A resident of Pavlodar has succeeded in overturning a decision to transfer public land into private ownership. The Administrative Cassation Court reviewed the legality of granting an additional land plot to one of the city's residents, reports infohub.kz.
The owner of an adjacent plot filed a lawsuit, stating that the disputed territory is public land, with utility lines and a parking lot on it. She challenged the city administration's resolution, which she believed was issued in violation of the law.
The courts of first instance and appeal rejected the claim, but the cassation instance reached the opposite conclusion. The court found that at the time the resolution was issued, the land plot indeed belonged to public lands, the procedure for changing its status had not been carried out, and the requirements of land legislation were not met when approving the plot's transfer. Moreover, the lower courts failed to properly assess the presence of utility lines and other significant circumstances of the case.
The cassation court emphasized that the legality of a state body's decision must be assessed based on the legislation in force at the time it was made. The principle of protection of legitimate expectations cannot justify actions that contradict the law.
As a result, the cassation court overturned the rulings of the lower courts, upheld the claim, and declared the city administration's resolution on granting the land plot illegal.