Legal regulation of administrative appeals against individual acts in the Republic of Poland

Abstract

This article examines the legal regulation of administrative appeals against individual acts in the Republic of Poland. The relevance of this study stems from Ukraine’s European integration process, the implementation of the Law of Ukraine ‘On Administrative Procedure’, and the need to improve the national mechanism for administrative appeals, drawing on the positive experience of other countries. The methodological basis of the study comprises comparative legal, formal-legal and systemic-structural methods. The article analyses the legal framework governing the functioning of the institution of administrative appeals, as defined by the Constitution of the Republic of Poland and the Code of Administrative Procedure. The paper examines the specific features of the parties involved in administrative appeals, the procedure for determining the competent authorities for considering complaints, the time limits for their consideration, procedural guarantees for applicants, as well as mechanisms for control and supervision of the activities of public administration bodies. It has been established that the Polish model is characterised by a high level of institutional structure and a clear hierarchy of bodies responsible for examining complaints. Particular attention is paid to the role of the Prime Minister of the Republic of Poland within the administrative appeals system. His competence extends not only to the consideration of specific categories of complaints, but also to the supervision of the functioning of the relevant mechanism. It is noted that this model helps to increase the level of personal accountability of senior executive authorities, ensuring the transparency of administrative control and enhancing departmental accountability. It is concluded that the Polish experience of regulating administrative appeals against individual acts can be used to further improve Ukrainian legislation in the field of administrative procedure, strengthen guarantees for the protection of the rights of natural and legal persons, and reduce the burden on the administrative justice system by enhancing the effectiveness of pre-litigation remedies.