9th Nationwide Scientific Conference in the series "Philosophical Aspects of Criminal Law"

Dear Sir or Madam,

The Criminal Substantive Law Student Club of UKSW is honored to invite you to the 9th Nationwide Scientific Conference in the series Philosophical Aspects of Criminal Law – "The mental element as a component of the basis for criminalization and the basis for attributing a prohibited act", which will take place in person on April 24, 2026 from 9:00 in the Schuman Hall in building 21 (Auditorium Maximum) of the Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński University in Warsaw – Campus at Wóycickiego 1/3.

The aim of the conference is to continue the interdisciplinary debate on the philosophical and axiological foundations of criminal law, with particular emphasis on the role of the mental element in the process of shaping criminal norms and in the analysis of an individual's responsibility for a prohibited act.

• the significance and limits of the mental element in the basis of criminalization,
• consciousness and will as elements of attributing a prohibited act,
• psychological and philosophical aspects of guilt and responsibility,
• differences between the subjective and objective element in criminal law,
• the impact of modern research on consciousness and will on the theory of offense,
• the significance of mental disorders and cognitive limitations in attributing guilt,
• negligence as a form of the subjective side of an offense and its significance for attributing responsibility,
• differentiation of statutory penalties depending on the form of intent – limits and axiological bases of such differentiation,
• the problem of determining awareness of unlawfulness of conduct and the impact of such determination on attributing intent,
• the boundary between direct intent and eventual intent,
• the boundary between eventual intent and conscious negligence,
• the problem of correctly reconstructing various authors' views on eventual intent,
• the perspective of philosophy of mind and ethics in the analysis of the mental element in criminal law.

Organized since 2017 by the Criminal Substantive Law Student Club of the Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński University in Warsaw, the conference is a forum for exchanging scholarly views that combines legal, philosophical and doctrinal reflection in the field of criminal law. The ninth edition will be devoted to the mental element as a component of the basis for criminalization and the basis for attributing a prohibited act.

Panels:

• Panel I – The mental element in the structure of the prohibited act A panel devoted to the analysis of the mental element as part of the subjective side of the prohibited act; discussion on the definition and function of intent, negligence and awareness of consequence.
• Panel II – Intent and negligence – limits and axiological justification of differentiation Analysis of doctrinal and philosophical grounds for differentiating forms of intent and justification for statutory differentiation of criminal penalties.
• Panel III – Boundaries of intent: from direct to eventual and beyond Focused on the problem of determining the boundary between direct and eventual intent and between eventual intent and conscious negligence.
• Panel IV – Awareness of unlawfulness and its significance for attributing intent Analysis of the concept of awareness of unlawfulness, its limits and impact on attributing intent, including the concept of mistake about the law.

We encourage the submission of papers for publication as scientific articles; in cooperation with the journal Annales Universitatis Mariae Curie-Skłodowska, sectio G (Ius), the organizers plan to publish 8–10 of the best articles.

Active participation in the conference is free of charge and certified.

Those interested in active participation are asked to complete the application form. An abstract containing the main theses should be no more than 500 words and submitted as a .docx file via the form. Time of presentation: 15 minutes.

Abstract submissions are accepted until April 10, 2026 at 23:59. We reserve the right to select abstracts. Information on acceptance of a presentation will be sent to the email address provided in the form by April 15, 2026.

Active and passive participation is free of charge. Passive participation does not require prior registration.

The conference regulations are available from the organizers.

If you have any questions, please contact

Board of the Criminal Substantive Law Student Club UKSW