Planning and construction lawyers – administrative law lawyers
Petitions in the field of planning and construction
Whenever a decision has been made by the Planning and Building Committees and the Appeals Committee, the side of origin itself that has been harmed by the decision may appeal the decision through an administrative petition to the court.
Here, we will examine the legal infrastructure for these petitions, the legal grounds for judicial intervention, and the administrative process regarding planning and construction.
By Igal Mor, Adv. & Notary
Accuracy in Legal Advice. Excellence in legal support.
Who are the bodies responsible for granting permits in the field of planning and construction?
In accordance with the Planning and Construction Law, construction plans in the State of Israel must be approved according to certain procedures, and the local, district and national planning and construction committees are empowered to grant those approvals. As public bodies, these committees are subject to administrative law because they operate under the authority of law.
Every decision taken by public bodies is an administrative decision. For example, a decision by the Ministry of Environmental Protection to impose a fine on a polluting plant is an administrative decision, as is a decision by a local committee to grant a construction permit on a certain site, or by a district committee to entrust the project of urban renewal. The decisions are all subject to the same laws and decision-making systems, regardless of the difference in considerations.
An example of legal grounds for challenging an administrative decision:
- Unauthorized action
- Fair procedure
- Extraneous
- Consultation obligation
- Authority’s discretion
- The principle of equality
- The official promise
- Obligation to give reasons
- Reasonability
Construction and planning administrative petitions
Authority – acting without authority is essentially void, and every administrative authority must act in accordance with the powers granted to it by law. Any deviation from these powers constitutes an unlawful act. As an example, if a local planning and construction committee is limited in its authority to approve plans of a certain scope and exceeds that scope, any decision to approve the plans would be null and void. It follows that any action taken in accordance with a decision issued without authority can result in sanctions against the person who relies on the defective decision in bad faith.
According to Public Law No. 4095/05 The Local Committee for Planning and Construction – Samaria v. Mouna Construction Company Ltd., the construction company’s reliance on an approval that was issued without authority entails the company bearing an obligation of ‘contributory fault’ for the damage caused to the plaintiff:
“…the commission is an authorized authority that operates according to the law; as well as operating in accordance with the law, it is also responsible for enforcing the planning and construction laws towards citizens within its jurisdiction. This means that it must act with care in accordance with the authority granted to it by law, and to ensure that the building permits it grants are in accordance with the law and plans… It is possible, however, that the (illegal) permit applicant will be guilty of contributory negligence.”
Considerations that are extraneous – public authorities should act solely based on relevant facts and considerations when making decisions. The weighing of extraneous considerations can be grounds for judicial intervention in an administrative decision. For example, if a local committee, which is primarily composed of elected officials, rejects a permit application of a political opponent of the mayor, then the committee considered invalid factors and the court may reverse its decision.
Decision-making flaws – Administrative law requires the authorities to follow an orderly procedure when approving plans with substantial defects “Going to the root of the problem” A court may declare a decision null and void, or mandate that the decision be corrected, under the doctrine of “relative nullity”.
For example, if a committee is going to disapprove a building plan and thereby harm the applicant, it has an obligation to summon the applicant to a hearing before the decision is made, so that he may present his claims and obtain the authority’s discretion. It is proposed that the court cancel the flawed decision in its entirety or that a hearing be held if the committee wishes to change its decision.
Furthermore, there may be grounds for intervention in respect of the decision-making process if the authority did not have a sufficient infrastructure of information at its disposal when making its decision, or if the authority failed to fulfill certain obligations in making certain decisions (such as consulting a professional when making a professional decision).
Furthermore, certain plans must be approved by the district committee, in which case the appeal committee cannot discuss non-approvals (since the appeal committee is a subcommittee of the district committee) and the applicant for approval must request permission to appeal to the National Planning and Construction Committee.
Planning and construction procedures
It is generally the case that the approval process for building plans begins with the local committee responsible for the area in question, usually a local council. When a proposal is not approved, the applicant has the right to appeal to the appeals committee, which sits under the district committee and examines the decision of the local authority in a quasi-judicial process, and orders the local committee to approve it.
If the appeals committee rejects the petitioner’s claims, he may petition the court for administrative matters and hold a judicial proceeding before the district court judge.
Administrative petitions must be filed within the specified time period by law, that is, they should not be delayed, which is crucial, as some petitions are rejected if they are delayed.
A delay will be examined in light of the question of whether there were defects in the petitioner’s action, if the authority against which the petitioner is appealing suffered damage, or if third parties suffered harm from the delay. Thus, for example, the decision to approve a land development plan can have an impact on the price of the land. Lastly, one should consider whether the rejection of the petition in case of delay resulted in damage to the rule of law. By retaining a professional lawyer early in the procedure, it will be possible to avoid a procedural rejection of the petition.
In Conclusion
You have a number of legal options available to you in order to obtain reversal of an administrative decision made by the planning and construction committee.
At Mor & Co., our real estate, planning, and construction department is supported by a professional team that includes an architect, a surveyor, and a real estate appraiser. The team works professionally to achieve the desired outcome.
