Formalnoprawne podstawy walki z terroryzmem powietrznym w Polsce

The author presents formal and legal bases of fighting against air terrorism in Poland. Aviation becomes very vulnerable in the context of terrorist threats in Poland. In many cases these are foreigners who are the passengers of commercial flights which makes the checking procedure difficult. The terrorist attack in September 2001 showed that the plane enables terrorist to perform a spectacular and far-reaching action. The author stressed international aspects of the issue. The circumstances resulting from the fact that Poland has signed international conventions have been pointed out. Moreover Poland has also signed many bilateral agreements concerning common fight against terrorism with European and non-European countries. Discussing Polish legal bills related to fighting against terrorism, the author focuses mainly on the aviation law passed in 2002 and the penal code provisions. The reader is reminded that many countries in the world, especially after September 11, introduced strict laws in their penal code to fight against terrorism. Nevertheless, it is estimated that there is no need in Poland to introduce separate penalties for crimes defined or qualified solely as terrorist crimes into the penal code. It is believed that the binding laws in this area may be applied to terrorist cases and our penal code is a sufficient basis to chase and counteract potential terrorist threats in air transport.