The Sejm submitted a draft law on the exclusion of criminal liability for taking up after 20 February 2014 by a citizen of the Polish service in the Armed Forces of Ukraine without the required permission. Members of all parliamentary clubs and circles outside the Confederation signed the project.
The current government does not let Polish citizens to service in the armed forces of another states, unless, with the consent of the head of the MON. This consent shall be granted on a case-by-case basis at the request of the individual concerned. On the another hand, taking up service in a abroad military, without fulfilling the required duty, is simply a crime punishable by imprisonment from 3 months to 5 years.
Since the outbreak of the Ukrainian War, advanced government officials have urged Poles to break the law in this area. "We will surely not punish people who, with the natural instinct of defending the weaker, have reached for weapons; it is simply a healthy consequence of the heart – we consider them heroes" - declared deputy chief MON Marcin Ociepa, asked about the issue of Polish “volunteers” fighting in Ukraine.
In accordance with the provisions proposed in the project, it will not be considered a crime for a Polish citizen to enter service in the Armed Forces of Ukraine without the required consent, if this occurred after 20 February 2014. Similarly, it will not be considered to be a criminal offence to hold the enlistment of Polish citizens or foreigners residing in Poland to the Ukrainian army. The task states that "the Armed Forces of Ukraine means military or another military formations subject to Ukrainian authorities recognised by the Republic of Poland as legitimate". Furthermore, the admission of Polish citizens to the Armed Forces of Ukraine will not give emergence to the work of the authorities of the Republic of Poland for the consequences of taking up this service. So we have any interesting themes here.
First of all, the thought of excluding criminal liability for a group of citizens breaking the Polish legal order over many years is in clear conflict with the essence of the regulation of law. For example, due to the fact that he discriminates against law-abiding citizens. But besides due to the fact that it undermines assurance in the legal strategy as a whole. We are so dealing with another phase in the demolition of the legal order in the state. Which we've already utilized to demolish.
It draws attention to the form of submission of the task to the marshall's staff as a parliamentary project. Not only does this let to gain cross-party support for an incriminated idea, but besides shortens the legislative path. Therefore, Members will not have the chance to look at the impact assessment of the proposed regulation, which would usually be carried out by the Sejm of lawyers. There is no uncertainty to me that this would be a crushing assessment.
The time frame for the proposed regulation is interesting, from 20 February 2014. Thus, the abolition will include “dogs of war”, “soldiers of fortune” etc., i.e. any mercenaries who have sought luck and adventure in the troubled areas of our east neighbours over the last 9 years. As “the Armed Forces of Ukraine means military or another military formations subject to the Ukrainian authorities recognized by the Republic of Poland as legitimate”, the abolition will besides be granted to volunteers fighting in neo-Nazi armed formations.
So much for the past. The question of the future remains open. For example, if the bill is not an effort to open the side gate for sending Polish cannon meat to the Ukrainian front. All the more so, since its entry into force, the Ukrainian services, which are so greyish in Poland, will be able to operate here without penalty, under the law. It is besides worth asking how large is the scale of participation of alleged “volunteers” from Poland in the fighting in Ukraine? And are they truly just volunteers? Well, we most likely won't know the answers to those questions very soon. If ever.
Przemysław Piasta
