The crime of assault on a public officer

The aim of the study is to discuss the elements of the assault on a public official, as defined in Article 223 of the Penal Code. This provision is an expression of the criminal-law protection of public officials in Poland understood as all legal provisions specifying criminal sanctions and the rules of their application to perpetrators of prohibited acts under the threat of these sanctions, aimed at protecting public officials against such acts. Article 223 of the Penal Code defines active assault on a public official in the basic type [Article 223(1)] and the aggravated type [Article 223(2)]. Regarding the elements of the crime in question, there are many issues that raise doubts among both legal theorists and practitioners. These include, in particular, the issue of classifying the car as a category of items similarly dangerous as firearms or knives, and the justification for determining the degree of danger of the means of restraint used by the perpetrator. The text also points out that the penalisation of an active attack on a public official does not result from the increased protection of the goods of public officials, but from the need for the legislator to ensure the proper functioning of state mechanisms.