[PDF]Criminal Law Protection of Money Against Counterfeiting

Maciej Blotnicki


Criminal Law Protection of Money
Against Counterfeiting


Maria Curie-Sklodowska University Press


Criminal Law Protection of Money
Against Counterfeiting


Ed ae


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Maciej Blotnicki


Criminal Law Protection of Money
Against Counterfeiting


Maria Curie-Sktodowska University Press
Lublin 2023


Reviewer
Prof. dr hab. Leszek Wilk


Editor
Marta Kasprzak


Technical editor
Agnieszka Muchowska


Cover and front page design
Krzysztof Trojnar


Typesetting
Marcin Wachowicz


Cover has been designed using assets from freepik.com


© by Maria Curie-Sktodowska University Press, Lublin 2023


ISBN 978-83-227-9751-8


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Contents


ListOf Major ADDEVIALIONS: sassscscececseesssedssosacecesesiocsdedecscedadeds tiaceceectecedbustecethentrsotbsedasectertacven 9
Mit OGUCH ON. fiseistsitiscsssessseiessiebesssesseetesesetnei usin ciate essen aeieaeeaneaaeeeES 11
CHAPTER I
Criminal Law Protection of Money - a Comparative Legal Perspective ...... eee 15
De IMO AUCLOR Y TEMAALKS ss si.sseiessedscssdvessbesnaSsssevobsvtsanssaves vs duessytosvessecueguestssavesdcnestetdis 15
2. Comparative approach to liability and criminal law protection of money in
COMME Mal EULOPE fedeseisseddssecaccarssesstuscenssssssis ededese ods codedetedseests vveesbeevensssascurescastsn’ 15
1, Introductory Pemiarks ics ccsssscscssscasvedevassstdacacnectsssarsata eencacouzspes cctasvevsonasinsseeserbnevees 15
§ 2. Review of the European legal orders oo... seseesseesessessessessesseeseesessesneateseeseesees 16
1. Slavic States and the Former Eastern BLOC w...cscseesseseessesessesteseeseeseeseeees 16
A. Czech Republic (Penal Code of 8 January 2009) oe eeseeeseeeeeeee 16
B. Slovakia (Penal Code of 20 May 2005) .....eeessssssssesesssseseeseseeseseeneeeens 20
C. Hungary (Penal Code of 12 July 2002) wii eeseseseseeseeseeseeseene 24
D. Ukraine (Penal Code of Ukraine of 5 April 2001) on. eeeeseeeteeeeee 28
E. Belarus (Penal Code of the Republic of Belarus of 9 July 1999) ....... 32
E Russia (Penal Code of the Russian Federation of 24 May 1996) ....... 35
G. Lithuania (Penal Code of the Republic of Lithuania
61.26 September: 2000). siccrdersccaivecescterereverahedenecevesseshesernateerdersseestvendevbens 38
H. Latvia (Criminal Law of the Republic of Latvia of 8 July 1998) ....... 4l
2. The States of Roman Legal Culture and the Iberian Peninsula ............... 44
A. Italy (Penal Code of 19 October 1930) w..cceeseeesseseseeseseeeseeseseeneeeens 44
B. San Marino (New Penal Code of 25 February 1974) ou. 48
C. Kingdom of Belgium (Penal Code of 8 June 1867) u..... tees 51
D. Kingdom of the Netherlands (Penal Code of 3 March 1881) ........... 56
E. Grand Duchy of Luxembourg (Penal Code of 18 June 1879) ........... 59
E France (Penal Code of 22 July 1992) oo eeeeeesseesseeseseeteseeteneeteneenenees 64
G. Principality of Monaco (Penal Code of 28 September 1967) ........... 69


H. Principality of Andorra (New Penal Code of 21 February 2005) .... 73
I. Kingdom of Spain (Penal Code of 23 November 1995) eee 75


6 Contents


J. Portugal (Penal Code of 1 October 1995) we esseseseeeseeeseeseseeneeeens 80
3. German=S peaking COUMIIES: scscissses ssssacsessecbesssiscnsncbenssivctsssoctsduedestesensnstivere 84
A. Germany (Penal Code of 15 May 1871) wissen 84
B. Austria (Penal Code of 23 January 1974) o...esessesseesestesseteseeteneeseees 109
C. Swiss Confederation (Penal Code of Switzerland
Of 21 December 1937) essisissasistcstiiesciaaanieseccinireiniannnnnniens 115
D. Principality of Liechtenstein (Penal Code of 24 June 1987) ........... 126
4. Scandinavian and Baltic States ......ccccccscscsescssssescsessescscsescsesesseseseseseseeeeses 130
A. Kingdom of Denmark (Penal Code of 15 April 1930) wwe 130
B. Iceland (General Penal Code of 12 February 1940) eee 132
C. Kingdom of Norway (Penal Code of 20 May 2005) .....teeseeseeseseeee 134
D. Kingdom of Sweden (Penal Code of 21 December 1962) ...........4. 136
E. Finland (Penal Code of 19 December 1889) o..c.ccccccsessssesesesesseseseees 139
E Estonia (Penal Code of 6 June 2001) o...cceecccsesesesceesessesesesessesssesesees 142
5; Balkan Countries: 45.4: sss. cscssies iss cteeasrseseaviantzas arts cdenas naar ees haassteinesiess 146
A. Slovenia (Penal Code of 6 October 1994) .cccecccccsesesesseseseseseeeeseees 146
B. Croatia (Penal Act of 1 January 2020) oe esesesseseseseeseeteseeneneeeeees 149
C. Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (Criminal Law
of Bosnia and Herzegovina of 1 March 2003) oes 151
D. Brcko District in Bosnia and Herzegovina (Criminal Law
OED Fly 2003) ssectsausiesssvsscctedessvel epencsstabs bevel svenesedivsbeeshcbavdetiveceneseundertives’ 153
E. Kosovo (Penal Code of the Republic of Kosovo of 13 July 2012) ... 156
E Serbia (Penal Code of 1 January 2006) 0.0... cesseessesseceseceeseseeneseeneeens 160
G. Montenegro (Penal Code of Montenegro of 23 December 2003) ... 164
H. Romania (Penal Code of 17 July 2009) oo... eeeeesseseeeeseseeeeeseeeeneseens 168
I. Moldova (Penal Code of the Republic of Moldova
OT 1S April 2002) sc ccssseverscoscnsns.Stasedenssnsssstesnsecu chances sete suuedeetstusecctseaseonsens 171
J. Bulgaria (Penal Code of 1 May 1968) o....eceesessesssseeseeteseeteseeteneeneees 175
K. North Macedonia (Penal Code of 1 November 1996) ...........:.:00000 177
L. Albania (Penal Code of 27 January 1995) .o.eeeseseeeeeseeseseeteseeneees 180
6. Mediterranean Countries .......ccccscsssssscscsessssescsesescescscsescsesesseecseseseeecsesesees 182
A. Greece (Penal Code of 1 January 1951) oo. eeeseesseeseeteseeteseeteneeeeees 182
B. Cyprus (Penal Code Act of 1 April 1959) wii eeeeeeeeeeeenee 186
C. Malta (Penal Code of 10 June 1854) wc ccccesssesessescseseseescsesesees 188
D. Turkey (Turkish Penal Code of 26 September 2004) ue 192
STOUMMALY, secsite Ahssitienatiuisnsustnit tend oniunnnluncinnunuanneianieeansies 193
CHAPTER II
Statutory Elements of a Prohibited Act Pursuant to Art. 310 § 1
of the Polish: Penal: COd@ sists diseeschisiht batsetsstsvidens His etic oise nied elses oeadeawneias 199
1; Introductory Perm ark. sisssisscscsescsesssesssessisssessatascencutsezapesisaacgenescaes enassoeeesevsssseneeessnevses 199


2. The object of criminal law protection wo... esesesesessessessessesessneesesesesstsateseeseenes 201


Contents 7


§ 1. The generic object of protection of crimes against trading of money


AHA SCCULTLES 51 sincere ct gnetsn teh scustswhass ssnis dndechsndgindncodes andechled incustusubooeksuehivaseusbell 201
§ 2. The individual object protected by offences pursuant to Art. 310 § 1
OF HE: PiGorsssssscercdeternsevateseverelevevetuseveterssotsivseeseussestesvastutesetpeensaeesseivevanenvensseeeuerioevers 207
3. OD OCLVE SIDE as cscscesscvsssessssssenstessaesssysiseasanie ti ceanenteansns aneaesancaetes gabtstessestssssiestaevneens 212
SL. Tito ductOry Pei arks .ccesssescsnssscvesssstscaiacecesstocesssstecedeecdessabeseedectensssustecdecessensss 212
§ 2. Definition of the executive action oc secssseseseseeseseeseeseeteaeeseseeeaeeeneeneaes 213
J, Mntroductory PEM ark -scvecesessrsovcectersaencvereeeveressdeveeesccereeesscaybeardenssvesdeestennteern 213
D, COUMESL CHATS secesssstessevssssssessessessieshiaesdzcaes nda tate entectapsotsstaneessvsoabsssineitessevdiens 214
Bi ANGLING tos sssuszvesssvsssustensstesdeesuspates sxssasibaptaansaanthanioas thaniaaxdnsntuanensstuoneeieonsen 217
4. Removing the sign of redemption... esesesseseestesesteseesteseeseeneeees 220
5. Similarity of the counterfeit to the original money or monetary
COROT? ai celgcesdveadissaens cies desle vosstyscte cess ass aneaSisuessices seus ptesessaseuneneninseeetehaiseetarete 223
§ 3. The object of the executive action wo esessessesesessessesestestsatesesneeee 233
1; Polish: OF foTe1 Si: MOTSY sss.0:..ssensysus cbsesasechtssnes ssandssnsetpebsssneacosbevstsonscedtdectesd 234
2. Polish or foreign monetary token, established as a legal tender but
NOL Yet PUt LatO:CITCUALON csccscercecceseecrsressscrsrceceeseecnedsorscebectseusevcvectsenssteays 250
6.4. Criminal effect: ss:::2scciinnunanasictania ndanununaaniernsananeen: 252
4, The subject of crimes under Art. 310 § 1 of the pic. veieseeesseseseseeseesteseeneeees 254
5. SUDJSCHVE SIG: ssesceccoseessssesssusesesusesevessstscebatde cas dacutecnsesstancucnateaisensaitsnssnssiyscssvestaevseens 256
Ge SUIMIMAEY © vcie5 su snes ons dieasivesdesscess deapnenviver Sess lerecsbesveeceuevavarsbasvbesteeseuevatantevedessacadiertesderes 262
CHAPTER II
Measures of Criminal Law Response to Offences under Art. 310 § 1
of the Polish Penal Code vaiscscstvsnciesinsiariiansanduinaauoun bainnensisnncatienes 265
Le Unt AUGtOYy TEMIALKS sss scscccseveveresencssiasacudsosts edecededesestedadecededsss nencesheedostasendeensensts 265
2. Penalties and directives of their dimension 00... eesseesseseeeseeseeseeeeneeeeneeeeneesens 265
Dx SUIMIM AY vs cceS nares dove deosivarSeasaes’ Seaeactuitercasedetiesivasivecuevaversbasvaesvecseuevatanevebessacartierievsdei¥s 280
GONCIUSIONS a seiyecssitsssssdeisieicssseteseavssenresesvsrees sient aie eanienet a cepetat enieaaaataeeesaseseeeiestTseeS 285


REL OLCING CS ish csstszcierstcuteatecestenstensteaswenstentaeestensten its tasseesssesssasvesssicsusssssosssesstavien bestevbes bene: 289


List of major abbreviations


BGE - Bundesgerichthoffs Entwurfen

BGH - Bundesgerichthoff (Supreme Court of Germany)
BGHSt - Bundesgerichthoff Strafsachen

CzPKiNP - Czasopismo Prawa Karnego i Nauk Penalnych
Dz.U. - Polish Legislative Journal “Dziennik Ustaw”

GA - Goldtammer’s Archiv fiir Strafrecht

Glos. - Glosa

GStW - Gesamte Strafrechtswissenschaft

IN — Ius Novum

JA - Juristische Arbeitsblatter

JdT - Jagdverteidiger

JR - Juristische Rundschau

JurA - Juristische Ausbildung

JuS — Juristische Schulung

JZ - Juristenzeitung

k.c. - Polish Civil Code

p.c. - Polish Penal Code

k.p.k. - Polish Code of Criminal Procedure

KSP - Krakowskie Studia Prawnicze

KZS - Krakowskie Zeszyty Sadowe

LG - Landgericht

MoP - Monitor Prawniczy

MPH - Monitor Prawa Handlowego

NJW -— Neue Juristische Wochenschrift

NP - Nowe Panstwo

NStZ - Neue Zeitschrift fiir Strafrecht

ObR - Obergericht

OLG - Obergericht

ONSA - Jurisprudence of the Supreme Administrative Court


10 List of major abbreviations


OSA - Jurisprudence of the Courts of Appeal

OSN - Jurisprudence of the Supreme Court

OSNC - Jurisprudence of the Supreme Court. Civil Law Chamber

OSNKW - Jurisprudence of the Supreme Court. Criminal and Military Chamber

OSNwSK - Jurisprudence of the Supreme Court in Criminal Matters

OSNPG - Jurisprudence of the Supreme Court - file of the General Prosecutor’s
Office

OSP - Jurisprudence of the Polish Courts

OSPiKA - Jurisprudence of Polish Courts and Arbitration Commissions

OTK - Jurisprudence of the Constitutional Tribunal

Pal. - Palestra

PiP — Panstwo i Prawo

PPG - Przeglad Prawa Gospodarczego

PPK - Przeglad Prawa Karnego

Prob. Praw. - Problemy Praworzadnosci

Prok. i Pr. - Prokuratura i Prawo

Prok. i Pr.-wkt. - Prokuratura i Prawo - wkladka

PS - Przeglad Sadowy

RGReichsgerichthoff - Supreme Court of the German Reich

RGSt - Reichsgerichthoff Strafsachen (Jurisprudence of the Supreme Court of the
German Reich in criminal matters)

RPE - Ruch Prawniczy i Ekonomiczny

RPEIS - Ruch Prawniczy. Ekonomiczny i Socjologiczny

CA - Court of Appeal

SI - Studia Iuridica

SIL - Studia Iuridica Lublinensia

SJZ - Schweizerische Juristenzeitung

SC - Supreme Court

SP - Studia Prawnicze

StV - Strafverteidiger

TK - Constitutional Tribunal

WPP - Wojskowe Studia Prawnicze

ZStR - Schweizerische Zeitschrift fiir Strafrecht

ZStW - Zeitschrift fir gesamte Strafrechtswissenschaft


Introduction!


Money, as a sui generis object, by virtue of its special functions and application, has
been the object of criminal attacks since prehistory. Its counterfeiting — although dif-
ferently qualified throughout history — is one of the oldest crimes that has remained
a constant threat to the financial system of the state. Departing from the presentation
of the historical perspective, it is worth exposing the growing tendency to demateri-
alise traditional legal institutions. Against this background money is no exception.
The development of this phenomenon is influenced by the progressive digitaliza-
tion and globalization. However, the issue of money counterfeiting has not lost its
relevance. On the contrary, this state creates new challenges for the legislator, the
judiciary and law enforcement authorities to face.

The objective of the present work is to analyze the prohibited act stipulated in
Art. 310 § 1 p.c.’ in the scope of counterfeiting, alteration or removal of a sign of
redemption from Polish or foreign money or a monetary token, which has been
established as a legal tender but has not been put into circulation. The structure
applied here by the legislator, although it has evolved over the years, is a well-known
normative solution, functioning both in the Penal Code of 1932 (Art. 175 § 1 p.c.),?
as well as the Penal Code of 1969 (Art. 227 § 1 p.c.).* This fact did not affect the
intensification of interest in the legal and criminal protection of money against
counterfeiting in the areas of law theory and dogmatics. With the exception of Jerzy
Skorupka’s study in the form of a commentary on prohibited acts included in Chap-


' This publication includes the results of research carried out in the research project enti-
tled “The Issue of Money Forgery in the Polish Criminal Code As Well As in the Comparative
Law Approach” [Pol. “Zagadnienie fatszu pieniqadza na gruncie polskiej ustawy karnej i w ujeciu
prawnopordéwnawczym’] financed from the funds of the National Science Centre in Poland on
the basis of decision No. UMO-2018/29/N-HS5/01091.

The Act of 6 June 1997 — Penal Code (Journal of Laws of 1997, No. 88, item 553, as amended).

> Ordinance of the President of the Republic of Poland of 11 July 1932 — Penal Code (Journal
of Laws of 1932, No. 60, item 571, as amended).

* The Act of 19 April 1969 - Penal Code (Journal of Laws of 1969, No. 13, item 94, as amended).


12 Introduction


ter XXXVII of the Penal Code, there is no monograph devoted strictly to the issue
of money fraud in the Polish literature on the subject. The deficit of considerations
in this respect is surprising given both the long legislative tradition of the type of
offence and the multifaceted nature of money, which affects a number of relation-
ships under different branches of law.

The publication is mainly of a dogmatic nature. Basically, it is devoid of research
theses and hypotheses, the previous formulation of which could assume a certain
degree of a prioriism which is an undesirable phenomenon in legal analyses. Only
the disclosure of detailed research problems prompted them to be posed. The basic
research method is primarily based on the formal and dogmatic analysis of legal
provisions concerning money and its protection under criminal law. Due to the
fact that the core of the work consists of considerations devoted to the counterparts
of Art. 310 of the Penal Code in gremio within the legal orders of the countries of
continental Europe, the application of the comparative legal method seemed to be
indispensable. It is worth noting that when analyzing the Polish normative structure,
the comparison was limited to German-language literature, as the money counter-
feiting was subjected to a detailed theoretical and dogmatic analysis there.

In order to give the Reader a study characterized, as far as possible, by a synthetic
approach, not all side issues revealed during the analysis were resolved in detail
in its content. The digressions on the less significant threads would only blur the
argument concerning the essence of the criminal law protection of money against
counterfeiting. Moreover, the subject literature listed in the bibliography is only
a fraction available on the Polish and foreign markets, which considers money to
be an object worth analyzing on the basis of the legal system. With this in mind, we
abandoned the effort to recall all publications that relate to the subject of the work,
especially when they only touch on it in a contributory manner. Where relevant,
other people's views are reported, thus, avoiding quotation in extenso. On the other
hand, we attempted to present the formulated conclusions in a laconic way.

The first chapter presents the models of criminal liability for crimes that we find in
continental Europe, which are equivalent to the types located in gremio in Art. 310 of
the Penal Code. This procedure allowed, on the one hand, to verify the Polish legisla-
tor’s compliance with standards, and, on the other hand, to embed the Polish norma-
tive structure against the background of solutions functioning in practice. Taking into
account the fact that the title crime raises many interpretative doubts, starting with
the importance of money, the second chapter of the work presents an analysis of the
features of the act defined in Art. 310 § 1 of the Penal Code. This analysis took the
form of an approach consistent with the taxonomy of a prohibited act in force in the
doctrine. The third chapter refers to penalties and selected directives for their severity,
as prescribed for perpetrators of this type. Our analysis is concluded with a summary.


Introduction 13


The present publication is the fruition of research activities carried out under the
Department of Criminal Law and Criminology of the UMCS Faculty of Law and
Administration. I would like to thank my Master — Prof. dr hab. Marek Kulik - who
served me with constructive comments and kind criticism. What is more, as a sci-
entific supervisor and mentor, he believed in me and that the work could be created.

I dedicate this book to my wife, whose support and care cannot be overestimated.
Her efforts enabling the publication of this book deserve admiration and the high-
est praise. I would like to express my gratitude to my parents for their help at every
stage so far.


CHAPTER I


Criminal Law Protection of Money -
a Comparative Legal Perspective


1. Introductory remarks


The first chapter of the work will discuss the topic of comparative legal treatment of
models of liability for crimes against the financial system. The analysis will be based
on the normative solutions applied by European legislators. Their analysis appears to
be indispensable taking into account their impact on the interpretation of the type
pursuant to Art. 310 § 1 of the Penal Code, and as a consequence, prosecuting the
perpetrator ofa falsification of money. The adopted direction and scope of research,
including also behaviours different from classic counterfeiting, is significant, both
for the essence and the scope of responsibility for the title crimes. The approach to
the distinguished groups of issues will also allow to decode the content scope of
features of the type from Art. 310 § 1 of the Penal Code. In addition, the results of
the legal and comparative analysis may enable a critical look at domestic solutions
and constitute a summary to formulate conclusions for their change.


2. Comparative approach to liability and criminal law protection of
money in continental Europe


§ 1. Introductory remarks


We interpreted normative regulations on offences against the trading of money and
securities in other legal orders. We analyzed the criminal regulations of 44 countries
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