1. **Subject matter of the dispute:** Challenging the lawfulness of a local self-government authority’s decision regarding the terms of land lease renewal (term and amount of rent) without adhering to the procedural guarantees stipulated by the Law of Ukraine “On Administrative Procedure.”
2. **Court’s arguments:** The Supreme Court emphasized that relations concerning the disposal of communal property lands are public-legal in nature, as the local self-government authority acts as an entity vested with administrative powers, rather than as an ordinary business entity. The Court stressed that the adoption of a decision on lease renewal must occur with mandatory compliance with the requirements of the Law “On Administrative Procedure,” in particular, regarding ensuring the applicant’s participation in the process, providing them with the opportunity to be heard, and submitting objections. The lower instances erroneously limited themselves only to the civil-law aspect of the dispute, ignoring the need to verify the respondent’s compliance with the mandatory procedure for adopting an administrative act. The Court noted that failing to provide a person with a real opportunity to influence the content of a decision or the absence of proper justification may be grounds for recognizing such an act as unlawful. Furthermore, the courts failed to assess the plaintiff’s arguments regarding the disproportionality of the established lease term in relation to the validity period of the special subsoil use permit. Consequently, the lower courts committed procedural law violations, which precluded the establishment of the actual circumstances of the case.
3. **Court’s decision:** The Supreme Court granted the cassation appeal, set aside the decisions of the courts of first and appellate instances, and remanded the case for a new trial to the court of first instance.
**Conclusion:** In this ruling, the Supreme Court clearly established the position that relations in the sphere of disposal of communal property lands are subject to the Law “On Administrative Procedure,” departing from the approach under which such disputes were considered exclusively as private-law (contractual) matters.
