The Mental State of a Party and the Restoration of a Deadline in Administrative Procedure. Commentary on the Decision of the Supreme Administrative Court of 25 October 2023 (III OZ 522/23)

Abstract

In the commented decision, the Supreme Administrative Court confronted the issue of exceeding procedural deadlines and its legal consequences. The Court assessed whether the circumstances presented by the appellant, related to psychological distress from the loss of a loved one, could justify the lack of fault in failing to meet the deadline. The factual background of the case concerned a request to supplement the formal deficiencies of the complaint, to which the appellant did not respond, arguing that he was suffering from depression following his wife’s death. In the Supreme Administrative Court’s view, the appellant did not provide convincing evidence, and the temporal coincidence between the events did not justify the resolution to restore the deadline. The commentary to the Court’s decision, therefore, analyzes the rationale for reinstating the deadline in the situation of a party’s mental disorder caused by traumatic stressors. The commented decision deals with an important social problem related to mental health.