Unlocking the mystery of internal investigation: the use of information from private internal investigations in the Polish criminal process

Andrzej  Sakowicz; Sebastian  Zieliński

doi:10.22197/rbdpp.v9i2.826

Authors

Andrzej Sakowicz University of Bialystok, Bialystok https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6599-4876
Sebastian Zieliński Warsaw University of Technology, Warsaw https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8443-8944

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.22197/rbdpp.v9i2.826

Keywords:

internal investigation, obtained evidence, attorney-client privilege, criminal proceedings, Poland

Abstract

This study aims to present the problems associated with the use of information from private internal investigation in a criminal process. The paper first presents the essence, functions, limits, and purposes of internal investigations, taking into account legal restrictions, including constitutional ones. Further in the paper, the authors critically analyze the possibility of using materials obtained and produced in internal investigations in criminal proceedings. A significant number of internal investigations are conducted by attorneys. Therefore, the paper also evaluates the permissibility of abolishing the attorney-client privilege and of the court or the law enforcement agencies obtaining the materials produced by an attorney in the course of an internal investigation or questioning of the lawyer. Having an attorney conduct an internal investigation improves the security of the information produced in the course of the internal investigation, as the materials are covered by the attorney-client privilege. However, one should bear in mind that in Poland this is not an absolute protection. The considerations led the authors to the conclusion that internal investigations are a valuable tool of the system for preventing irregularities in corporations and an important source of materials that can be used in criminal proceedings.

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Author Biographies

Andrzej Sakowicz, University of Bialystok, Bialystok

Professor at the University of Bialystok, Poland; the Faculty of Law; the Department of Criminal Procedure. PhD in Law.
Sebastian Zieliński, Warsaw University of Technology, Warsaw

Assistant Professor at the Warsaw University of Technology, Poland; the Faculty of Administration and Social Sciences; the Department of Administrative Law and Public Policy. PhD in Law.

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