January 2019

The Province Administrative Court (WSA) of Warsaw agrees with arguments presented by KSP and cancels administrative decisions on integrated permit withdrawal

The Province Administrative Court of Warsaw shared the arguments presented by KSP lawyers in an appeal against a decision issued by the Minister of Environment upholding the decision of the Province Marshall in a case of withdrawal of an integrated permit for a waste management plant operation without compensation. The administrative court emphasized that a permit may only be withdrawn based on evidence gathered by a public administration authority in the course of its proceedings, and not on evidence supplied by third parties. Moreover, the court held that the provision of Article 195(2) of the Environmental Law (whereby the authority shall request that the plant operator remove the non-compliance within a specified time limit prior to issuance of a decision withdrawing or limiting the integrated permit) must be construed strictly. This means that the request for removal of non-compliance within a specified time must be equivalent to the premises which justify withdrawal of the permit without compensation.