Symbolic setback for the Ajalvir City Hall, governed by the Ajalvir Independent Group (AIA), after the ruling of the Contentious-Administrative Court number 9 of Madrid contesting the agreement against the placement of a banner or emblem of the movement was made public. LGTBI on the facade next to the official flags on June 28, 2023.
In the ruling, which ABC has had access to, the judge upholds the appeal against the resolution contested by the Ajalvir Neighborhood Association for non-compliance with the law, thus declaring its nullity. Among other reasons, he relies on article 22 of the Law on Comprehensive Protection against LGTBIphobia and Discrimination Based on Sexual Orientation and Identity in the Community of Madrid, which states that “the obligation to install banners and emblems in public facilities refers only to the Community of Madrid and the Madrid City Council. For the rest of the municipalities, it is only a recommendation and not an obligation.
Likewise, Law 39/1981, which regulates the use of the Spanish flag and other flags and signs, says nothing about the installation of other banners or emblems other than official flags. “In reality, neither the Administration nor the public authorities as such enjoy freedom of expression. Therefore, the Administration must refrain from expressing its opinion in the debates present in public opinion, maintaining a certain neutrality towards them,” the ruling reads.
It also adds a first ruling of the TSJ of the Basque Country and a later one of Navarre, to which the applicant refers, which consider the installation of unofficial emblems in municipal buildings illegal. And it recalls the principle of ideological neutrality of the State, whose duty “prevents any type of opinion or ideology from being encouraged, encouraged, assumed or protected in any way by Public Administrations”.
