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Violence is not uncommon in the contemporary world. The consequences of harmful experiences in childhood are often educational problems, difficult behavior, failure to cope in adulthood, duplication of learned, negative behavior patterns and disorders in various spheres/areas of life. The experience of childhood violence is associated with the occurrence of about half of mental disorders with onset in childhood and one third of disorders that appear later in life. Various emotional and behavioral disorders are mentioned among the psychological effects of violence against a child, including depressive disorders. Regarding experiences of violence, there is strong evidence that exposure to sexual or physical violence is a predictor of depressive episodes and depressive symptoms in adolescents. Among adolescents, the impact of violence on depression has been shown to be sustained. Accordingly, evidence suggests that elevated depressive symptoms and episodes of depression may even persist for up to two years after experiencing cases of violence. Due to the destructive consequences of such behavior, international and national law devote much attention to the protection of children’s rights. Under Polish law, there are regulations describing measures of reaction within the family, as well as provisions sanctioning violent behavior. Therefore, the study discusses the family and criminal law aspects of violence against minors. The whole study is imbued with considerations of the so-called the obligation to denounce, i.e., to notify about the disclosure of a prohibited act committed to the detriment of minors. This issue was presented in the context of medical secrets and its type—psychiatric discretion.

The paper shows the areas of criminal law protection of medical data, both in the context of respect for medical confidentiality and reliability of documents. The first part presents the crime of disclosing professional secrecy, styled in Article 266 § 1 of the Criminal Code. In this respect the circle of entities which may be the perpetrators of this act and its subject matter is discussed in more detail. The next section presents criminal law protection of medical data as sensitive personal data. Article 107, paragraph 2 of the Act on the protection of personal data has been exegesisated, indicating the field of penalization of the act sanctioned in it. The last fragment is devoted to protecting the credibility of medical records. It presents the scope of responsibility for the so-called certification of the truth (Article 271 § 1 of the Penal Code). It points out the shortcomings of this provision resulting from the use of the normative clause “other person entitled to issue a document” in the description of the act. Establishing this circumstance may be difficult both for a medical officer and for the bodies appointed to prosecute crimes. These problems result from the multiplicity of legal acts, of different rank, which may create such authorization. Therefore, it has been postulated that medical-legal regulations concerning exceptions to medical confidentiality and competence to issue documents containing medical data should be tidied up and unified.

Since ancient times, services dealing with the prevention and combating of infectious diseases have been organised In contemporary Polish law, this issue has been raised to constitutional rank The state authorities were obliged to take antidepidemic actions In this respect, they were equipped with powers to direct necessary personnel, mainly medical personnel, to work on combating the epidemic This issue has recently become very topical in connection with the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, which has prompted administrative bodies to make frequent use of this instrument As a result, many doctors have been referred to work in the fight against the pandemic The article presents the legal basis for such referral and the procedures applied in this respect It shows the circle of entities that may be involved in such work and their powers The principles of remuneration of such persons, the possibility of obtaining reimbursement of travel and accommodation costs, as well as special protection due to a public officer are discussed At the end, the sanctions that may be applied to a person who evades the performance of the work to which he or she has been directed, i e sanctions provided for a misdemeanour and fines imposed in an administrative procedure, are presented

Maintenance of medical confidentiality is a fundamental duty of a physician. It is derived from the right to privacy, which, as a constitutionally protected value, can only be restricted under exceptional circumstances. Medical law provisions should therefore precisely define exceptions to discretion. One of these exceptions is the ability to disclose confidential information after the death of a patient, if a person close to that patient has given consent to that effect. This regulation was introduced in 2016. However, it was highly imperfect and generated many dogmatic and practical problems. For that reason, the legislator decided to change it. The amended regulations entered into force on 9 February 2019. Their aim was to remedy existing ambiguities and subject the procedure related to violation of confidentiality under such circumstances to greater control. This article shows the evolution of this regulation and discusses its current structure. Accordingly, the article presents the notion of a close person, the possibility of making use of a judicial procedure in case of doubts as to whether the person who gives the consent is authorised to do so, as well as to resolve disputes between close persons. In addition, rules for making medical records of a patient available after that patient’s death were also described. Palliat Med Pract 2019; 13, 3: 142–148

Nowadays, the subjectivity of each person and respect for their rights, especially the right to privacy and personal dignity, are strongly emphasized. The right to intimacy is derived from the former. This right is guaranteed by numerous laws, including the Constitution of the Republic of Poland. The protection of the right to intimacy is particularly important in the case of people who, due to their capacity or age, cannot effectively protect themselves against its violation. This problem is exacerbated in case of patients who, while in medical facilities, must submit to their regime and are hence seriously exposed to the possibility of encroachment on their intimacy. The protection of minor patients is increased in this respect. This paper discusses the sources of the right to intimacy, both domestic and international, and indicates the areas where it may be violated. The violations of the right to intimacy may take psychological and physical forms. In the former aspect, the encroachment on intimacy may include disclosure of sensitive data protected by medical confidentiality. This paper explains the subject matter of medical confidentiality and what exceptions apply to minors. In turn, the encroachment on intimacy in the physical form includes, among others, the involvement of bystanders during providing health services. This paper presents regulations permitting such assistance of medical workers, relatives, and other persons, as well as students.Współcześnie mocno się akcentuje podmiotowość każdego człowieka i poszanowanie jego praw, w szczególności do godności osobistej i prywatności. Z tej ostatniej wyprowadza się prawo do ochrony intymności. Wartość ta jest zabezpieczona licznymi przepisami w polskim prawie, z Konstytucją RP na czele. Ochrona intymności jest szczególnie ważna w przypadku osób, które ze względu na swój stan lub wiek nie mogą samodzielnie dostatecznie uchronić się przed jej naruszeniem. Problem ten potęguje się w sytuacji osób chorych, które przebywając w placówkach medycznych, muszą poddać się ich reżimowi i są poważnie narażone na wkroczenie w sferę ich intymności. Wzmożonej ochronie w tym zakresie podlegają pacjenci małoletni. W artykule omówiono źródła prawa do intymności, krajowe i zagraniczne, oraz wskazano obszary, w których może dojść do jej pogwałcenia. Naruszenia te mogą przybrać postać intelektualną i fizyczną. W tym pierwszym aspekcie wkroczenie w sferę intymności może polegać na wyjawieniu danych objętych tajemnicą medyczną. W opracowaniu objaśniono więc, jaki jest zakres przedmiotowy dyskrecji medycznej oraz jakie dyspensy (wyjątki) od jej przestrzegania mają główne zastosowanie wobec pacjentów małoletnich. Z kolei naruszenie intymności w sposób fizyczny polega m.in. na udziale osób postronnych przy udzielaniu świadczeń zdrowotnych. W artykule przedstawiono zatem regulację dozwalającą na taką asystę pracowników medycznych, osób bliskich i innych osób oraz studentów.

The laboratory diagnostician’s profession is classified as the so-called professions of public trust. One of their features is limiting access to the profession through, among others, determining specific qualifications, education and skills, verified by appropriate bodies in the legal procedure, and awarded with so-called right to practice. The purpose of this procedure is allowing professional activities to be carried out only by persons who will guarantee their necessary quality. This requirement is particularly important in the case of medical employees, whose activities determine the life and health of patients. The Polish legislator secured the implementation of these requirements by means of the penal code. In art. 71 of the Act on laboratory diagnostics, a prohibited act has been described, which included performing laboratory diagnostic activities by a person who does not possess the authority do so. This is called a halved act, i.e. depending on the degree of social harm, may be considered an offense (section 1) or felony (section 2). This article discusses the terms of criminal liability for this act, including the circumstances qualifying it as a felony, in the form of actions to obtain a financial advantage or misleading as to the possession of authority. It explains who could be the perpetrator of this act and why the protection of criminal law was restricted only to activities performed in the laboratory. Penalties and criminal measures that can be imposed for this act, as well as the procedure for its prosecution, were also indicated. Deficiencies of this regulation and proposals for its amendment are also presented. The argument has been enriched by judicial decisions illustrating the presented theses.

The right to self-determination, including the decision on treatment, is affirmed in modern societies. Therefore, the fundamental condition of legal procedures is informed consent of a patient or an authorised person. However, to make the consent legally effective, some conditions have to be met; of these, the provision of comprehensive medical information is of the utmost importance. Thus, a patient is entitled to necessary information provided by a physician. The correlate of this right is the obligation to disclose information which must be fulfilled by a medical practitioner. The aim of this review is to examine this obligation in terms of determining the range of subjects authorised to provide information, the scope of subject information or a set of data, and the manner and time in which it should be given. Moreover, this article discusses regulations which permit limitations of information disclosure, i.e. the patient’s entitlement to renounce the right to information, and therapeutic privilege. The disquisition regards achievements of legal doctrine and judicature, from the angle of which all the legal solutions and doubts arising are presented.

The right to self-determination, including the decision on treatment, is affirmed in modern societies. Therefore, the fundamental condition of legal procedures is informed consent of a patient or an authorised person. However, to make the consent legally effective, some conditions have to be met; of these, the provision of comprehensive medical information is of the utmost importance. Thus, a patient is entitled to necessary information provided by a physician. The correlate of this right is the obligation to disclose information which must be fulfilled by a medical practitioner. The aim of this review is to examine this obligation in terms of determining the range of subjects authorised to provide information, the scope of subject information or a set of data, and the manner and time in which it should be given. Moreover, this article discusses regulations which permit limitations of information disclosure, i.e. the patient's entitlement to renounce the right to information, and therapeutic privilege. The disquisition regards achievements of legal doctrine and judicature, from the angle of which all the legal solutions and doubts arising are presented.