The ‘Juzgado de lo Contencioso-Administrativo’ is that part of the court system in Spain dealing with cases involving administrative disputes between ordinary people and the state, whether at central, regional or local level. In theory, if one has a problem with the local tax office or wishes to challenge a fine for speeding, for example, one takes one’s case to the Administration Court and the matter is settled fairly and squarely. But not quite. In practice, one waits at least two years for the case to come to court in the province of Malaga, and when one gets there, one generally finds that the odds are stacked in favour of the state. If the matter to be settled is complicated in any way, one could wait four years for the case to reach one of Malaga’s five overworked and understaffed Administration Courts.
The Administration Court system in Malaga City is on the point of collapse, we are told by the city’s senior judge, Maluel Caballero-Bonald. “More cases come in each year than we are capable of handling,” he says. And so the cases mount up, to such as extent that at the end of last year, there were more than 8,000 of them outstanding.
As a result of a change in the law in 2004, some of the cases previously heard in the Superior Courts of each region became the responsibility of the Administration Courts.
“This change has meant that our workload has increased dramatically, while our human resource level has remained constant,” says José Luis Franco Llorente, one of the administration judges in Malaga.
From 2004, these single-judge provincial courts have had to hear cases involving claims against Town Halls, for example, except those relating to certain urban and municipal planning disputes. They have also had to handle all legal action taken by municipal employees against the Town Halls, as well as any action taken by employees of the regional health service (Servicio Andaluz de Salud: SAS) against the SAS. In the past, cases of this kind were heard in the so-called Social Courts, which deal with labour disputes
This means that most cases heard in these five courts in Malaga deal with matters relating to personnel, urban planning, administration, tax and labour disputes.
But the Administration Courts also deal with problems that arise in the area of immigration, largely as a result of new regulations that came into force in 2005, providing would-be immigrants whose request for work papers has been denied with a last chance to appeal such decisions through the courts. This group also includes those who have arrived in boats from North Africa and who have been detained by the police as illegal immigrants. The normal process in such cases is that expulsion orders are made against them immediately, and that they appeal these orders through the Administration Courts, which means that the expulsion process is stopped until the courts either confirm of reject the order.
Facts and figures
Administration Courts
Function: To hear cases between ordinary citizens and the state, whether at central, regional or local level.
Number: There are currently five courts dealing with this type of case in Malaga, situated in the Alameda Principal (in the old ONCE building). A sixth court is being built and is expected to be ready for use by the end of the year.
Evolution: There were 3,249 cases in 2002; 4,433 in 2003: 4,522 in 2004: 3,630 in 2005, and 6,790 in 2006.
Workload: The average number of cases to be resolved by each of the five courts is 1,358, which is more than double the number (600) recommended by the General Council for Judicial Power (CGPJ).
Cases awaiting a decision at the end of 2006: 8,048
Cases resolved at the end of 2006: 2,531
Regards