Annulment lawsuits, full-remedy lawsuits, zoning and expropriation disputes, the law of civil servants, and administrative application processes.
The acts and actions carried out by the administration in the performance of public services may directly affect the rights and interests of individuals and companies. Where acts issued by administrative authorities are unlawful, or where individuals suffer damage as a result of administrative actions, various legal applications and litigation remedies may come into question.
Administrative law is the branch of law that regulates the activities of public institutions and organizations, the acts and actions of the administration, the legal status of public officials, and the means of resolving disputes between the administration and individuals.
Our firm provides legal consultancy and attorney services in the field of administrative law, particularly with respect to annulment of administrative acts, stay of execution, full-remedy (compensation) lawsuits, administrative fines, the law governing civil servants and public officials, disciplinary penalties, suspension from duty, appointment and transfer transactions, zoning and licensing disputes, expropriation, public procurement, municipal transactions, and disputes arising from the liability of the administration.
As the time limits for applications and lawsuits in administrative law can be short, it is important to assess the legal situation without delay after notification of the administrative act or after the damage occurs.
Administrative law is the branch of law that regulates the legal rules to which the state and other public legal entities are subject in performing public services, and the legal relationships between the administration and individuals. The decisions of the administration, its administrative acts, administrative actions, public services, regulatory acts, and transactions relating to public officials may fall within the scope of administrative law. The acts carried out by the administration must comply with the law. Against administrative acts considered unlawful, administrative and judicial application remedies may be pursued within the conditions provided by law.
Where an act issued by administrative authorities that affects a person's legal status is unlawful, an annulment lawsuit may come into question. In an annulment lawsuit, whether the act complies with the law is assessed in terms of authority, form, cause, subject matter and purpose. Depending on the content of the administrative act and the specific features of the case, legal avenues such as filing a lawsuit, requesting a stay of execution, or applying to the administration may be assessed.
The continued application of an administrative act alleged to be unlawful may render the outcome of the lawsuit meaningless, or may create situations that could give rise to damage that is difficult to remedy. In such cases, where the statutory conditions are met, a stay of execution may be requested within the scope of the lawsuit. In a request for a stay of execution, whether the administrative act is manifestly unlawful, the damage that could arise if it is applied, the nature of that damage, and the consequences of applying the act are assessed together.
Where a person suffers material or non-pecuniary damage as a result of an unlawful act or action of the administration, a full-remedy lawsuit may come into question where the statutory conditions are met. In full-remedy lawsuits, elements such as material damage, non-pecuniary damage, the fault of the administration, the administration's strict (no-fault) liability, and the causal link between the damage and the administrative activity are assessed. Compensation may be claimed for damage arising from the administration's fault in service or other cases of legal liability.
Where individuals suffer damage as a result of activities carried out by the administration, the liability of the administration may come into question depending on the specific features of the case. With respect to the liability of the administration, elements such as fault in service, the failure of the public service to function properly, late functioning or non-functioning, cases of strict liability, the administrative action, the damage and the causal link are assessed.
Many transactions, from the appointment of public officials to the termination of their duties, fall within the scope of administrative law. Our firm provides legal support on matters such as appointment, transfer, assignment, suspension from duty, disciplinary investigations, disciplinary penalties, performance evaluations, personnel rights, retirement transactions, and dismissal from duty.
Various disciplinary penalties may be imposed as a result of disciplinary investigations conducted against public officials. In the disciplinary process, matters that may be examined include whether the investigation was conducted in accordance with proper procedure, whether the right of defense was exercised, whether the alleged act actually occurred, whether the act constitutes a disciplinary offense, whether the penalty imposed complies with the law, and the rules of authority and procedure. Against disciplinary penalties considered unlawful, administrative application and litigation remedies may be assessed.
A measure of suspension from duty may be applied to public officials where certain conditions are met. The legal basis, duration and conditions for applying suspension from duty, and its effects on the public official's personnel rights, must be assessed on the basis of the specific case. Against suspension-from-duty measures considered unlawful, the available legal application remedies may be examined.
The appointment, relocation and transfer transactions of public officials can give rise to significant disputes in administrative law. In particular, with respect to appointment transactions, transfer by appointment, relocation, temporary assignment, assignment transactions, voluntary relocations and appointments based on personal hardship, the lawfulness of the administrative act may be assessed.
Zoning applications can directly affect the ownership and use rights of property owners. Our firm provides legal support on matters such as zoning plans, amendments to zoning plans, parceling transactions, construction permits, occupancy permits, construction-halt reports, demolition decisions, zoning fines, and municipal transactions. The lawfulness of zoning transactions and the rights of the parties concerned are assessed on the basis of the specific property and transaction.
Construction permits, occupancy permit documents and related municipal transactions can give rise to significant legal consequences for property owners. With respect to the refusal to grant a permit, annulment of a permit, disputes relating to occupancy permit documents, or allegations of non-compliance with a permit, the lawfulness of the relevant administrative acts may be examined. Demolition decisions issued by the administration may also give rise to serious consequences for property owners; the legal situation is assessed by examining the legal basis of the demolition decision, the permit status of the building, its compliance with zoning legislation, the notification procedure and the administrative process. Where the necessary conditions are met, an annulment lawsuit and a request for a stay of execution may come into question against a demolition decision.
Various administrative fines may be imposed on natural or legal persons by public institutions. In assessing the lawfulness of an administrative fine, matters that may be examined include the basis of the fine, the regulation alleged to have been violated, whether the act actually occurred, the competent authority, the findings and reports, the notification, and the amount of the fine. It is important to apply against administrative fines considered unlawful within the statutory time limit.
Expropriation refers to the acquisition by the administration of immovable property held in private ownership, for the purpose of public benefit, within the procedure and conditions provided by law. In expropriation processes, matters such as the public-benefit decision, the expropriation transactions, the expropriation price, the value of the immovable, the settlement process, urgent expropriation and de facto seizure without expropriation may come into question. For the protection of property owners' rights, it is important for the expropriation process and the determined price to be examined from a legal standpoint. Where the administration interferes, in fact or in law, with immovable property held in private ownership without carrying out an expropriation transaction, legal claims may arise on account of de facto seizure without expropriation, depending on the specific features of the case; in this type of dispute, elements such as the ownership status of the property, the administration's interference, the nature of the interference, the manner of use of the property, and the resulting damage and loss of value are assessed.
Many transactions carried out by municipalities may be the subject of administrative litigation. In particular, legal review may be carried out with respect to zoning plans, permit transactions, demolition decisions, zoning fines, decisions of the municipal council (encumen), occupancy fees (ecrimisil), expropriation transactions and other administrative decisions. Where publicly owned immovable property is used without permission or unlawfully, a claim for occupancy fees may come into question; in occupancy-fee transactions, the legal status of the property, the manner and duration of use, the calculation of the occupancy fee and the determination transactions are assessed. Against occupancy-fee transactions considered unjust or unlawful, the available statutory application remedies may be examined.
Public procurement is one of the important legal relationships between the administration and private persons. Our firm provides legal support on matters such as review of tender documents, assessment of tender conditions, objections to tender transactions, decisions of the tender commission, exclusion from a tender, contract processes, applications to the Public Procurement Authority, and procurement disputes. Where unlawfulness is considered to exist in a public procurement, complaint to the administration and appeal-complaint to the Public Procurement Authority may come into question within the conditions provided by the relevant legislation. In these applications, correctly applying the time limits and application procedure is of great importance.
Contracts concluded between public institutions and private persons may be subject to the rules of private law or public law, depending on the nature of the contract. With respect to public contracts, a legal assessment may be made regarding matters such as the formation of the contract, the obligations of the parties, the performance of the contract, termination, penalty clauses, guarantees, progress payments, and the termination of the contract. Disputes arising with respect to public officials' salary, leave, grade and step, retirement and other personnel rights may also be the subject of administrative application or litigation; in this regard, matters such as the applicable legislation, the position, duty and length of service must be taken into account.
It may not be necessary for every dispute to be made the direct subject of a lawsuit. In some cases, it is possible to first apply to the relevant administration, or to request that the administrative authority reconsider its decision. In administrative applications, the authority to which the application is made, the subject of the application, the legal grounds, the time limit for the application, and the requested transaction or decision must be correctly identified. Applications may be made within the framework of the relevant legislation for the purpose of obtaining information about the transactions of public institutions and organizations, or requesting that a specific transaction be carried out.
In assessing the lawfulness of an administrative act, five basic elements are generally taken into account: authority, which shows whether the act was issued by the legally competent body; form, which shows compliance with the procedural and formal rules to which the act is subject; cause, which shows the material and legal reasons on which the act is based; subject matter, which shows the lawfulness of the legal consequence produced by the act; and purpose, which shows whether the act was issued in line with the public interest and the requirements of the service. Where any one of these elements is unlawful, this may, depending on the specific features of the case, result in the annulment of the administrative act.
The time limits for filing a lawsuit in administrative litigation differ from those in private-law lawsuits and, in many cases, may be shorter. In particular, with respect to annulment lawsuits, full-remedy lawsuits, administrative fines, disciplinary penalties, zoning transactions, expropriation transactions and demolition decisions, the time limits must be correctly calculated. Elements such as the date of notification of the administrative act, the date the act became known, or the date the damage occurred may be important for the start of the legal process. For this reason, it is important to carry out a legal review without delay after notification of the administrative act or decision. In administrative disputes, documents such as administrative decisions, notifications, administrative correspondence, disciplinary investigation files, reports, expert reports, zoning plans, title deed records, permit documents, photographs and video recordings, tender documents, contracts and internal institutional correspondence may be important. Examination of the documents on which the administrative act is based, and of the transaction file, may play an important role in determining the litigation strategy.
It is a lawsuit that seeks the annulment, by a court decision, of an act issued by administrative authorities that is alleged to be unlawful.
The time limit for filing a lawsuit may vary according to the nature of the act and the applicable special regulations. For this reason, action should not be taken by relying solely on the general litigation period; the time limit applicable to the specific administrative act must be separately examined.
A stay of execution is a judicial measure that, where the statutory conditions are met, allows the application of the administrative act that is the subject of the lawsuit to be temporarily halted while the litigation continues.
Where damage occurs as a result of an unlawful act or action of the administration, compensation for material and non-pecuniary damage may be claimed by way of a full-remedy lawsuit, depending on the circumstances of the specific case.
Where a disciplinary penalty is considered unlawful, the necessary legal remedies may be pursued by assessing the basis of the penalty, the investigation process, the right of defense, the nature of the act, and the lawfulness of the penalty.
By examining the legal basis of the demolition decision and the administrative process, an annulment lawsuit may be filed, and, where necessary, a stay of execution may be requested, provided the statutory conditions are met.
The authority and time limit for objecting to an administrative fine may vary according to the basis of the fine and the applicable special legislation. For this reason, it is necessary to examine the fine decision and the notification.
Various legal remedies may come into question depending on the nature of the expropriation and the subject matter of the dispute. Different legal processes may apply with respect to the expropriation transaction and the determined price.
Zoning plans and amendments to plans may, where an allegation of unlawfulness exists, be subject to judicial review within the statutory conditions and time limits.
Representation by a lawyer may not be mandatory in every administrative lawsuit. However, since administrative litigation requires the correct assessment of time limits, rules of jurisdiction and authority, the type of lawsuit, and the legal elements of the administrative act, obtaining legal support may be important.
If you believe that an act, decision or sanction issued against you by the administration is unlawful, it is important, first of all, to assess the legal basis of the act and the applicable application time limits. If you need legal support regarding annulment of an administrative act, stay of execution, full-remedy lawsuits, the liability of the administration, the law of civil servants, disciplinary penalties, appointment and transfer transactions, zoning disputes, municipal transactions, expropriation, de facto seizure without expropriation, administrative fines or public procurement disputes, you may contact us so that the particular features of your case can be assessed.