Poland
Practice Relating to Rule 161. International Cooperation in Criminal Proceedings
Poland’s Law on Cooperation with the ICC (2004) states:
§ 1. A request for co-operation of the International Criminal Court, hereinafter referred to as “the Court”, depending on the stage of the proceedings, is executed by a competent court or prosecutor through the Minister of Justice.
§ 2. The provision of § 1 shall apply, respectively, to a request for judicial assistance addressed to the Court by a court or a prosecutor.
In 2008, on the occasion of the tenth anniversary of the adoption of the 1998 ICC Statute, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Poland stated:
Poland is one of the strongest supporters of the International Criminal Court. We hope that its jurisdiction will be universally accepted … Violence and crime at international level are no longer phenomena with a limited impact, or the responsibility of others. We are all jointly responsible for supporting the rule of law throughout the world …
Poland is convinced that the International Criminal Court makes an important contribution in that regard.
Holding perpetrators to account [for] grave violations against children continues to be rare … and yet is a crucial element towards protecting children’s rights … In those cases where national authorities are unwilling or unable to hold perpetrators to account, due to lack of capacity or resources for instance, international justice mechanisms, including through the work of the International Criminal Court, and
ad hoc and mixed tribunals, can and should play a complementary role.