Instrumenty prawne ochrony drzew i krzewów

Abstract

The issue of legal protection of trees and bushes outside forests is regulated by the wildlife conservation act of 16 April 2004 and belongs to local government tasks. To fulfill these tasks the council is equipped with legal tools of various character. One of these tools concerning the protection of trees and bushes in urban and rural areas, which has been functioning in legislation for a long time, is the duty of property owners to get permission to remove trees and bushes. The duty in question is connected with the obligation to incur charge on account of such removal while the amount of the charge ought to be specified in the permission. However, in some cases legislator provides for exemption from both obtaining the permission and incurring charge. By contrast any removal of trees and bushes without required permission as well as violating other obligations connected with the protection of trees and bushes result in imposing a fine which amounts to triple charge of the removal. The tools mentioned above (permission to remove trees and bushes, charges for removal of trees and bushes approved by the permission, a mandatory penalty for the removal of trees and bushes without required permission and for the destruction of trees, bushes and greenery) are in the form of administrative decisions, so in theory they are administrative deeds issued by a local executive body: respectively by a borough leader, a mayor, or a city president. However, such tools are used by a starost with reference to property owned by a local government.