The author presents the development and changes in the principles of responsibility in Polish criminal law. He also makes references to the legislation of the partitioning powers that was binding on the Polish territory in the period of Partitions. The study shows the basic assumptions underlying the de facto first Polish Penal Code of 1932. It was formulated under the influence of the sociological school with full regard, however, for the classical principles of criminal responsibility. We can generally accept that Polish criminal law is based on the rules of responsibility formulated in the Penal Code of 1932. Changes in this area did not disturb the essence of things. They made themselves felt to a greater extent regarding adjudication of penalty. The 1969 Code aggravated penalties in comparison with the solutions adopted in 1932, while the 1997 Code considerably mitigated penal repression. It it entirely natural, however, that in the Codes that followed the principal law in this field (1932) there were changes concerning the scope and form of groups of offence types.