Przestępstwo nadużycia władzy przez funkcjonariusza publicznego – problemy z wykładnią art. 231 § 1 Kodeksu karnego

One of the most disputable issues related to the interpretation of Article 231 (1) of the Criminal Code currently in force, is the qualification of this type of a prohibited act as formal (with no consequences) or material (with consequences). It seems that the majority of the arguments support the opinion that an abuse of power should belong to the specific group of abstract exposures to danger, which are called offences of potential danger. The problem is, however, that the legislator has not clearly set out, nor provided for appropriate criteria for the court to asses, in a concrete case, a possibility to create a threat to legal interest.