Adam Szafrański - Business Law Journal - Journals

Dr hab. Adam Szafrański

ORCID: 0000-0002-9151-2233

Professor at the Department of Administrative Economic and Banking Law at the Faculty of Law and Administration of the University of Warsaw. He specialises in the issues of public economic law, including constitutional economic law, basic regulations of economic activity and energy law. Academic supervisor of the School of German Law at the University of Warsaw, formerly an expert of the Bureau of Analyses of the Sejm Chancellery and the President of the Energy Regulatory Office. Head of the studies LLM EU Energy and Climate Law at the Faculty of Law and Administration of the University of Warsaw.

Article

Comment on the order of Supreme Administrative Court of 18 July 2023 on suspending the execution of the decision concerning the Turów Mine (ref. no. III OZ 321/23), s. 32-39

DOI: 10.33226/0137-5490.2023.11.5

JEL: K23, K32, P18

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Comment on the order of Supreme Administrative Court of 18 July 2023 on suspending the execution of the decision concerning the Turów Mine (ref. no. III OZ 321/23)

The Regional Director of Environmental Protection in Wrocław, by decision of 21.01.2020, determined the environmental conditions for the implementation of the project "Continuation of the exploitation of the lignite deposit Turów, implemented in the municipality of Bogatynia". The applicant was an energy company – PGE Górnictwo i Energetyka Konwencjonalna S.A. An appeal against the decision was filed by NGOs with statutory objectives related to environmental protection as well as local government units from the Czech Republic and Germany. As a result of the appeal proceedings, the General Director of Environmental Protection issued a decision on 30.09.2022, amending the decision of the Regional Director of Environmental Protection, but not satisfying the demands of the majority of the parties to revoke the decision on environmental conditions. The decision of the General Director of Environmental Protection was appealed to the WSA in Warsaw by the NGOs and the city of Žitava. Some of the complainants applied for a stay of execution of the contested decision of the General Director of Environmental Protection. The WSA, by decision of 31.05.2023, suspended the execution of the contested decision. The Supreme Administrative Court annulled on 18.07.2023 the appealed decision of the WSA and refused to suspend the execution of the appealed decision (on environmental conditions of the implementation of the project entitled: "Continuation of exploitation of the Turów lignite deposit"). The decision of the NSA deserves approval for three reasons. Firstly, due to the correct argumentation concerning the temporary protection provided for in Article 61 § 3 p.p.s.a. Secondly, due to the criticism of the decision of the WSA with regard to the lack of weighing of values and one-sidedness of the justification. Thirdly, because of the necessary restraint in terms of administrative control when it comes to disputes par excellence political, to which the judiciary should not be a party, and which the NSA has preserved in the its decision.

Keywords: mining of lignite; concession; provisional measure; energy law; energy security