation and the avoidance of doubt in the application of the abovementioned provisions, it would be appropriate, instead, to specify that from the date of entry into force Act dated 14 May 2002 The statute of limitations resumes, not begins, while referring to content Article 15zzr(6) Act dated 2 March 2020”
The RPO asked Zbigniew Ziobra to take appropriate legislative action to remove the indicated legal ambiguity.