A Copy of the Document as the Subject of an Executive Action of a Prohibited Act under Art. 276 of the Penal Code

Abstract

In this Article, the author shall analyses whether the provision criminalizing the so-called ‘document-leveling’ provision (Art. 276 of the Penal Code) also includes actions directed against non-original equivalents of originally produced documents (such as copies, photocopies, photos, scans – hereinafter referred to as “a copy of the document”). The article’s wording gives rise to the impression that this issue is questionable, leading to different decisions. At the same time, due to technological pro- 56 gress and the ease of producing copies of documents, participants of legal transacttions use them widely. The issue of their protection must therefore be kept up to date. Hence, the author first analyses the concept of a document defined in the Penal Code in order to determine whether it also covers the mapping of the original documents. The article then seeks to define the extent of the subject of the executive action, as defined in Art. 276 of the Penal Code, as a document which the offender is not entitled to dispose of exclusively. This is to believe that the person entitled to dispose of a copy of the document may be different than its prototype, which has a significant impact on the scope of criminalization resulting from this provision. The author also presents the discussed issue through the prism of the legitimate protected interest by Art. 276 of the Penal Code. In the summary, the author presents the conclusions by setting out the criteria necessary to be taken into account to consider the conduct as exhaustive as the elements of the analyzed prohibited act.