Rape with Particular Cruelty (Art. 197 § 4 of Polish Penal Code). Empirical Studies

Abstract

“Particular cruelty” is a feature that constructs qualified (with severer punishment) type of rape. There has been established quite a good general line of interpreting “particular cruelty”, although in specific cases it is not applied in a proper way. There is a tendency to use general leads of The Highest Court in a automatic and objective way, without relating them into the circumstances of the case; especially without taking under one’s consideration some specifics of the victim. The empirical research was made on 29 files of cases that had been finished in 2006−2012, with the act classified as fulfilled the article 197 § 4 of Polish Criminal Code.