Amendment of Article 209 of the penal code - legal and practical aspects

This article considers the legal and practical aspects of the amendment to Article 209 of the Penal Code, which provides for liability for evading maintenance obligations, determined by the number of court orders, settlements and other agreements. The necessity to change the regulations was justifi ed by the low recoverability of maintenance arrears and the relatively small number of indictments made against the perpetrators of these acts. The crime of not paying child maintenance is socially burdensome and generates signifi cant expenses from the state budget. The legislator, justifying the draft law, considered that its amendment would temporarily increase the burden of law enforcement, but the author cites arguments that this increase will be permanent and will affect not only the prosecutor’s offi ce and the police, but also other institutions which will be required to report information about the offender. However, for over a year after the introduction of the amendment, the authorities conducting preparatory proceedings have been overburdened. In addition, imprecise regulations are diffi cult to interpret and put into practice. The study also addresses the issues of new institutions enabling the perpetrator to avoid liability for the act committed in connection with the payment of all maintenance arrears and the current penalties, as well as the features of both the basic and qualifi ed types of the crime.