If you disagree with a decision or wish to complain about an action of a state institution or agent resulting from their administrative activity or powers, you can appeal to the Administrative court.
Preliminary procedure
Under the general procedure, if there is an administrative decision of a state institution or agent you do not agree with and wish to challenge, you must first follow the preliminary procedure:
- You must first file a preliminary application to the particular state institution that issued the administrative decision you do not agree with. This state institution will examine your preliminary application, and if fully or partially refused, it must submit the case to the higher state institution that would take the final decision. Ensure that the deadline for the preliminary application is not missed (as a general rule, it is of 30 days). The procedure and time limits for the preliminary application are usually indicated in the decision you are challenging. However, if the information regarding the exercise of preliminary application is not contained in the individual administrative act or is indicated incorrectly, the preliminary application can be submitted within one year.
- After you have received the decision of the higher department, if you still disagree with it, you can file an appeal to the Administrative court.
Please be aware that the preliminary procedure is subject to multiple exceptions – in some cases you do not have to follow it at all, thus filing the appeal directly to the Administrative court, in other cases you have to file the preliminary application directly to the higher administrative body. In order to follow the exact and correct procedure, you should consult a lawyer or carefully examine the general rules in the Administrative Code and the special rules provided in other laws.
example The decisions of the Competition Council are to be appealed directly to the Administrative court.
example If you disagree with a decision issued by a customs official, you must first file an appeal to the central office of the Customs Service. Only then can you appeal that decision to the Administrative court.
Right to a fair trial
This Guide will further explain what guarantees you have when your case is examined by the court, namely your right to a fair trial. The Administrative court proceedings must comply with all guarantees of the right to a fair trial. Your right to a fair trial starts from the moment you submit your first application to the court and lasts until the implementation of the court’s final decision.
Role of the judge
As an individual in this process you need more protection because your opponent is the State. Therefore, a judge in an Administrative court plays a more active role than judges in the proceedings of other courts. In an Administrative court the judge has a duty to carry out an independent investigation to establish what really happened in the case. This is to your advantage because it ensures that the judge does not overlook an important issue if you forgot to mention it or did not understand it.
Learn more about the rights and duties which guarantee you a fair trial and how to complain where you believe your rights have been violated.