Constitutional Framework for Planning Acts as Legal Forms of Administration’s Activity in Environmental Protection (on the Example of Poland)

Abstract

Planning acts constitute a very important instrument for conducting environmental protection policy in Poland. Despite the relative freedom of public authorities in shaping their provisions, these acts are adopted on the basis of explicit authorisations contained – in principle – in universally binding law, primarily in statutes. The aim of the article is to draw attention to the fact that a quite detailed normative framework for adopting environmental planning acts is also present at the level of the Constitution of the Republic of Poland. Determining its scope, however, requires defining the legal nature of the indicated acts, which is an issue that raises certain problems. They are visible especially in the context of the administrative law doctrine.