The Supreme Administrative Court issued a second decision (Decision No.4238 of 04.05.2022 of the Supreme Administrative Court in Administrative Case No. 209 / 2022), which confirmed its practice in favor of the owners of hydroelectric power plants, in connection with the cases initiated at the request of the prosecutor's offices for revocation of their issued building permits.
In March 2022, The Supreme Administrative Court ruled in a specific case that the issuance of a water use permit for the respective hydropower plant also regulates the right to build in the riverbed.
The same position was taken by The Supreme Administrative Court with a second decision from May this year, revoking the decision of the first instance, by which the building permit for the hydroelectric power plant was declared null at the request of the prosecutor's office, because there was no established building right on public state property - the riverbed.
The Court further held in the judgment: "The permit for the use of a water body describes the exact parameters and coordinates for the construction, from which the holder may not deviate, and the authority authorizing the construction is obliged to comply with it. In these circumstances, the provision of Art. 46a, para. 1 of the Act on waters is applicable, according to which the submission of a permit under Art. 44 and Art. 46 is a prerequisite for the approval of the project and for the issuance of a building permit under the Spatial Development Act. It follows that the applicant has the status of a developer within the meaning of Art. 161, para.1, third sentence, of the Spatial Development Act, namely a person who has the right to build on another's property by virtue of the law."
Unfortunately, the award of costs in favor of the owners of the hydroelectric power plant does not at all compensate for the damage they have suffered as a result of the actions of the prosecution and the obstacles created for the construction and operation of the hydroelectric power plant.
