Pursuant to the provisions of the Convention, since May 1993 Polish citizens have enjoyed the right to institute legal proceedings individually with the appropriate European authorities against any Polish state authority that has violated their rights and freedoms as defined in the Convention. This can be done, however, only after all the means of legal redress specified by domestic law have been exhausted. Regardless of the lack of definitive Polish statutory resolutions that require compliance with the Convention, it can be argued that if the European Convention is binding, then this should call for the institution of new acts of law as soon as possible wherever existing laws are inconsistent with Convention provisions. Further, until such new acts of law are passed, the existing laws should be interpreted in compliance with the spirit of the Convention's provisions. The possibility of a citizen's appeal to the European courts is affecting and will continue to affect the way the Polish courts are interpreting the law in each individual case. An examination of court cases indicates that the Convention is having an impact. Generally, the draft for the new Polish criminal code shows a continuation of the tendency of recent amendments, i.e., to move away from an excessively repressive criminal law. The draft for the new code appears to meet European standards. 11 footnotes