<content>Ombudsman criticizes the proposed amendment to the Building Act</content>

Brno - The Public Defender of Rights Anna Šabatová criticizes the proposed amendment to the building law. She believes that some of its points may negatively impact the protection of individuals' rights. She considers the possibility of building a house only with a declaration as the most serious issue. The spokesperson for the Public Defender Iva Hrazdílková stated this in a written statement to the Senate, which was made available to ČTK. The upper chamber is set to decide on the amendment at the end of May.

The ombudswoman is opposed to the possibility of constructing a large family house, an apartment building, or a family recreation facility without review in the building proceedings. "The amendment stipulates that for all buildings for housing and family recreation, a so-called declaration is sufficient. Until now, this simplified form of building permission could only be used for buildings up to 150 m2," stated the ombudswoman.

"The expansion of the range of buildings permitted under a simplified regime will in practice lead to more problems and neighborhood conflicts," warns Šabatová. "If an overlooked neighbor learns about the declared intention only after it has begun, they will no longer be able to seek real redress," the ombudswoman pointed out.

A part of the proposal that prevents organizations from participating in administrative proceedings is, according to her, in conflict with the Aarhus Convention, to which the Czech Republic is bound. Signatories to the convention must ensure that non-governmental organizations supporting the environment have access to administrative proceedings and the opportunity to participate in them.

"The amendment to the building law goes directly against this rule. I am convinced that if the amendment to the building law is approved in this form, the Czech Republic will expose itself to a response from the European Commission and the oversight body of the convention," stated Šabatová.

Environmental organizations and associations have already called on senators on Tuesday not to allow restrictions on public participation in permitting processes under the building law. According to them, people would lose the opportunity to comment on buildings, industrial operations, research and extraction of raw materials, and other interventions in nature and the landscape.

The Ministry for Regional Development argues that the participation of organizations is regulated by other laws. According to another regulation, the expression of organizations will not be subject to administrative proceedings, but only to proceedings under the building law.

The amendment removes provisions protecting immovable cultural monuments and monument-protected areas. Its essence is that construction activities on immovable cultural monuments and monument-protected areas always require assessment by the building authority. According to Šabatová, the removal could lead to inappropriate and irreversible construction interventions.

The amendment aims to simplify and expedite the permitting process. Among other things, it will allow for the merging of currently separate territorial proceedings, building proceedings, and environmental impact assessments. The measure is expected to shorten the duration of building proceedings by half. The ombudswoman doubts this. "I believe that the proposers have not managed to thoroughly clarify the causes of the current length of proceedings conducted by building authorities," stated Šabatová.

The Czech Chamber of Commerce advocates for the swift approval of the proposal, considering the current state unsustainable.