The Supreme Court, in its judgment of October 27, 2023 (V KK 236/23Wyrok), stated that in the case of multiple (or collective) crimes, which include the offense under Art. 209 § 1 of the Penal Code, there is no state of res judicata if the previous final conviction concerns only a fragment of the later charged act. Evading the maintenance obligation during the period not covered by a final conviction is a new criminal act entailing further criminal liability, and the time limits of the next offense should be precisely defined, taking into account the content of the previous conviction.
This ruling was issued as a result of the cassation appeal of the Prosecutor General in a case in which the accused was convicted of a crime committed in the period from September 28, 2020 to May 31, 2021, while for an offense under Art. 209 § 1 of the Penal Code, to the detriment of the same injured party, committed in the period from December 1, 2019 to July 19, 2020, from September 28, 2020 to November 30, 2020 and from January 1, 2021 to 31 May 2021, the accused has already been sentenced by a penal order of the District Court in Sochaczew of May 9, 2022, ref. no. file II K 603/21.
Taking the above into account, the Supreme Court agreed to the cassation motion of the Prosecutor General and annulled the penal order judgment of the District Court in Sochaczew of January 16, 2023, ref. no. No. II K 456/21 and referred the case to the same Court for reconsideration, during which a judgment will be issued taking into account the above comments and devoid of the described shortcomings.