What is the administrative procedure in 2026?

Do you need help with administrative procedures? We can help you prepare documents, review the authority’s procedure or defend against a decision.

What is an administrative procedure?

In legal parlance, an administrative procedure is a process conducted by an administrative authority, the main purpose of which is to issue a decision. An administrative authority is an institution exercising public administration in a certain area, for example a building authority or a trade licensing authority. The decision modifies, establishes or completely abolishes the rights and obligations of the parties to the proceedings.

The administrative authority must not forget that the Administrative Code expressly provides that public administration is a public service. Anyone who carries out tasks arising from the competence of an administrative authority has a duty to behave courteously towards the persons concerned and to accommodate them as far as possible.

The administrative procedure is governed by the Administrative Procedure Code, which, inter alia, defines the administrative authorities and lays down the principles governing their activities. In administrative proceedings, the administrative authority is obliged to take decisions in accordance with the law and the principles of good administration. According to the Administrative Procedure Code, the administrative authority must provide the parties with sufficient information on their rights and obligations. The administrative authority decides not only on requests from citizens and companies, but also on ex officio measures. The administrative authority is obliged to conduct administrative proceedings in a transparent manner and to allow the parties to consult the file.

The term administrative proceedings therefore covers all proceedings in which public authorities (administrative bodies) decide on the rights and obligations of people, companies and organisations in the field of public administration. These may be proceedings to ensure public order and safety, to protect the environment or cultural monuments, but also to regulate the conditions for doing business and to grant building permits, residence permits or trade licences. All of us have been involved in many such proceedings without even realising it.

Parties to administrative proceedings and their rights

Anyone whose rights and obligations may be directly or indirectly affected by the procedure should be a party to the administrative procedure. Often this can include people who seemingly have little to do with the original case (e.g. in the case of a factory permit, residents living in the vicinity of the factory may be affected). Other parties to the administrative procedure are then persons directly provided for by law (e.g. civic associations, whose participation may be regulated by the Nature and Landscape Protection Act). If the procedure is initiated on the basis of an application, the applicant is in any case also a party to the administrative procedure.

Any participant in the administrative procedure will certainly be interested in his or her rights. First of all, it should be mentioned that all parties to an administrative procedure are always equal. Each of them can therefore express his or her views on any matter on which he or she considers it important. Other rights of the parties to administrative proceedings include, unless otherwise excluded or provided for by law in a particular case, for example:

• the right to information and assistance from the administrative authority,
• the right to propose evidence and to add observations at any time during the procedure,
• the right to inspect the file,
• the right to attend hearings and to be informed of them in a timely manner,
• the right to appeal against the decision taken or to avail oneself of other remedies,
• the right to seek protection against inaction by the administrative authority,
• the right to complain in the event of improper conduct by representatives of the administrative authority.

What is the administrative procedure?

Every administrative procedure can be divided into three basic stages – the initiation of the administrative procedure, its conduct and the issuance of a decision.

Initiation of administrative proceedings

Administrative proceedings may be initiated in two ways. In the first case, it is initiated ex officio, i.e. on the initiative of the administrative authority. Such proceedings may also be initiated at the initiative of the public, but this is not a condition.

The second way is to initiate administrative proceedings directly at the request of one of the parties. This must be delivered to the competent administrative authority, which then secures all the remaining parties and initiates the procedure. If, for example, the application is for entry in the land register, the recipient of the application will be the land registry office.

Progress of the administrative procedure

The administrative authority should start acting as quickly as possible. All parties to the administrative procedure must be informed without undue delay and in accordance with the law. In addition to the parties, the administrative authority shall collect the documents necessary for the decision. These include, for example, applications and motions, evidence and other documents related to the subject matter of the administrative procedure. The administrative authority may or may not order an oral hearing. It may then even have any witnesses not only summoned to the hearing but also produced if they refuse to appear.

What is the administrative procedure?

Issuance of a decision

All activities of the administrative authority that take place in the procedure should be directed towards the issuance of an administrative decision. The administrative authority shall proceed to it when the parties to the proceedings and all the necessary supporting documents have been collected. The parties should also be given sufficient time to comment on the documents and, if necessary, to supplement them in any way.

The decision should be taken without undue delay – in the case of simple cases , within 30 days of the initiation of the proceedings at the latest. In more complicated cases, where additional evidence needs to be adduced or additional persons need to be summoned, the time limit may be extended by a further 30 days.

The decision itself is usually in writing and consists of a statement of reasons and a statement of reasons. If a party disagrees with the decision or believes that it is unlawful, it may defend itself against it. This may be done by means of an appeal or opposition.

Administrative fees

If administrative proceedings are initiated on application, the administrative fees associated with these actions must be taken into account and are usually borne by the applicant. These are regulated by the Administrative Fees Act, which contains an overview of administrative fees and information on when they are due or how they are to be paid. The Administrative Fees Act also provides that state bodies or funds, local self-government units and certain other institutions are exempt from paying administrative fees.

The amount, due date and methods of payment of these fees are laid down in the Act on Administrative Fees. The Administrative Fees Act defines precisely what acts of an administrative authority are subject to the payment of a fee. The current amount of administrative fees can be found in the Annex to the Administrative Fees Act, which contains a detailed scale of fees.

Inaction by the administrative authority

As we have already mentioned, the administrative authority must always proceed quickly with a case in order to issue an administrative decision within the shortest possible time. But what if in practice you encounter the opposite case, where the procedure takes a long time and nothing happens for weeks? Then you can apply for an injunction against inaction. The request is made to a superior authority, which will admonish the inactive authority or take over the case and decide itself.

If this initiative is not possible, there is also an action against the inaction of the administrative authority, which must be addressed to the regional court. However, the action must only be brought in response to an unsuccessful application for an injunction and must be brought within one year of the date on which the decision should have been taken.

Example from our legal practice

Our law firm was approached by a client who had waited significantly longer than the nature of his case for a decision from the building authority. The authority had repeatedly requested supplementary documents, but after their delivery nothing happened for several weeks and the client did not know whether he could proceed with the construction. We first checked the file and verified that the administrative authority was indeed not taking the necessary steps. We then prepared an application for injunctive relief to the superior authority. After the application was filed, the proceedings were set in motion and the authority issued a decision within a short time.

We will guide you through the administrative procedure and protect your rights

Do you need help with an application for entry into the Land Registry, obtaining a trade licence or dealing with any other requirement and are facing administrative proceedings? We will help you with the preparation of the documents, explain what is ahead of you and make sure that legally everything goes without a single problem.

Summary

An administrative procedure is a formal procedure in which an administrative authority decides on the rights and obligations of specific persons, companies or organisations. You may encounter it when applying for a permit, dealing with the building authority, the trade licensing authority, the land registry, the foreign police or even when dealing with an offence.

It is important for the participant to know his/her procedural rights. You have the right to know what is happening in the proceedings, to consult the file, to propose evidence, to comment on the documents and to defend yourself against the decision. It is equally important to respect deadlines, respond to the authorities’ requests and not let the proceedings run unchecked.

If the administrative authority fails to act, you can defend yourself by applying for an injunction. If the authority makes a decision with which you disagree, an appeal or other remedy is usually an option. In more complicated cases, it is worth consulting a lawyer before the time limits expire or before you send a substantial submission to the authority.