Dear Sir or Madam, The Student Scientific Circle of Substantive Criminal Law at UKSW has the honour to invite you to the IX National Scientific Conference in the series “Philosophical Aspects of Criminal Law” – “The mental element as a component of the basis of criminalization and of attributing a prohibited act.” The conference will take place in person on 24 April 2026 from 9:00 AM in the Schuman Aula, building 21 (Auditorium Maximum), Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński University in Warsaw (campus ul. 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 shaping criminal norms and in the analysis of an individual’s responsibility for a prohibited act. Topics include: significance and limits of the mental element in the basis of criminalization; awareness and will as elements of attributing a prohibited act; psychological and philosophical aspects of guilt and responsibility; differences between subjective and objective elements in criminal law; the impact of modern research on consciousness and will on the theory of crime; the significance of mental disorders and cognitive limitations in attributing guilt; negligence as a form of the subjective side of an offence and its importance for attributing responsibility; differentiation of statutory penalties depending on the form of intent — limits and axiological grounds for such differentiation; the problem of establishing awareness of the unlawfulness of conduct and the influence of such a finding on attributing intent; the boundary between direct intent and conditional intent; the boundary between conditional intent and conscious negligence; the problem of correctly reconstructing individual authors’ views on conditional intent; the perspective of philosophy of mind and ethics in the analysis of the mental element in criminal law. The conference provides a space for exchanging views among students, doctoral candidates, researchers and legal practitioners interested in the theoretical and philosophical dimension of criminal responsibility. The recurring National Scientific Conference “Philosophical Aspects of Criminal Law”, organized since 2017 by the Student Scientific Circle of Substantive Criminal Law at UKSW, combines legal, philosophical and dogmatic reflection in the area of criminal law. The ninth edition is devoted to the mental element as a component of the basis of criminalization and of attributing a prohibited act; it is of particular importance for the theory of crime and the axiological foundations of criminal responsibility. The conference aims to initiate discussion on the structure and significance of the mental element in the process of attributing responsibility, analyze forms of intent and their normative consequences, and address the issue of establishing awareness of the unlawfulness of conduct. Program (panels): Panel I – The mental element in the structure of the prohibited act: analysis of the mental element as part of the subjective side of an offence; definition and function of intent, negligence and awareness of consequence; relations between awareness, will and the legal assessment of conduct. Panel II – Intent and negligence – limits and axiological justification for differentiation: analysis of dogmatic and philosophical bases for distinguishing forms of intent; differentiation of statutory criminal penalties and its justification from the perspective of justice and proportionality. Panel III – Boundaries of intent: from direct to conditional and beyond: the problem of determining the boundary between direct and conditional intent and between conditional intent and conscious negligence; analysis of classical and contemporary authors’ views on conditional intent and methods of reconstructing those positions. Panel IV – Awareness of unlawfulness and its significance for attributing intent: analysis of the concept of awareness of unlawfulness, its limits and its influence on attributing intent; consideration of whether and to what extent lack of awareness of unlawfulness may exclude or limit intent; context of philosophy of law, theories of guilt and the concept of mistake of law. We encourage publication of presentations as scientific articles; in cooperation with 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 certified. Those interested in active participation are asked to complete the application form; if you have problems accessing the form, please contact: uksw.knpkm@gmail.com. An abstract (containing the main theses) should be a maximum of 500 words and submitted in .docx format via the application form. Presentation time: 15 minutes. We accept abstract submissions until 10 April 2026 at 23:59. We reserve the right to select abstracts. Information about acceptance of a presentation will be sent to the email address provided in the application form by 15 April 2026. Active and passive participation are certified. Passive participation does not require prior registration. The conference regulations and additional information will be provided on request — please contact: uksw.knpkm@gmail.com. For questions, please contact: uksw.knpkm@gmail.com. Board of the Student Scientific Circle of Substantive Criminal Law at UKSW
