On Wednesday, the court considered the complaint of the Voivode of Lesser Poland, Krzysztof Jan Klęczar (PSL), against the resolution of the Krakow City Council regarding SCT. Some of the allegations were accepted – the court invalidated selected provisions, but dismissed most of the complaints.
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The voivode's objections concerned primarily the violation of the principle of equality before the law. According to provincial officials, the mechanism that exempts Krakow residents from entry fees for older vehicles discriminates against people from outside the city.
Dispute over the definition of a resident and access to medical facilities
One of the key points of the judgment was the invalidation of the provision that defined a resident of Krakow as a person registered for permanent or temporary residence and paying income tax in the city. The court ruled that the actual place of residence should be decisive, not the formal registration.
The second invalidated provision concerned the exemption from fees for patients using medical facilities financed by the National Health Fund, excluding private ones. Judge Ewa Michna emphasized that “there are no grounds to differentiate sick leave for patients depending on the type of medical facility“.
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The Krakow City Hall has already announced that it will adapt the regulations and extend exemptions to patients who also use private medical facilities. At the same time, the city hall emphasized that the court did not question the validity or boundaries of the clean transport zone, which allows its continued operation.
Reactions to the judgment: from satisfaction to the announcement of cassation
The Mayor of Krakow, Aleksander Miszalski, expressed his satisfaction with the court's decision, assessing that the verdict “was on the side of the health and life of the residents.”. A similar position was taken by representatives of ecological organizations such as the Krakowski Alarm Smogowy and the Frank Bold Foundation. Filip Jarmakowski from the Krakow Smog Alert stated that “the verdict is an important signal for other cities working on introducing SCT“.
The Freedom and Property Foundation assessed the judgment in a completely different way and announced that it would file a cassation appeal. Legal advisor Monika Brzozowska-Pasieka pointed out that the court accepted some of the allegations, but omitted “a number of serious legal arguments”.
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The Foundation criticizes, among others: the need to register patients in the SCT system before visiting medical facilities.
Controversies surrounding the idea of SCT
SCT in Krakow has been in force since January 1 and covers the area inside the 4th ring road of the city. Pursuant to the resolution, free entry to the zone is granted to vehicles that meet certain exhaust emission standards. For petrol and LPG cars it is the Euro 4 standard or production from 2005, while for diesel cars – Euro 6 or production from 2014 (passenger cars) and 2012 (trucks). The Krakow authorities argue that the introduction of SCT is intended to improve air quality and the health of residents.
However, the decision to introduce SCT was met with opposition from neighboring municipalities, such as Skawina, which are afraid of the increase in car traffic in their area. The authorities of Skawina indicate that drivers bypassing SCT will use parking lots in their commune, which requires the creation of additional infrastructure.
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MP Andrzej Adamczyk, former Minister of Infrastructure, also criticizes the resolution, accusing it of discriminating against people from outside Krakow who commute there to work. In his opinion, the regulations are unclear and require clarification.
