Selected Aspects of Individual Public Participation in Proceedings Requiring Public Participation

The Polish legislator pays a lot of attention to both the legal aspects of running a business and environmental protection. Against this background, there have been numerous disputes between entrepreneurs and the community. In order to ensure the possibility of public participation in environmental protection, the legislator adopted the Act of 3 October 2008 on the provision of information about the environment and its protection, public participation in environmental protection and environmental impact assessments. It provides for two possibilities for public participation in environmental protection. A well-known form is the participation of citizens’ associations in the form of environmental organizations. From the citizen’s point of view, individual participation is more important, because everyone has the opportunity to take part in administrative proceedings or in the preparation of a document. However, not all provisions have been clearly formulated, which may cause problems in the application of the act.