As defined in law, the aggrieved party is a natural or legal person whose legally protected right was directly infringed or jeopardised. Decisive for the injury is the immediacy of the legally protected right infringed or jeopardised with the offence. The status of the aggrieved party may be enjoyed also by a state, local authority, or civic institution, even when it has no legal personality. The definition of the aggrieved party is based on premises from the realm of substantive criminal law, yet it is also a procedural notion, as resulting from it are a number of procedural powers. In turn, what is protected against crime or offence stated in the definition of article 233 of the Criminal Code is the correct operation of the Polish judiciary, i.e. an extensive range of institutions that execute law and the credibility of the decisions made in the proceedings envisaged on the power of the act.