Poland moves to increase criminal fines tenfold after 30-year freeze
Poland's Ministry of Justice has submitted a draft amendment to the Criminal Code that would raise daily fine rates tenfold, from the current 10–2,000 zł to 100–20,000 zł.
A short legislative proposal posted on the Government Legislation Centre website would amend a single article of the Polish Criminal Code governing daily fine rates. The change, if enacted, would multiply the minimum and maximum rates by ten, marking the first adjustment since the code took effect nearly 30 years ago.
Current fine system
Under the existing rules, courts set fines using a daily rate system. The daily rate must be between 10 zł and 2,000 zł, and the number of daily rates ranges from 10 to 540, depending on the offence. This means the lowest possible fine is 100 zł, while the highest can exceed 1 million zł, and may rise further in cases of cumulative penalties.
Proposed changes
The draft amendment would replace the current range with a new one: the daily rate could not be lower than 100 zł or higher than 20,000 zł. As a result, the minimum total fine would become 1,000 zł, and the maximum could reach 10.8 million zł. The number of daily rates and the criteria for setting them (offender’s income, personal and family circumstances, assets, and earning capacity) remain unchanged.
- Minimum (current)
- 10 PLN
- Minimum (proposed)
- 100 PLN
- Maximum (current)
- 2000 PLN
- Maximum (proposed)
- 20000 PLN
Ministry’s rationale
The Ministry of Justice argues that the current rates have lost their deterrent effect because the purchasing power of money has changed significantly over three decades. It notes that the lowest fines are now more appropriate for petty offences than for crimes.
Such a penalty can be considered adequate and acceptable for liability for petty offences, but not for crimes.
The ministry also points out that when the code was adopted, the legislator considered a daily rate of 2,000 zł acceptable. Maintaining axiological consistency, it says, now justifies a correspondingly higher ceiling.
The proposed regulation does not interfere with the principles of sentencing or the assessment of the degree of guilt; it concerns solely the raising of the minimum daily rate, which is a consequence of economic changes.
Consultation process
The draft has been published for public consultation. Interested parties can submit comments and opinions within three weeks, until the second half of July 2026.
