Polish President Andrzej Duda signed Poland’s controversial new Holocaust bill late Tuesday ahead of it being assessed by the country’s Constitutional Tribunal.
The law would make it illegal to accuse the nation of complicity in crimes committed by Nazi Germany, including the Holocaust.
It would also ban the use of terms such as “Polish death camps” in relation to Auschwitz and other such camps located in Nazi-occupied Poland.
Violations will be punished by a fine or a jail sentence of up to three years.
Duda’s spokesman, Krzysztof Lapinski, confirmed the bill had been signed.
The President’s office says the majority of the legislation will take effect 14 days after it appears at the country’s Journal of Laws — which could happen as early as Wednesday. The rest of the legislation will come into force within three months.
The bill will also be reviewed by the country’s Constitutional Tribunal to ensure it doesn’t breach the Polish constitution.
The decision to sign the bill into law has already attracted criticism from the US, Israel and France.