Uwarunkowania ochrony wolności osobistej świadka w procesie karnym

The article is devoted to the issue of protection of the witness’s personal liberty in the context of conditionings, that influence the shape and the scope of its protection in criminal proceedings. The author takes into consideration procedural status of witness and fact that personal liberty, as the fundamental human right of the contemporary man, should not be the subject of unjustified and excessive infringement, to solve this complex problem. The article concerns both social and legal conditionings that determine the way of defining the personal liberty concept and the scope of observance personal liberty in criminal proceedings. A part of the article focuses on the presentation of conditionings that arise from constitutional and conventional standard and from characteristics, goal and structure of criminal proceedings. The author also verifies standards mentioned above in the context of legal regulations related to the infringements of personal liberty such as detention and enforced appearance and arrest. As a result, author notes practical shortcomings of the regulations in question and outlines also recommended solutions.