THE CONSTITUTIONAL COURT PAVED THE WAY FOR A CHANGE IN CASE LAW WHILE SAFEGUARDING LEGAL CERTAINTY

The Resolution of the Plenary Session of the Constitutional Court of the Slovak Republic, case no. PLz. ÚS 1/2026 of 15 April 2026, is one of the most significant procedural and constitutional decisions of recent times. Although, at first glance, it concerns compensation for a statutory easement under Act No. 66/2009 Coll. on Certain Measures for the Settlement of Property Rights to Land beneath Structures Transferred from State Ownership to Municipalities and Higher Territorial Units and on Amendments to Certain Acts (the “Act No. 66/2009 Coll.”), its actual significance extends beyond disputes concerning land beneath structures owned by municipalities and higher territorial units.

The Plenary Session of the Constitutional Court did not directly address whether landowners are entitled to one-off or recurring compensation. Rather, the issue subject to unification concerned the Constitutional Court’s approach to constitutional complaints challenging final decisions of the ordinary courts that had been delivered before Resolution No. PL. ÚS 12/2025, discussed below, became final. The Plenary Session therefore primarily addressed the temporal applicability of the new approach adopted in the case law.

The decision thus represents an important contribution to the issue of the temporal effects of the evolving case law and the protection of legal certainty.