Roads not Rights – interesting regulations in the new Polish law

The draft of the new law on road construction violates not only the
Polish Constitution, but also the following acts: Environmental
Protection Law, Construction Law, Act on Real Estate Management,
Administrative Procedure Code, and the fundamental rules of
legislative technique. It contradicts basic civil freedoms and rights,
and at the same time it introduces chaos into Polish legislation due
to lack of precision and using legal superfluity. It differentiates
administrative procedures in an unjustified manner by the criterion of
the investment’s object. This is unacceptable in a democratic state of
law, in particular when the procedure parties’ rights are conformed to
the need determined a priori to accomplish the investment regardless
of its legality.

The destruction of farm and forest land by investors will by
allowed by law:

Farm and forest land affected by the decision to
establish the road location will be exempt from the regulations on the
protection of farm and forest land. (art.22.1)

Road building companies will be allowed to cut trees at will and
pay no fees for it:

The regulations on environmental protection
requiring permits to remove trees and regulations on adequate charges
will not apply to removing trees and bushes growing on the plots
affected by the decision to establish the road location issued
according to this law. (art.22.2)

Investors will not have to carry out environmental impact
assessments:

Passing the decision to permit the road building
does not require instituting the proceeding on the environmental
impact assessment, including a separate report about the environmental
impact of the road investment. (art.26.1)

Those opposing road-building will have no means to fight on legal
grounds, so the law is effectively suspending the right to
protest. This law will sanction violating the law:

Once the road building has started, stating the
invalidation of the decision to permit the road building is not
possible. (art.33.1)

Once the road building has started, the
administrative court cannot overrule the decision to permit the road
building or state its invalidation. (art.33.2)

Regulations are applied appropriately to decisions
to establish the road location. (art 33.3)