Complaint about the inaction of the authority

What is the deadline for settling an administrative matter?

Pursuant to the provisions of Art. 35 of the Code of Administrative Procedure, public administration bodies are obliged to settle matters without undue delay. In the case of matters requiring explanatory proceedings, the deadline for settlement should not exceed one month, and in the case of particularly complex matters, it should not exceed two months from the date of initiation of the proceedings. In appeal proceedings, this deadline is one month from the receipt of the appeal. Cases in simplified proceedings should be resolved immediately, no later than within one month from the date of initiation of the proceedings. It is worth emphasizing that specific regulations may set different deadlines for settling administrative matters.

Urgent authority

A reminder of the authority, in the context of a complaint about inaction or lengthy conduct of proceedings, may be submitted after using the procedure provided for in Art. 37 § 1 of the Code of Administrative Procedure. Pursuant to this provision, a party may issue a reminder if the authority has not resolved the case within the deadline specified in Art. 35 of the Code of Administrative Procedure, in specific regulations or established in accordance with Art. 36 of the Code of Administrative Procedure, or when the proceedings are conducted longer than necessary to resolve the case. In the absence of justified action by the authority after the reminder, it is possible to file a complaint about the inaction or lengthy conduct of the proceedings before an administrative court.

The competent authority will consider the reminder within 7 days of its receipt. In the decision regarding the reminder, the authority indicates whether it has been guilty of inaction or excessive length of proceedings, assessing whether it was in gross violation of the law. If inaction or delay is found, the authority obliges to settle the matter, setting a deadline if the proceedings have not been completed. In addition, it orders clarification of the causes and identification of persons responsible for inactivity or delays, and, if necessary, takes measures to prevent similar situations in the future.

Organ inactivity

In certain situations, the administrative authority does not take any action in a given case and does not inform the person concerned about it. The reasons that led to the failure to resolve the case on time or the inaction of the authority are irrelevant, especially if they result from the authority’s fault or delay in taking action. Inaction of the authority conducting administrative proceedings occurs when it does not resolve the case within the statutory deadline, which means no decision without justification allowing the deadline to be extended.

The finding of inactivity or lengthy conduct, although undoubtedly a violation of the law, does not clearly determine the serious nature of the violation. The assessment of whether we are dealing with a flagrant violation should be made individually for each case.

Unlike the inaction of an authority, which is determined on the basis of an objective criterion of the deadline for settling the case, the length of the proceedings is assessed subjectively. The relevant authority is obliged to assess whether the public administration body conducts the proceedings within the time necessary to resolve the matter. It is worth emphasizing that due to statutory deadlines for settling administrative matters, excessive length of proceedings should not be confused with failure to resolve the matter on time, as the latter qualifies as inaction.

How to file a complaint about the inaction of an authority?

To file a complaint to the administrative court regarding inaction, it is necessary to use the intermediation of the body whose action, inaction or lengthy conduct of proceedings is the subject of the complaint. The administrative authority submits the complaint to the court, together with complete and organized case files and a response to the complaint, within thirty days of receiving the complaint.

The complaint should meet the formal requirements of a letter in court proceedings and should also contain elements such as an indication of the contested decision; designation of the authority whose action, inaction or lengthy conduct of proceedings is the subject of the complaint; determining the violation of law or legal interest.

When considering a complaint about inaction or lengthy conduct of proceedings, the court: obliges the authority to issue an act, interpretation or to take specific actions within a specified period; obliges the authority to state or recognize a right or obligation arising from legal provisions; determines whether the authority has been guilty of inaction or excessive length of proceedings.

At the same time, the court assesses whether the inaction of the authority or the lengthy conduct of the proceedings by the authority was a gross violation of the law.

Summary

A complaint is a means of holding accountable a public administration body that unduly delays consideration of a given case or fails to act at all. To use this tool, the party with the right to submit a complaint must first submit a reminder to the competent authority. If there is no response to the reminder or its ineffectiveness, you can then use the option of filing a complaint to the competent provincial administrative court. If the complaint is considered positively, the court obliges the authority to issue a decision within a specified period or to deal with the matter in an agreed manner.