We have successfully demonstrated that the provisions of the act constituting grounds for the introduction of landscape resolutions are contrary to the Constitution of the Republic of Poland.
After years of legal battle, an extremely important ruling has been pronounced for the Out Of Home Advertising (OOH) industry. On the 12th of December, the Constitutional Tribunal declared in the case P 20/19 (merged with P 15/20) that it is unconstitutional to impose an obligation on the owners of legally constructed advertising carriers to adapt (i.e. remove) them to the so-called landscape resolutions, without compensating these entities.
The legal question in this case was submitted to the Tribunal by the Supreme Administrative Court in two cases of our client from the OOH industry, accepting the arguments of Małgorzata Zamorska that the provision of art. 37a section 9 of the Act of 27 March 2003 on Spatial Planning and Development raises doubts as to its compliance with, i.a. art. 2 and art. 21 of the Constitution of the Republic of Poland.
The Constitutional Tribunal stated in the oral justification of the decision that there had occurred a so-called legislative omission, which results in the expropriation by an act of local law of the owners of the advertising devices without any compensation which constitutes a violation of the principle of the acquired rights and trust of the citizens to the State and the law established by that State.
Such a situation resulted in all entities becoming subject to expropriation, including those who had built their advertising devices lege artis, on the basis of building permits obtained from the authorities. This has not only destroyed the assets of many companies in the advertising industry (the necessity to demolish the advertising equipment at their own expense), but has also eliminated the possibility for them to operate in the future. And all this without any compensation.
The ruling was made unanimously and is now final and effective with immediate effect.
Details are available on the website of the Constitutional Tribunal: LINK