The New Provisions Apply to an Application to Change the License to Operate a Pharmacy Submitted after the Amendment to the Pharmaceutical Law. Approving Commentary on the Judgments of the Supreme Administrative Court of 18 April 2023 (II GSK 1374/19

On 18 April 2023, the Supreme Administrative Court issued five judgments in cases with reference numbers: II GSK 1374/19, II GSK 1387/19, II GSK 1452/19, II GSK 719/20 and II GSK 720/20. All cases concerned general partnerships operating pharmacies. In these cases, the issue giving rise to the dispute was the possibility of replacing the existing partners by persons who are not pharmacists or a partnership of pharmacists, as referred to in Article 99 (4) of the Act of 6 September 2001 – Pharmaceutical Law (consolidated text, Journal of Laws 2022, item 2301, as amended). The entity running the pharmacy obtained a permit before this provision was amended by the Act of 7 April 2017 amending the Pharmaceutical Law (Journal of Laws 2017, item 1015), but requested its amendment after the entry into force of this amendment. In three cases (reference numbers: II GSK 1374/19, II GSK 1387/19 and II GSK 1452/19), the Voivodeship Administrative Court overturned the decisions of the Chief Pharmaceutical Inspector refusing to change the permit to operate a pharmacy, which involved changing the persons running the pharmacy. However, in the other two cases (reference numbers II GSK 719/20 and II GSK 720/20), the Voivodeship Administrative Court dismissed the appeals against the decision of the Chief Pharmaceutical Inspector refusing to change the permit to operate a pharmacy and introducing another person. The Supreme Administrative Court overturned the contested judgments of the Voivodeship Administrative Court in three cases and upheld them in the remaining two cases. The commentary on the five judgments of the Supreme Administrative Court is approving.