In a ruling dated June 9 of this year, which is final and not subject to appeal, the Supreme Administrative Court upheld the ruling of the Administrative Court in Burgas, which SUSPENDED the preliminary enforcement of the order issued by the director of the Regional Inspectorate of Environment and Water (RIEW) – Veliko Tarnovo, imposing a Compulsory Administrative Measure (CAM) for the suspension of production activities at the particleboard (PB) production line on the premises of “Kronospan Bulgaria” EOOD.

The order imposing the CAM is subject to preliminary enforcement by operation of law. The legislature’s rationale for providing for preliminary enforcement of acts such as the Order of the Director of the Regional Inspectorate of Environment and Water – Veliko Tarnovo is based on the enhanced protection of the priority public interest in environmental protection and the protection of human health.

We recall that the company has already once filed a petition with the Administrative Court of Burgas requesting a stay of the preliminary enforcement of the Order imposing the interim measure. This request was granted by the court and appealed by the Director of the Regional Inspectorate of Environment and Water – Veliko Tarnovo through a private appeal to the Supreme Administrative Court. In its first ruling on the matter, the court dismissed Kronospan Bulgaria EOOD’s request as unfounded, stating that “the preliminary enforcement of the order imposing the precautionary measure is publicly justified, mandatory, and imperative in view of the purpose for which it is intended.”

In its ruling of June 9 of this year, the panel of the Supreme Administrative Court upheld the decision of the Burgas Administrative Court, which had granted Kronospan Bulgaria EOOD’s second consecutive request to suspend the preliminary enforcement of the order imposing the precautionary administrative measure.

In its ruling of June 9 of this year, the court gave priority to private interests, holding that “the drastic restriction of the industrial enterprise’s operations for a disproportionately long period leads not only to the layoff of a large portion of the workforce and the loss of qualified personnel, but also to the failure to fulfill existing contracts, financial losses, and damage to the company’s reputation.”

The full text of the Ruling is published here: https://info-adc.justice.bg/courts/portal/edis.nsf/e_act.xsp?id=2647663&code=vas&guid=1273765967

The suspension of preliminary enforcement thus ordered does not mean that the Order imposing the Compulsory Administrative Measure has been revoked by the court. The issue of the Order’s legality is the subject of ongoing proceedings before the Burgas Administrative Court. A public court hearing is scheduled to consider the merits of the Order imposing the Compulsory Administrative Measure (CAM) issued by the Director of the Regional Inspectorate of Environment and Water. The hearing is scheduled for June 15 of this year at the Administrative Court in Burgas.