Nature Conservation Legislation

Nature Conservation 5/2011 — 2. 1. 2012 — Nature Conservation Legislation — Print article in pdf

Pešout P. & Hůlková J.: Payments of Compensations for Damages Caused by Nature Conservation Provisio

authors: Pavel Pešout, Jana Hůlková

Pursuant to Act No. 114/1992 Gazette on the Protection of Nature and the Landscape, as amended later, owners of agricultural land or forest land or a fishpond with fish farming or water poultry farming can apply for payments of compensation for complication in agricultural or forest management.

Damage should arise or last in the consequences of a limitation ensuing directly from the Act, including implementing legal regulations, or the individual decision issued on their basis as well as in the consequences of a limitation ensuing from a decision, binding opinion or approval issued by the State Nature Conservancy authorities in accordance with the Act. Although the legal tool was included into the Act seven year ago, its implementation has been all the time specified, particularly by practice of the courts. A claim to financial compensation is of a private character and the lost profit is compensated. Because of the recent crucial judicial interpretation, payments to all the organisations established by the Government have been currently stopped. For receiving the payments, some unsatisfied applicants took legal action. The Agency for Nature Conservation and Landscape Protection of the Czech Republic acts in all the litigations on behalf of the Government. At present, methods how to calculate the compensatory payments are being updated. The authors also present the number of applications submitted and compensations paid as well as an outline of current actions in court.