When punishment is not enough. On the practice of applying civil post-penal measures to perpetrators with mental disorders that pose a threat to society
2020-06-05
On June 3, 2020, a scientific conference was held entitled “When punishment is not enough. On the practice of applying civil post-penal measures to perpetrators with mental disorders posing a threat to society”, organized by the Institute of Justice. The conference took the form of an online webinar.
The aim of the conference was to gather the people who deal with the application of the act on dealing with people with mental disorders posing a threat to the life, health or sexual freedom of other people (hereinafter: Act on National Center for the Prevention of Dissocial Behavior), both in theory and practice. The conference was attended, among others, by representatives of science, the judiciary system, human rights institutions and court experts.
The conference consisted of two panels. The moderator of the first one was Dr. Paweł Ostaszewski, and the second was led by Dr. Agnieszka Gutkowska. The first panel was devoted to the application of the National Center for the Prevention of Dissocial Behavior. Act in theory. Here, the speakers’ speeches were based on the results of research and monitoring. They concerned: analysis of the justifications of court decisions (Dr. Agnieszka Gutkowska), difficulties in taking evidence (Dr. Małgorzata Pyrcak-Górowska) and placing individuals in the National Center for the Prevention of Dissocial Behavior. on the basis of other scientific papers (Dr. Ewa Dawidziuk). Dr. Agnieszka Gutkowska presented the results of the research on court cases in which the Act on National Center for the Prevention of Dissocial Behavior. was applied at the Institute of Justice. In her presentation, she focused mainly on the analysis of decisions issued by courts in both first and second instance. Dr. Małgorzata Pyrcak-Górowska shared the results of research conducted at the Jagiellonian University, including, above all, the issue of taking evidence in cases under the Act on National Center for the Prevention of Dissocial Behavior. She pointed to the issue of guarantees showing how they are implemented in these cases and in criminal cases in which the court ordered psychiatric detention. In turn, Dr. Ewa Dawidziuk, director of the Execution of Penalties Board at BRPO (Comissioner of Human Righrts), presented the issues related to placing individuals in the National Center for the Prevention of Dissocial Behavior on a basis other than recognition as a person posing a threat to society. She also raised the issue of the conditions at the Gostynin Center and the related situation of people held there.
The second panel concerned the application of the Act on National Center for the Prevention of Dissocial Behavior in practice. The panel included presentations by: prosecutor Krzysztof Prochowski, advocate Marta Lichocka-Kamelska and judge Urszula Malak. Each of the speakers presented their perspective on the application of the Law on National Center for the Prevention of Dissocial Behavior in practice. Prosecutor Krzysztof Prochowski referred to the prosecutors participating in the examination of cases concerning the application of the Act on National Center for the Prevention of Dissocial Behavior. Adv. Marta Lichocka-Kamelska talked about the role of the participant’s representative, in which she appeared many times, and about the difficulties arising from the procedure of possible dismissal from the Center in Gostynin. Judge Urszula Malak, on the other hand, gave a lecture on the comparison of the Act on National Center for the Prevention of Dissocial Behavior with the regulations contained in the Penal Code. The judge also discussed the problems and doubts that arose when adjudicating in cases under the Act on National Center for the Prevention of Dissocial Behavior
The additional element of the Conference was a discussion panel. We invited participants who are particularly concerned with the application of the Law on National Center for the Prevention of Dissocial Behavior to actively take part. In this section Dr Marcin Borowski, Attorney Maciej Neumann and Dr Piotr Zakrzewski. Dr Marcin Borowski discussed the position of the experts in cases under the National Center for the Prevention of Dissocial Behavior Act, pointing to the difficulties in preparing of the opinions. Advocate Maciej Neumann, based on his case, presented the problem of diagnosing a mental illness in a person considered to be a threat under the Act on National Center for the Prevention of Dissocial Behavior. Dr Piotr Zakrzewski, gave a speech on Prerequisites for the application of precautionary measures under Art. 5 sec. 1 lit. e ECHR and Art. 41 sec. 1 of the Constitution.
Each panel was followed by a discussion, additionally extended by the exchange of views via chat option. It was attended by, among others, prof. Monika Płatek, dr hab. Barbara-Stańdo-Kawecka, Jagiellonian University Professor, dr Barbara Błońska, dr hab. Beata Gruszczyńska, Warsaw University Professor, Dr. Hanna Machińska and Agnieszka Walento-Nowacka. The discussion covered, inter alia, such issues as: evaluation of the methodology and manner of conducting the study, which is the basis for opinions issued in cases regarding National Center for the Prevention of Dissocial Behavior, the procedure for dismissal from National Center for the Prevention of Dissocial Behavior conditions for starting therapy at National Center for the Prevention of Dissocial Behavior, striving to avoid risk by the staff of prisons, experts and trial bodies, insufficient number of NHF centers providing therapy for perpetrators with disorders of sexual preferences, solutions adopted in other countries and their effectiveness, adjudication on placement in National Center for the Prevention of Dissocial Behavior, the need for a comprehensive amendment to the Act, the quality of issued opinions. There was also a question of how to minimize the negative effects of the fact that the legislator had to detach the Act on the National Center for the Prevention of Dissocial Behavior from penal aspects (including previous criminal record) due to the prohibition of reatroactive criminal law.
The conference was accompanied by the promotion of the book: “When punishment is not enough … About the practice of applying selected legal solutions to perpetrators with mental disorders that pose a threat to society” by Agnieszka Gutkowska, Justyna Włodarczyk-Madejska, Joanna Klimczak and Paulina Sidor, being a result of the research conducted in the Section of Justice Analysis of the Jusitice Institute last year. The book is available on the website of the Jusitice Institute Publishing House.
The conference was a very successful scientific event. And the best evidence for that was the great interest in the event, fruitful discussions while it was taking place and also the high attendance of participants who – despite the significantly extended duration of the Conference – stayed with us until the end, for which we would like to express our sincere gratitude.
