Liability for damage caused by public institution in the environmental field

The publication examines the compensatory function of state liability, i.e. compensation for damage caused by the public institutions in the environmental field. It discusses the possibilities of such compensation briefly and enlarges upon civil liability of state for the bodily or property damage in the environmental field, as well as the examples of the case law illustrating the liability conditions - unlawful actions of public institutions, damage caused as a result of those actions and causal link between unlawful actions and the damage. Accomplished analyses indicates that the most popular in the environmental field are claims to compensate the damage caused by building permits contradicting detailed plans, technical standards and other requirements, as well as the damage caused by detailed plans contradicting the provisions of legal acts. Furthermore public institutions violate the law in the land-use planning, sale and lease of state-owned land. The claims for compensation for management of waste, unlawful obligation to compensate the environmental damage, composition of hunting areas and others are rare. The victims of violations of rights to health) and clean environment are not easy indentified for such rights are general, commonly associated with all society but not with a single individual. Therefore the matter of the interest of the person concerned can be unduly interpretated by the courts. However such cases distinguish for possibility to influence public interest, i.e. to defend the rights of other people to safe environment at the same time defending personal rights. The case-law analyzed in the publication does not let to state that all possibilities to defend personal environmental rights effectively and compensate the damage are exhausted. The courts interpretations in the cases of compensation for damage caused by public institutions in the environmental field differ