Abstract
The text deals with the problem minorities from different cultural backgrounds complying with the national law of the host country. The author analyses and discusses in detail the provisions of the 27th International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights of 16 December 1966, selected articles of the Constitution of the Republic of Poland, and the content of the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities. Olga Sitarz emphasises the role of custom and tradition in the life of every human being and its influence on their behaviour and choices, including the decision to commit crimes. The author encourages us to look at the problem of cultural distinctiveness from two perspectives – legislation and law enforcement – stressing that we need to contemplate more deeply the human right to cultivate one’s own customs and traditions, whilst keeping in mind the social order, legal order, and sense of security of all individuals. The article also outlines examples of countries that have decided to include cultural identity in their legal system. The author explains the issue of defence of culture and how belonging to a cultural group can be used as an argument to exclude responsibility. The article also discusses the problem of the possible abuse of the defence of culture by people who consider themselves to be members of particular social groups and whose aim is to avoid responsibility for behaviour that does not comply with the applicable norms of criminal law. In conclusion, the author discusses the cultural factors that affect the behaviour of individuals in the context of criminal responsibility, listing the circumstances that abrogate the criminality of an act (excluding guilt, lawlessness, or abolishing social harmfulness), abrogate punishability, mitigate within the framework of extraordinary mitigation of punishment, and mitigate within the framework of statutory threat of punishment, adequate to a lower degree of social harm.
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