The Scope of Fair Compensation When Expropriating Property For the Construction of the Central Transport Hub

Abstract The article undertakes an analysis of the provisions of the Act on the Central Transport Hub (CPK) concerning compensation for the expropriation of real property for the construction of the CPK. The detailed considerations focus on assessing the legal solutions adopted in the Act, which form the basis for determining the amount of compensation, with particular emphasis on the mechanisms introducing the possibility of its increase. The reference point for these considerations is the principle of fair compensation, as expressed in Article 21(2) of the Constitution of the Republic of Poland, which constitutes a necessary condition for the permissibility of expropriation under Polish law. This is analysed alongside the general model of compensation adopted in expropriation law and concretised in the Act on Land Management. Based on these assumptions, it is reasonable to conclude that the compensation provisions of the Act on CPK align with the general framework of expropriation law, thereby reproducing its unclear solutions for determining the amount of compensation. At the same time, they modify the benefit principle in a way that departs from general rules, introducing a mechanism which, in its substance, does not violate the constitutional principle of fair compensation, although it does not eliminate the doubts concerning the legal nature of the resulting increases in compensation.