So-called sect as an organized criminal group or association having for its purpose the commission of offences

Abstract

The problem of so-called sects shouldn’t be ignored. On one hand the development of civilization improves existential conditions of human beings and broadens their horizons and - on the other hand – it may cause the destruction or deformation of values commonly accepted as traditional vectors of the social order as well as it may promote alternatives to the above-mentioned values. Such ‘new axiologies’ are often presented and exposed by various sects and some contemporary phenomena in the sphere of confession or outlook. The author of the paper discusses the possibility of comparison of a sect whose leader and members conduct criminal activity to an organized criminal group or to an association having for its purpose the commission of offences in the light of Polish legal regulations (Article 258 of the Polish Penal Code of 1997). It seems that in the context of sects – taking into consideration the specificity of organizations of a such nature – there is generally more adequate to refer to these communities a term ‘an association having for its purpose the commission of offences’ than a term ‘an organized criminal group’ (though it’s necessary to stress that a sect can also assume the form of an organized criminal group).