It is not possible to appeal against certificates from authorized inspectors

Brno - It is not possible to appeal to any supervising official instance against the certificates issued by authorized inspectors that permit construction. The only option is a direct lawsuit to the court. This follows from the decision of the Supreme Administrative Court in a dispute (NSS) related to the controversial construction of the Bauhaus hobby market in Brno-Ivanovice. The ministry for regional development, which was granted authority to review the disputed construction certificates by the Municipal Court in Prague this May, cannot examine the certificates. It seems that the municipal court should deal with the certificates.
      "There is no possibility of an appeal against the certificate of an authorized inspector, and thus a lawsuit can be filed against this act itself," wrote the Supreme Administrative Court in a decision from this July, which was pointed out today by the Aktuálně.cz server. The decision specifically concerned the relocation of engineering networks and traffic access to the Ivanovice Bauhaus. The disputed hobby market, which has faced protests from local residents and civic initiatives for many years, is already nearly finished.
      The entire complex legal dispute has its roots in the new building law, which introduced the institution of the authorized inspector. This inspector can issue a certificate that effectively replaces the building permit. This allows builders to avoid often lengthy and laborious construction proceedings. Lawmakers anticipated that inspectors would approve mainly constructions against which no one protests. However, the hobby market investor also utilized the certificate.
      Last year, the Supreme Administrative Court made a groundbreaking ruling that construction certificates are administrative decisions that can be reviewed by the court, something that part of the legal community had previously disputed. Inspectors can violate the rights of neighbors and other people affected by the construction. Practice has shown that inspectors often do not take into account neighbors' objections or do not even approach them to ask for their opinion.
      The Municipal Court in Prague then ruled this January that the validity of construction certificates issued by the authorized inspector for the Bauhaus construction in Brno-Ivanovice would be reviewed by the ministry for regional development as the appeals authority. According to the Municipal Court in Prague, a lawsuit cannot be filed until a decision on the appeal has been made. The author of the assessments, inspector Milan Teigiser, filed a cassation complaint against this.
      The Supreme Administrative Court upheld the complaint and annulled the decision in July. According to the NSS, the law does not speak of the possibility of an appeal. The interpretation of the law brought by the Municipal Court in Prague would also have absurd consequences. "The result of such a process would be somewhat absurd, as the minister for regional development would decide on an appeal against entirely ordinary acts (...)," states the decision of the NSS senate headed by Eliška Cihlářová.
      However, the NSS reminded that inspectors should primarily make decisions about constructions against which there are no serious objections and where there is an interest in promptly resolving official matters. "The procedure of the authorized inspector is thus not a management in the true sense of the word, but essentially a mediation seeking agreement among the affected parties," believes the NSS.