On 15th of February 2024 a favorable judgment regarding the implementation of the provisions of the Food Waste Prevention Act was issued before the Administrative Court in Wrocław for the Law Firm’s client.
The Law Firm’s client is a company owning a network of large-scale retail stores. The basis of the case was the position of the Inspector of Environmental Protection expressed in an inspection report, ordering the client to change the adopted method of calculating fees for food waste to one more unfavorable one for the client.
The essence of the dispute concerns the interpretation of the statutory definition of food waste. In this matter, two opposing lines of judicial decisions have emerged in the previous judicial practice: one favorable to entrepreneurs, in which courts uphold the complaints based on a literal interpretation of the concept of food waste, and one unfavorable, according to which the aforementioned definition is ambiguous and can be interpreted differently from the perspective of the objectives of the law – hence, more broadly than implied by its wording.
After reviewing the arguments presented by the lawyers of the Law Firm’s administrative law department, the Administrative Court in Wrocław sided with the first, favorable interpretation of the law for the client. The court held that the literal wording of the definition of food waste is clear and does not allow for expansive interpretation. Since the regulations recognize expired food as dangerous, it is obvious that it does not meet the requirements of food law, and therefore withdrawing it from distribution does not constitute waste. The Inspector of Environmental Protection thus had no grounds to issue the inspection order in the wording as previously done, and thus it was repealed.
As a consequence, a judgment was issued fully repealing the unfavorable inspection order for the Law Firm’s client and awarding them the reimbursement of legal costs.