Abstract

According to Art. 34.1 of the Act on Security of Mass Events of 20 March 2009, a voivode may impose, by means of an administrative decision, a ban on holding a mass event open to the public or on organization of mass events by the organizer in the voivodship or its part. The decision is based on a negative assessment of public safety and order.

This is a discretionary decision – it depends on the will of the voivode. The discretion is not unlimited. The voivode should take into consideration the administrative procedures, judicial decisions and opinions of legal doctrine. All these measures should be taken in order to protect transparency of the administrative proceedings.

The analyzed regulations do not define the entity and the subject matter of the proceedings. Therefore, using them in accordance with Polish law seems to be very difficult.

However, this study leads to the conclusion that voivodes abuse their rights. Moreover, the administrative courts which control the application of those regulations have not presented a clear position how to control voivodes in such cases.