PENAL PROTECTION OF COMPETITION IN THE LIGHT OF ARTICLE 24 OF THE ACT OF 16 APRIL, 1993, ON THE FIGHT AGAINST UNFAIR COMPETITION (Karna ochrona konkurencji w swietle art. 24 ustawy z dnia 16 kwietnia 1993 r. o zwalczaniu nieuczciwej konkurencji)

The article is devoted to an analysis of crime typified in Article 24 of the Act of 16 April, 1993, on the Fight against Unfair Competition. Its basic aim is to answer the question whether and to what extent this law provides legal protection for both a client against being misled about the identity of a producer or a product, and a producer against serious damage. The article consists of three parts. The first one is an analysis of the issues connected with the acts of unfair competition. Defining them is a starting point for further discussions. The second part contains characteristic features of the statutory hallmarks of crime typified in Article 24 of the Act on the Fight against Unfair Competition. The discussion is based on the schema: the object of protection, the object party, the subject, the subject party. The third part refers to the concurrence of Article 24 of the Act on the Fight against Unfair Competition with other penal regulations and is their short characteristic. Article 24 de lege lata of the Act on the Fight against Unfair Competition cause many interpretational doubts. The discussion of the described crime leads to a conclusion that the regulation requires amendment.