The Polish legal system has long granted victims many of the rights contained in the Declaration, particularly the rights related to criminal procedures and compensation. The efforts surrounding the Declaration and its adoption also brought efforts to improve the situation of victims in Poland. However, at the same time other legal regulations have been introduced that have overlooked the interests of victims. Thus, work on the implementation of the Declaration in Poland has been uneven in that the Foundation for Assisting Victims of Crime has been established, but victims lack a real right to obtain restitution from the offender. The unevenness may result from the socioeconomic and political crisis in Poland in the 1980's. However, the current work on reforming the penal law indicates a reemergence of the trend toward recognizing and addressing victims' needs.