The Legal Status of the Institute of National Remembrance – Commission for the Prosecution of Crimes Against the Polish Nation

The aim of this chapter is to identify the legal position of the Institute of National Remembrance – Commission for the Prosecution of Crimes Against the Polish Nation. To this end, the author carried out an analysis of the responsibilities, powers and organisational structure of the institution in question. The chapter consists of four main parts that address the following issues: the origins of the Institute of National Remembrance in Poland, the responsibilities and powers of the Institute, the bodies and its organisational structure and the functioning of the Institute in the light of official data. Within the framework of the Institute’s activities, the investigative, archival, research-educational and vetting functions were distinguished. The text also considers the actual operations of the Institute, which is shown based on official statistical data, mainly in the scope of the investigative function. The main point of the chapter is that the effective implementation of statutory tasks by the Institute of National Remembrance must assume regular cooperation between those organisational divisions of the Institute that are responsible for carrying out the investigative, archival, research-educational and vetting functions. The author used mainly the research methods and techniques typical of legal sciences, in particular by applying formal and dogmatic methods.