Chapter 5: Czech Republic

(continued)

CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

Since 1995 there have been no major changes in the legislation of the Czech Republic that could influence the level of public participation in environmental decisionmaking. However, major legislation changes currently are being prepared. The new Law on Access to Environmental Information is already being reviewed by Parliament and could be adopted within several months. Also, a new law on Environmental Impact Assessment is in the phase of draft proposal. The new law will probably include assessment.

To rectify the current lack of governmental regulation of access to information and public participation issues, a number of laws are being prepared (Law on State Secrets, Law on Access to General Information, Law on Land-use Planning, Law on Administrative Procedures, etc.) that heavily interact with each other. It cannot be said now what the sequence of adoption will be for the laws, when they finally will be adopted, or whether the laws will be progressive.

A few important court cases (e.g. Tman and Plzen) were decided in favor of the environmental movement in the past few years. These precedent-setting cases showed decisionmakers and developers that it is better to give the public and environmental NGOs an opportunity to express their views at the beginning of the decisionmaking process. These cases showed as well that it is necessary for developers and decisionmakers to take comments of the public seriously into account, as there are already several opportunities for the public to protest and thus complicate and prolong the permitting procedures and increase a project's cost.

Several NGOs, primarily focused on the promotion of public participation, have been established since 1995. One of the most active organizations promoting public participation is the Partnership Foundation (previously Environmental Partnership for CEE), which within its different programs provides small grants to NGOs wishing to organize pilot public participation programs. Another active organization is the Center for Community Organizing (CCO). CCO conducted in 15 cities periodical training for public administration, NGOs and developers in public participation. These training activities initiated a number of pilot cases using methods of public participation which are new in the Czech Republic such as Citizens Advisory Boards or Interactive Exhibitions. CCO is also working on developing new public participation methods such as the Parallel Public Participation process. Legal advice to NGOs is also provided by the Environmental Law Service.

The above-mentioned factors (i.e. court cases, prolongation of decisionmaking in EIA, education and positive pilot cases) have significantly influenced the attitudes of decisionmakers and developers, and they are slowly accepting the benefits and necessity of public participation in decisionmaking. This is happening mainly in the communities which already have had some negative experience with prolongation or complication of "decisionmaking due to public or NGO dissatisfaction." Changing the attitude of the public administration is a significant factor in improving public participation.

Public participation has also improved because citizens and environmental NGOs are becoming more familiar with legal opportunities. There are several examples of citizens establishing local civic associations and starting to be a party in EIA or administrative procedures such as siting or issuing construction permits. The level of public knowledge today has improved significantly in the past three to five years.

One practical problem that persists is that people begin to get involved too late in the process. Sometimes important chances and opportunities are lost because people do not get involved when decisions are first being considered. Often this happens because people cannot check the official notice board in the municipality or district authority every week, and information about the start of procedures is often obtained with significant delay.

In many cases, too, public officials hesitate to give the public - and especially environmental civic associations - information required by the Act on Nature Protection. The interpretation of Section 70 of this act creates problems for officials from time to time - or the officials create problems for NGOs by trying to use narrow, inadequate legal interpretations. This was done by the municipal authority in Plzen and also by the regional department of the Ministry of Environment in Brno.

Furthermore, when a citizen or association is a party to an administrative procedure, there are problems with the administrative bodies not fulfilling their responsibilities. Administrative bodies often do not send information to a party and access to official records and materials is sometimes limited, even though the parties have a legal right to the information (Czech Administrative Procedure Act, No. 71/1967 Coll.).

Another serious obstacle to public participation is that citizen groups lack the necessary legal assistance and expert background. They also lack the funds necessary to pay for it. On top of trying to secure funding, new NGOs must learn how to run the organization, how to work with public officials, what to do as a party in a proceeding, etc. The time and energy it takes to establish an NGO, learn how to operate it and gain funding to fulfill its mission hinders citizens in their attempts to organize and influence decisionmaking.

Finally, citizen efforts are thwarted by the long time period it takes to settle issues. Usually, a case lasts years, and citizens who are active in the beginning grow tired and become passive. On the other hand, public officials and investors have more resources and motivation to keep going. This point of view discourages citizens, who often believe that no matter what they do the state authorities and big, powerful companies (sometimes from abroad) will prevail. Many people also believe that official corruption has hindered public efforts.

Overall, the important developments to promote public participation during the past two years have come from administrative courts and not from changes in legislation or administrative officials. These administrative courts gave a new direction to several former interpretation of legal rules. However, administrative courts can decide only the legality of procedural steps and administrative decisions, and therefore do not represent a major change in the governmental system.

The following are the most important recent court cases regarding public participation in the Czech Republic:

Alliance of municipalities vs. the Ministry of Local Development. This case dealt with access to building documentation for the Temelin nuclear power plant. According to the court ruling, a building authority must observe the administrative procedure outlined in the General Administrative Act when deciding on an application from the public to read official records and building documentation. Formerly, applicants were notified of a refusal by an informal letter from the administrative body and did not receive a formal explanation of why access was denied.
Building owners vs. the Ministry of Economy. The owners of a building wanted to dispute the legality of a siting decision to allow a new highway to pass through inner-city Prague. The court ruled that not only highways or main roads in the country but also in urban areas must be discussed and decided using the EIA procedure. Formerly it was not clear; the Act on EIA (No. 244/1992 Coll.) does not specifically mention roads in urban areas.
The Movement DUHA (Rainbow) vs. Czech Electricity Plants. The environmental Movement DUHA went before the Constitutional Court to appeal a sitting decision to store nuclear waste in Dukovany. The court ruled that civic associations have standing in an administrative court when the association's procedural rights are violated during an administrative procedure. This is an important ruling that establishes the right for environmental civic associations to petition an administrative court without having to go to the constitutional court. Still such appeal remains difficult or even impossible.
Group of municipalities and civic associations vs. the Ministry of Economy. Several groups joined together to challenge the legality of a siting decision for the highway near Plzen. The court ruled that any change to the proposed building after the EIA procedure was finished requires an new EIA procedure amendment.
Group of municipalities and civic associations vs. the Ministry of Economy. Again several groups joined together, in this case to appeal a siting decision for a cement factory near Tman. The court ruling stated that all parties to an administrative procedure must be informed about any changes to an investor's application for permits, etc., and these changes must be discussed with all parties.

These major court decisions have broadened step by step the field for public participation in important administrative procedures. The Czech Republic does not observe a precedential system of law, but such court sentences are important for interpretation of law in future court cases of the same type. In addition, the proposed Act on Access to Environmental Information, which is now being discussed by parliament, is expected to remove the obstacles that prevent public access to information and bring the Czech standards up to the level required by the European Union.

REC * PUBLICATIONS * DOORS TO DEMOCRACY - CEE * CZECH REPUBLIC