Petitions and Complaints

Petitions which have public or other social interest in mind may be drawn up and released to be signed by others by any person, irrespective of their citizenship or age. The minimum age of the petitioner gathering signatures in a public place is 16. The petition shall name a person aged 18+ authorised to communicate with the public authorities. Where there is a petition committee, the committee members shall elect such a representative. 

A petition is required to be in writing, labelled “petition” and must contain the subject of the public or other social interest on which it focuses (see more details in the Act on the right on petition). Every member of the petition committee shall state their name and surname, as well as their residential address. The representative (person filing the petition) shall also attach his/her signature. The petition may be filed electronically with the qualified electronic signature of the appointed representative attached. In the event that the petition is incomplete and the petitioner fails to amend/correct the data required, the public authority receiving the petition shall put it aside. Specialised regulations may stipulate other conditions, such as the minimum number of persons supporting the petition or their age. 

The person supporting the petition shall provide their name, surname, residential address and signature (or their e-mail address, the electronic inbox, qualified electronic signature or certification via the petition system (currently not available in the case of electronically filed petitions). Petitions may also be signed by legal entities. 

The result of petition-processing shall be announced in writing within thirty business days after its filing or rectification of its shortcomings (if it was filed incomplete). In particularly complicated cases, the public authority shall inform the representative in writing that the petition shall be processed not later than within sixty business days. The public authority shall announce the petition-processing result on its webpage (if any) and on the electronic official board within ten business days after its processing.  

Specimen: Pursuant to the law, the petition-processing result shall be announced on the webpage and the official board

A complaint is a filing requesting protection of rights or execution of right of protected interests, in which the person filing it believes that the (in)activity of the public authority led to violation of such rights and indicating specific shortcomings, in particular, the violation of legal regulations which can be rectified by the public authority. More details can be found in the Act on Complaints. 

The complainants may be individuals, as well as legal entities. 

If the complainant is an individual, the complaint shall include their name, surname, and address. If the complainant is a legal entity, it shall include their name, seat, and the name and surname of the person authorised to act on behalf of the legal entity. In the event that the complaint is filed in writing, it shall also contain the signature of the complainant. If it is filed electronically, it shall be authorised or submitted via an access point (if not, the complainant must authorise it with their signature or otherwise within five business days). Anonymous complaints will not be processed and will be rejected. 

Complaints may be filed in writing (in person or drawn up directly at the authority concerned or sent by mail) or electronically (via e-mail or electronic inbox). Complaints must be legible and clear and must clearly indicate against whom they were filed, what shortcomings were found and what redress the complainant seeks. 

The complaint shall be processed within sixty business days. This period begins on the first business day after the filing of the complaint. If the complaint is more complicated, the public authority or the appointed representative may prolong the processing period by thirty business days (prior to expiration of the original period). The complainant shall be informed on the prolongation without undue delay and in writing and the notice shall state the reason for the prolongation. 

The complainant shall receive a written notice on the result of the complaint-processing, including the substantiation and information as to whether the complaint was considered justified. In the event that the complaint was considered justified, the notice shall state the next steps that the public authority is obliged to take.