Kodeks Karny is the Polish name for its criminal law code. This official name is often abbreviated to KK. There were three penal codes in the modern Polish legal history: the first in 1932, then during the communist era in 1969, and the last, and currently in force, in 1997. Since then it has been amended 49 times. Together with the Penal Procedure Code and the Fiscal Penal Code, the Penal Code make up the criminal justice system of Poland, often referred to as the penal law.
After World War I Poland regained its independence. One of the most important tasks of the new government was to unify the law inherited from the three partitioners' different legal systems. Hence, after the war there were five different legal systems in Poland. These were those of Germany in the West, of the Austrian Empire in the South, of the Russian Empire in the far East, of the former Congress Poland in the Center, and two tiny regions (Orava and Spisz) in the South with the Hungarian common law.
In 1919 the first Codification Commission was created. It was divided into two sections; the first was to create a project of a penal code, the other - a civil code. The most prominent representative of the Penal Commission was professor Juliusz Makarewicz. Works finished in 1931, and the Code was enacted by the President's regulation on July 11, 1932. Often called the Code of Makarewicz, the Code of 1932 is perceived by the Polish jurisprudence to be an exquisite example of the modern penology. It consisted of 295 articles in 42 chapters. The first 92 articles constituted the general part of the Code, defining different terms, conditions, and penalties. The following 203 articles was a catalogue of felonies grouped in 26 chapters. Article 1 of the Code defined the penal responsibility, stating that a person is a subject to punishment only when its conduct constituted a criminal offence at the time when it took place. This fundamental rule of the modern criminal law made the Code a very up-to-date document. Professor Juliusz Bardach observed that the Codification Commission, having followed three basic concepts, was able to create a fair example of penal legislation. These were the rule of subjectivism, the rule of humanitarianism, and the introduction of preventive measures. Subjectivism meant that the penal responsibility depended upon the perpetrator's intent and anticipation. The rule of humanitarianism was expressed in a very deliberate sentencing. For instance, the capital punishment was foreseen for 5 crimes only, always with the alternative of incarceration. The introduction of preventive measures, criticized by many lawyers, meant that mentally ill people and recidivists could be separated from the society. In the late 1930s, when the Polish government became very authoritarian, these preventive measures were used against those who opposed the régime. This led to the creation of the Bereza Kartuska prison, a very severe detention camp, also called a concentration camp.