Polish Businesses Demand End to Pre-Trial Detention Abuse, Submit Draft Law

Polish business groups are pushing back against what they call the "plague" of pre-trial detentions, which they argue are frequently misused by courts and harm the economy. Four major organizations – Corporate Connections, Konfederacja Lewiatan, Polska Rada Biznesu, and Pracodawcy RP – have presented the government with a ready-to-use draft law designed to restrict prosecutors and judges from ordering detentions without sufficient cause.

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Poland has a bad reputation in this regard internationally, although the scale of economic crime is no greater here than in Germany, France, or Switzerland. Furthermore, detention is used for a much longer period than in EU countries.

Currently, nearly 8,000 individuals are held in pre-trial detention, accounting for 11% of the total prison population. Businesses contend that these detentions are often pointless, citing that courts are projected to award 10.1 million Polish zloty in compensation and damages for wrongful pre-trial detention or arrest in 2025. The organizations emphasize that the overuse of pre-trial detention erodes public trust in the state, particularly when business owners are incarcerated.

Wojciech Kostrzewa, president of the Polish Business Council, highlighted that Poland's reputation suffers internationally due to the prolonged periods of pre-trial detention compared to other EU countries, despite similar levels of economic crime. He explained that imprisoning a business owner prevents them from managing their company, leading to a loss of trust, contracts, and profits, ultimately damaging the national economy.

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Imprisoning a business owner means they cannot manage their company, lose the trust of contractors, contracts, and profits, which ultimately harms the entire economy.

The proposed bill has reached the desks of the Minister of Justice, Waldemar Żurek, and the government's policy coordinator, Maciej Berek. While acknowledging a previous reform proposal on criminal procedure was vetoed, Kostrzewa expressed optimism, stating their current proposal is less comprehensive and aligns with expectations from all parties involved in social dialogue. The draft aims to ensure that alternative, less restrictive measures are considered before resorting to detention.

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We are not losing hope. The change we are proposing is not as comprehensive, and at the same time, it is consistent with the expectations of all parties to the social dialogue.