Frequently Asked Questions

The Supreme Administrative Court cannot rule in advance on the expiry of the appeal period. The instructions attached to the decision issued by an administrative court, i.e. the appeal instructions, specify the deadline by which you must lodge an appeal. 

You should always carefully read the appeal instructions attached to the decision you have received and follow the guidance provided therein. The Supreme Administrative Court’s website provides a general overview of the appeal process.

The application for leave to appeal and the appeal must be submitted to the Supreme Administrative Court at the same time, within the deadline specified in the instructions for appeal, i.e. the appeal instructions.

You do not need to use an agent or attorney to bring a case before the Supreme Administrative Court. You can draft the application for leave to appeal and the appeal yourself. However, in a case concerning the annulment of a final decision, you must be represented by an attorney-at-law, public legal adviser or licensed legal counsel as defined in the Licensed Legal Counsel Act.

It is not possible to deviate from the deadline.

Cases in which leave to appeal is not granted are processed by the Supreme Administrative Court in less than six months on average. In cases where leave to appeal is granted, the processing time is about one year on average. In practice, some cases take longer to process, whilst others take less time.

Several acts contain provisions on the urgent processing of cases by a court of appeal. The Supreme Administrative Court takes into account the statutory requirements regarding urgency when processing cases. The processing of cases cannot, as such, the expedited at the request of the parties. 

The time taken to deal with a case is largely determined by whether, following an application for leave to appeal, a hearing of the parties is initiated and whether leave to appeal is granted. The time taken to process a case may also be influenced, among other things, by the nature of the case such as its legal complexity and scope, the large number of parties involved in the interview process, any links to other pending appeal cases, the general workload of the relevant case group and the Supreme Administrative Court, and whether the case is one that must be dealt with as a matter of urgency under the law. For this reason, it is not possible to give an exact processing time.

There is no statutory obligation on the court to provide information about the date on which its decisions will be handed down. Not even a party to legal proceedings has a right under the law to be informed in advance of the date on which a decision concerning their case will be handed down. In administrative proceedings, further information may be submitted in relation to a pending case throughout the duration of the proceedings. Taking additional information into account may require further action, which is why it is not possible to specify in advance the exact date on which the decision will be handed down.

At the Supreme Administrative Court, the legal proceedings and hearing take place in writing  The independence of the court and its judges requires that the parties cannot meet with them separately. For this reason, it is not possible to meet judicial personnel in person.

An administrative court’s deliberations, that is, the court hearing, are held in the absence of the parties and the public. ‘Deliberation’ refers to the deliberations held during a court hearing and any other discussions relating to the decision-making process that may take place before or after the hearing.
The content of the deliberation must be kept secret. The period of secrecy is 80 years from the date the case was brought before the court.

Court fees are charged as compensation for the processing of the case and the procedures carried out by the court. A court fee is also charged when the Supreme Administrative Court does not grant the appellant leave to appeal. The court fee is the same regardless whether the case concerns leave to appeal, an appeal or an extraordinary appeal.

The rejection of an application for leave to appeal cannot be equated with the dismissal of the appeal itself. If the Supreme Administrative Court does not grant leave to appeal – that is, if it rejects the application for leave to appeal – the case will not proceed to the appeal stage at all. In such cases, the Supreme Administrative Court does not rule on the appeal itself, but only on whether there were grounds for granting leave to appeal in the case. If the Supreme Administrative Court grants leave to appeal, it will review the appeal and issue a decision on it. In its decision, the Supreme Administrative Court may then either uphold or dismiss the appeal. A decision by a lower court or authority may be upheld, amended in whole or in part, or reversed.

The Administrative Judicial Procedure Act prescribes that a decision to reject leave to appeal may be justified simply by citing the relevant legal provisions, unless the nature of the case requires further justification. The option to omit detailed justifications enables cases to be dealt with swiftly. However, the matter will be carefully assessed during the court hearing on the basis of the referendary’s memorandum.

In the Supreme Administrative Court, the question of whether to grant leave to appeal is, almost without exception, decided in the same decision as the main case itself. This is due, amongst other things, to the structure of the administrative justice system: there are two levels of court (the Administrative Court and the Supreme Administrative Court), whereas in the ordinary courts there are three. The grounds for granting leave to appeal under the Administrative Judicial Procedure Act also differ from the corresponding provisions in the Code of Judicial Procedure.

When a case comes before the Supreme Administrative Court, assessing the conditions for granting leave to appeal may require hearing the parties and establishing the facts. Once a case has been brought before the court, it is first considered by a panel comprising three members and a referendary. If it is considered that there may be grounds for granting leave to appeal, the parties will be heard, after which the case will be referred to a panel of five members and the referendary for a decision. In such cases, a decision is made at the same time both on whether to grant leave to appeal and on the case itself.

The Supreme Administrative Court, like other courts, does not explain its decisions retrospectively or provide supplementary grounds for them. The decision of the Supreme Administrative Court sets out all the grounds on which the case was decided.

A decision of the Supreme Administrative Court is final and cannot be appealed.

The Supreme Administrative Court rules on about 4,000 cases each year. The majority of the decisions concern the rejection of applications for leave to appeal (around 80%). It is not possible to publish all decisions on the website, even if they are, in principle, public. The decision on whether to publish the decision is taken by the panel hearing the case. The decision to publish an individual ruling is influenced not only by its estimated public or other interest (other decision) but, above all, by its legal significance (precedent). Every year, the Supreme Administrative Court publishes about 150 decisions on its website.

It is not possible to appeal against a decision of the Supreme Administrative Court to the Court of Justice of the European Union or to the European Court of Human Rights. The Court of Justice of the European Union and the European Court of Human Rights cannot amend or reverse decisions made by national courts, as they are not appellate courts for national courts.

The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) determines, in individual cases, how EU legislation is to be interpreted and applied consistently across all Member States. An individual or a company may bring an action before the CJEU only in respect of actions by EU institutions, which directly and individually concern that individual or company.

The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) rules on individual cases to determine whether the European Convention on Human Rights has been complied with. Appeals may be lodged with the European Court of Human Rights by individuals, groups or non-governmental organisations that consider that their rights under the European Convention on Human Rights have been violated. In ECHR proceedings, the parties are always the State and an appellant.

A decision by the Supreme Administrative Court becomes final on the date it is handed down.

The Supreme Administrative Court processes appeals against administrative decisions made by public authorities in administrative matters. The proceedings of the Supreme Administrative Court are governed by the Administrative Judicial Procedure Act. The Supreme Court processes criminal and civil cases. The proceedings of the Supreme Court are governed by the Code of Judicial Procedure.

Enquiries regarding cases pending before the Supreme Administrative Court or those that have already been resolved should be directed to the Supreme Administrative Court’s registry.

The courts are independent in matters relating to the administration of justice. The highest authorities responsible for overseeing legality (the Parliamentary Ombudsman and the Chancellor of Justice) ensure that the courts act in accordance with the law and fulfil their obligations. However, in carrying out this task, the authorities responsible for overseeing legality may not interfere with the exercise of judicial power, which is, by law, the preserve of an independent court.

The Supreme Administrative Court has no jurisdiction to oversee the implementation of its decisions. This is based on the separation of powers, whereby Parliament enacts laws (legislative power), the Government implements them (executive power) and independent courts of law determine, in individual cases, whether the law has been properly applied (judicial power).

Court documents of the Supreme Administrative Court are public, unless the law stipulates that they are to be kept confidential.

Documents can be ordered from the registry of the Supreme Administrative Court.

The Supreme Administrative Court processes personal data in accordance with the requirements laid down by current legislation.  Further details can be found on the Data protection page.