Wywłaszczenie z mocy prawa (ex lege) a nacjonalizacja – refleksje w przedmiocie publicznoprawnych ingerencji w prawo własności
Expropriation by operation of law (ex lege) versus nationalization – reflections on the interference of public law in property rights

Summary/Abstract: The deliberations presented in this article are an attempt to evaluate the legislative acts issued in Poland after the political transformation, the main purpose of which was to organize the existing factual state of affairs (ownership relations). Particularly groundbreaking in this respect is Article 73 of the Act of 13 October 1998 – Provisions Introducing Acts Reforming Public Administration. The Constitutional Tribunal referred to the interference of public law in the right of ownership as ex lege expropriation, occurring directly by virtue of law. Meanwhile, the removal of ownership in this mode is, as a rule, pertinent to nationalization, which in the present political system is de lege fundamentali unacceptable. Thus, the immediate goal of this study is first of all to distinguish between these two institutions of ownership transformation and then to critically analyze the adopted solutions. The final conclusions indicate that if expropriation ex lege meets constitutional standards, it is an institution different from nationalization and therefore acceptable. However, Article 73 and other similar articles do not meet these standards due to the detailed rules of their making. Doubts arise, for example, when it comes to paying compensation only on request, or to the possibility of its expiration due to the lapse of time.

• Details
• Contents