Deregulation of Appeal Procedure in Administrative Proceedings

Abstract

The article contains an analysis and assessment of normative changes in Polish administrative proceedings made by the legislator as part of deregulatory measures. These measures covered, in particular, the area of appeal proceedings, where the standard of procedural protection is determined by the principle of two-instance proceedings. Legislative interference in the procedural system of legal protection requires particular caution to ensure that, under the guise of improving the procedural situation, the legal guarantees of individuals are not restricted. The amendment to the Code of Administrative Proceedings affects the scope of the adjudicative powers of the authorities of instance course, in particular the cassation competence of appeal authority, and is yet another legislative intervention in recent years in the construction of cassation decision of the second instance authority. The legislator’s efforts focused on strengthening the impact of the factual and legal assessment made by the appeal authority in a decision repealing the contested decision and referring the case back to the first instance authority for reconsideration. The explicit articulation of the binding force of the instructions and guidelines of the appeal authority fulfils the idea of jurisdictional integrity in the course of administrative instances, but it is also another manifestation of the legislator’s re-evaluation and new perspective on the principle of two-instance administrative proceedings.