Success in legal proceedings for compensation for the excessive length of administrative proceedings

The District Court for Prague 10 rejected the lawsuit filed on the grounds that the right to a hearing within a reasonable time does not apply to administrative proceedings. This decision was appealed by KSB and the appeal in its entirety succeeded. The Prague Municipal Court agreed with the arguments of KSB that the administrative procedure may be based on the case law of the European Court of Human Rights that applies the right to a hearing within a reasonable time. The appellate court ordered the proceedings to assess the conduct of administrative proceedings and subsequent proceedings judge pending a final decision in administrative proceedings as a whole and to include in the total time counted the decisions of administrative bodies as well as the review of administrative justice.

This decision opens the way for easier redress of excessive length of administrative proceedings of a similar type. KSB represents a number of clients in the field of waste management across the spectrum of legal services, including administrative proceedings and the review of administrative justice.