CAT/C/POL/CO/7
(b)
Ensure that judges, magistrates, prosecutors, lawyers and other public
officials receive specific training on applying the Convention so that they are in a
position to invoke the rights established in its provisions, assert them and apply them
directly in court;
(c)
Provide the Committee with specific information on cases in which the
Convention has been invoked and directly applied in domestic courts;
(d)
Review the ongoing judicial reform to ensure that it complies with
international standards of independence of the judiciary, principles of rule of law and
separation of powers and the State party’s Constitution.
Use of evidence obtained by illegal means
11.
The Committee is seriously concerned that, under article 168a of the Code of
Criminal Procedure, evidence gathered illegally, including by way of a criminal offence, is
not considered to be inadmissible in criminal proceedings unless it has been obtained as a
result of murder, deliberate damage to health or deprivation of liberty. It is further
concerned that statistical data concerning cases in which charges have been dismissed on
account of admission of evidence or testimonies obtained under torture or improper
treatment are not collected, and that forced confessions may therefore still be used as
evidence in courts (arts. 2, 15 and 16).
12.
The Committee recommends that the State party:
(a)
Take effective steps to enact legislation that explicitly prohibits the
admissibility of evidence obtained as a result of torture and ill-treatment in all judicial
proceedings, in conformity with article 15 of the Convention, and repeal article 168a
of the Code of Criminal Procedure;
(b)
Ensure that courts examine the circumstances under which statements
and confessions, including self-incriminating statements of persons interrogated as
witnesses, have been made and that, if a claim of coerced confession has been made,
they suspend proceedings until the claim has been thoroughly investigated;
(c)
Take immediate steps to ensure that, in practice, statements made as a
result of torture may not be invoked as evidence in any proceedings, except against
the person accused of torture as evidence that the statement was obtained under
torture;
(d)
Ensure that a review of convictions based solely on confessions is
conducted, especially if the confessions have been made under torture, and that
prompt and impartial investigations are carried out into such cases, so that persons
convicted on the basis of coerced evidence are afforded a new trial and adequate
redress and the perpetrators are prosecuted and punished, including under the
principle of command responsibility;
(e)
Provide training to judges and prosecutors in order to ensure their
ability to effectively identify torture and ill-treatment and investigate all allegations of
confessions obtained under torture;
(f)
Collect statistical information on testimonies that were dismissed on the
basis that they were obtained under torture or improper treatment and provide it to
the Committee in the next periodic report.
Recent amendments to the Penal Code
13.
The Committee is gravely concerned about the amendments to the Penal Code
adopted by the Sejm in May 2019, after only two days of deliberations, which, according to
the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, would negatively affect certain
categories of prisoners; introduce harsher penalties for numerous crimes; raise the upper
limit for prison sentences to 30 years as well as raise the lower limit; restrict the ability to
hand down non-custodial sentences; extend the period of eligibility for conditional release;
lengthen the period of imprisonment after which life-sentenced prisoners or those sentenced
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