Abstract

This article discusses issues related to granting the status of a victim to a commercial law company in the criminal procedure. The authoress aims at clarifying interpretational problems of specifying the notion of a victim which may arise in case of a tortious action to the detriment of a commercial law company. Special difficulties arise when a company is not incorporated. The discussion focuses on the statutory definition of a victim contained in Art. 49 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of 6 June 1997 and its fundamental criteria. Special attention has been drawn to the notion of the directness of infringement of legal interest and legal personality as the chief determinants of awarding the status of a victim to a company. Note has been also taken of the interest of partners and shareholders of a company. The article also analyses the relationship between protection extended to a company under the criminal procedure by recognizing it as a victim of a crime with protection which may be extended directly to its partners and shareholders. The authoress also analyses mergers, division and transformations of companies and the related provisions of the Commercial Companies Code of 15 September 2000 concerning the succession of rights and their impact on gaining the victim status by entities established as a result of transformation. At the same time, note has been taken of the consequences of striking the company off the register for its victim status.