Landscape Ordinances once again before the CJEU. An important voice from lawyers in the outdoor advertising discussion.

On June 2, 2026, the Supreme Administrative Court referred a preliminary question to the Court of Justice of the European Union concerning landscape ordinances. The case addresses the principles of differentiating the possibilities for placing advertisements depending on whether the medium is located on public or private infrastructure.

This is a significant topic not only for the OOH and DOOH industry but also for local governments that prepare, apply, or enforce landscape ordinances. In practice, the question is whether local regulations can treat private outdoor advertising operators and infrastructure under the control of local government units differently.

The Prawo dla Samorządu (Law for Local Government) portal published a substantive article by ZIEMSKI&PARTNERS Law Firm, which thoroughly discusses the significance of the question referred by the NSA to the CJEU. The authors analyze, among other things, the context of the Services Directive, the principle of non-discrimination, proportionality and necessity of restrictions, and the potential impact of the future CJEU ruling on the practice of applying landscape ordinances.

A particularly important point highlighted in the article is the situation where the same entity acts simultaneously as a regulator, infrastructure owner, and an entity indirectly benefiting from activities conducted on that infrastructure. As noted in the text, the NSA pointed out that such a configuration may raise questions about the objective and non-discriminatory nature of the adopted regulatory model.

From the perspective of the outdoor advertising market, this is a matter requiring careful observation. It does not yet prejudge the direction of the ruling, but it shows that the topic of landscape ordinances is entering another level of legal debate: this time not only national but also European.

At Jet Line, the topic of landscape ordinances and their consequences for the OOH and DOOH market is handled by Marcin Maszewski, Jet Line board member, and Beata Rostkowska, lawyer. Their articles, examining this issue from the perspective of the industry, local governments, and the practice of advertising in public spaces, will soon appear on our blog.

We recommend the analysis by ZIEMSKI & PARTNERS Law Firm

We encourage you to read the full article by ZIEMSKI&PARTNERS Law Firm:

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