What is the crime of material forgery?

One of the crimes that often occur in economic turnover is material counterfeiting. As the Supreme Court stated in one of its rulings, the essence of the crime of material forgery of a document is to create the appearance that it comes from a specific issuer.

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How was the crime of material forgery regulated?

According to Art. 270 K.K.:

  • 1. Whoever, in order to use it as authentic, counterfeits or alters a document or uses such a document as authentic, shall be subject to a fine, the penalty of restriction of liberty or imprisonment from 3 months to 5 years.
  • (2) The same penalty shall be imposed on anyone who fills out a blank, bearing another’s signature, contrary to the will of the signatory and to his detriment, or uses such a document.
  • 2a. In a minor case, the perpetrator

is subject to a fine, restriction of liberty or imprisonment for up to 2 years.

  • (3) Whoever makes preparations for the crime specified in § 1,

is subject to a fine, restriction of liberty or imprisonment for up to 2 years.

What is the crime of material forgery?

One of the crimes that often occur in economic turnover is material counterfeiting. As the Supreme Court stated in one of its rulings, the essence of the crime of material forgery of a document is to create the appearance that it comes from a specific issuer (judgment of the Supreme Court of 10 May 2007, issued in the case with reference number IV KK 109/07). It is worth noting right away that it is about the authenticity of a specific document, not the genuineness of the document, because this crime is committed regardless of whether the forged document corresponds to the truth. What is important, criminalizing is not only the creation of a forged document, but also its use.

Who can commit the crime of material forgery?

They can be committed by any person who is capable of incurring criminal liability. In addition, this crime can only be committed intentionally and only with a direct intention. However, in the case of using a forged document, such an act may be committed by the perpetrator both with direct and potential intention.

Is it also punishable to prepare to commit the crime of material forgery?

Yes. The legislator provided for the punishability of any form of preparation of a material falsification.

What is the penalty for committing the crime of material forgery?

The acts penalized in Art. 270 of the Penal Code, both in §1 and §2 are punishable by a fine, restriction of liberty or imprisonment from 3 months to 5 years.

In the case of lesser importance, the case is subject to a fine, restriction of liberty or imprisonment for up to 2 years. 270 § 1 PC

Such a penalty may be unusually mitigated by the court.

Author:

Rafał Drzewiecki

Lawyer, Mediator

He specializes in providing legal assistance to natural persons. He attaches great importance to trying to resolve disputes amicably, including in criminal cases. He realizes his professional career in criminal law, because he served his legal training under the supervision of an attorney specializing in this field. He is particularly interested in post-penitentiary issues: the system of electronic supervision, breaks in serving the prison sentence, conditional early release.

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