Procedural Requirements for Administrative Limits to Property Rights in Poland

Abstract

AbstractThe Polish Constitution contains a general principle related to the protection of the right of property. As it is not an absolute rule, the Constitution also provides for some exceptions to it, one of them being the institution of expropriation, ie carrying out an administrative dispossession of ownership of movable and immovable property. Pursuant to the Constitution, expropriation shall be possible only when the following preconditions are met: expropriation is related to a public purpose; expropriation is performed under a highest-rank statute ('Act' of law or ustawa) and by means of a procedure specified therein; the expropriated party is awarded just compensation. Detailed material and procedural provisions on land expropriation are contained in the Immovable Property Management Act of 21 August 1997. The competent authority for immovable property expropriation and compensation is the starost (county-level local government authority) performing administrative tasks on behalf of the government. Expropriation decisions may be contested in proceedings before administrative courts. In the Polish legal order, the institution of expropriation is distinguished from that of nationalisation. Currently, the latter is only of historical importance.