The author first reviews the content of instruments of prisoner transfer. They include the multilateral conventions -- the 1978 Berlin Convention and the 1983 Council of Europe Convention -- and bilateral treaties. The latter discussion considers bilateral treaties with developing countries and western countries. Statistics are provided on foreigners detained and imprisoned in Poland, and other sections discuss the allocation of foreign offenders in Polish prisons and the situation of foreign inmates. The political and economic transformation of Poland since the collapse of the communist regime has seen a substantial growth in the foreign population in Polish jails and prisons. The traditional policy that has been based on the concept of "getting rid" of foreign defendants "in exchange" for some financial "gains" to the system is untenable. Arguably, the transfer of inmates alone cannot solve all the problems caused by the criminality of foreign offenders. Some of them cannot be transferred to their home countries due to the lack of relevant legal instruments; some inmates refuse to consent to a transfer to their home countries, preferring instead the prison conditions in Poland. Still, Polish legislation should be strengthened and widened to facilitate the transfer of sentenced foreign offenders and the enforcement of foreign criminal sanctions. 47 footnotes