Exemption from medical confidentiality rule in criminal cases under Article 180 § 2 of the Polish Code of Criminal Procedure - reflections in the context of caring for the patient’s welfare and the ethos of the doctor’s profession
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.12775/JEHS.2025.79.57897Keywords
Medical confidentiality, criminal proceedings, sake of justice, exemptionAbstract
The regulations of the amended Polish Code of Medical Ethics, which entered into force at the beginning of 2025, upheld the doctor’s obligation to maintain medical confidentiality. This obligation is so entrenched not only in law but also in social awareness, that it is unimaginable to omit it in any act regulating the principles of medical ethics. Both at the international and national level, the duty to maintain medical confidentiality is strongly established culturally, historically and normatively. The purpose of this article is to draw attention to the art. 180 § 2 of the Polish Code of Criminal Procedure, as a regulation stipulating that the rule of medical confidentiality is not absolute. The following goal is to analyze the circumstances and grounds for exemption from this rule in accordance with the provisions of the discussed article. This will allow us to achieve the general purpose of the present statement, i.e. to make doctors aware of the circumstances that may result in releasing the from the obligation to maintain medical confidentiality.
References
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[23]Similarly: Wiśniewska-Śliwińska H., Marcinkowski J. T., The problem of disclosing medical data covered by medical confidentiality during court hearings, „Orzecznictwo Lekarskie” 2011, 8(1): 40-46, p. 43-44 Paragraph 5 also introduces a statutory requirement to set out rules for the ‘collection and provision of information’.
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[25]t should be pointed out that the commented provision also contains provisions relating to civil or administrative proceedings, but in view of the scope of the present article, which concerns criminal proceedings, their analysis is omitted. M. Burdzik, A doctor in a criminal trial as a guarantor of medical confidentiality, Warszawa 2001, p. 78.
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[34] It is worth pointing out that the disclosure of medical confidentiality can also be the subject of civil proceedings - a case of infringement of personal rights - Article 23 of the Polish Civil Code (Polish: Ustawa z dnia 23 kwietnia 1964 r. Kodeks cywilny (t.j. Dz. U. z 2024 r. poz. 1061 z późn. zm.).
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[50] Ruling SA w Łodzi z 5.04.2018 r., II AKz 155/18, OSAŁ 2018, nr 1, poz. 81.
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[53]The Resolution of SN (7) z 19.01.1995 r., I KZP 15/94, OSNKW 1995/1–2, poz. 1).
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[55] Sychta K. [w:] Code of Criminal Procedure. Commentary, red. J. Zagrodnik, Warszawa 2024, art. 180. https://sip.lex.pl/#/commentary/587945285/777176/zagrodnik-jaroslaw-red-kodeks-postepowania-karnego-komentarz?cm=URELATIONS (dostęp: 2025-01-09 14:14)
[56]Ruling SA w Katowicach z 12.10.2011 r., II AKz 664/11, LEX nr 1102940)
[57] Burdzik M., A doctor in a criminal trial as a guarantor of medical confidentiality, Warszawa 2001, p. 159-161 A doctor who is a witness in a case, irrespective of the fact that he or she is exempted from professional secrecy, is also entitled to exercise the right to refuse to testify under Article 182(1) of the Code of Criminal Procedure if the accused is the person closest to him or her19.
[58]Ruling SA w Krakowie z 16.06.2010 r., II AKz 198/10, LEX nr 663634).”
[59] Sychta K. [w:] Code of Criminal Procedure. Commentary, red. J. Zagrodnik, Warszawa 2024, art. 180. https://sip.lex.pl/#/commentary/587945285/777176/zagrodnik-jaroslaw-red-kodeks-postepowania-karnego-komentarz?cm=URELATIONS (dostęp: 2025-01-09 14:14)
[60] Wiśniewska-Śliwińska H., Marcinkowski J. T., The problem of disclosing medical data covered by medical confidentiality during court hearings, „Orzecznictwo Lekarskie” 2011, 8(1): 40-46, p.
[61] Wiśniewska-Śliwińska H., Marcinkowski J. T., The problem of disclosing medical data covered by medical confidentiality during court hearings, „Orzecznictwo Lekarskie” 2011, 8(1): 40-46, p 41.
[62] Burdzik M., A doctor in a criminal trial as a guarantor of medical confidentiality, Warszawa 2001, p. 161 Istnieją wyjątki od tej zasady zob. w art. 181a kpk
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Copyright (c) 2025 Diana Mazur-Lesińska, Anna Kasprzak, Monika Kułaga, Monika Grzybek, Barbara Szostak, Sylwia Wielgosz-Biała, Krzysztof Tyszkiewicz, Borys Łozowski, Małgorzata Kasprzak, Barbara Wilczyńska
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