The Municipal Court in Prague rejected the lawsuit of the state enterprise Diamo against the procedure of the Ministry of the Environment in the case of the air separation wall at the Heřmanice heap in Ostrava.
The Municipal Court in Prague rejected the lawsuit of the state enterprise Diamo against the procedure of the Ministry of the Environment in the case of the air separation wall at the Heřmanice heap in Ostrava. According to Diamo spokesman Tomáš Indrei, the court rejected the lawsuit on procedural grounds, in particular because the misdemeanour proceedings with the contractor that built the wall had already been discontinued, and it did not examine the lawfulness of the ministry's procedure on the merits.
The ministry stated that the court confirmed its procedure as proper and lawful. According to the court, the discontinuation of the misdemeanour proceedings could not have interfered with the public subjective rights of Diamo, which has no right to bring an administrative action against the decision to discontinue the proceedings. The ministry added that nothing prevented Diamo from seeking redress in civil proceedings. It took over the case from the Czech Environmental Inspectorate after finding shortcomings in the inspectorate's procedure.
The wall was built for Diamo from 2014 until the summer of 2022 by the company Ridera Bohemia. At the end of 2023, Diamo filed a criminal complaint against an unknown perpetrator over it, stating that the filling material is flammable and does not meet the requirements. According to Ridera, the material is certified, which it documents with expert opinions. The Police of the Czech Republic closed the case after a year, concluding that no crime had been committed. The ministry subsequently ended the misdemeanour proceedings without identifying a culprit and announced in September 2026 that it would review its decision.
Diamo is continuing to examine how well the wall functions. The Technical Institute of Fire Protection is preparing an expert opinion. If it is shown that the enterprise incurred further costs, Diamo will seek compensation for them in civil proceedings. The Heřmanice heap, with an area of about 103.5 hectares, consists of waste rock and waste from former mines and coking plants. Diamo has operated it since 2002; it is burning inside and its remediation is suspended.
Related articles: Diamo, Ministry of the Environment
Chronology
- — A court rejected a lawsuit by Diamo against the procedure of the Ministry of the Environment in the case of the burning spoil heap in Heřmanice. iDNES.cz Ekonomický deník
Sources
- iDNES.cz — 8 October 2026
- Ekonomický deník — 8 October 2026