The Civil Chamber of the Superior Court of Justice of Valencia decided that it was not competent to rule on the precautionary measures requested by the Liberum association in order to guarantee that the Public Administration assists the population affected by the effects of DANA and raised the case is taken to the Supreme Court so that it is there that the action to be taken on the request can be decided.
Liberum has filed a civil suit so that justice forces the State, through the Government Delegation of the Valencian Community, to respond to the emergency caused by the floods which have already claimed the lives of more than 200 people in the region even though, after four days, help was still available. not reaching the majority of the affected population. Concretely, they demanded the adoption of a very prudent measure which would guarantee basic services to citizens in the face of the climate emergency and a resolution which would put black on white “inaction” of the Central Executive before him.
The Chamber asked the Prosecutor’s Office which, in a report to which ABC had access, took a position against the jurisdiction of the TSJ because, although the trial designates the Government Delegation, it is the General Administration of the State which is concerned and therefore, is a matter that the Supreme Court must analyze. And the majority of magistrates agree with him, with a resolution that brings the issue before the Litigation Chamber of this body and which has a dissenting vote that partially disagrees with what was agreed.
Concretely, the magistrates consider that “the fact that the applicant Association files a lawsuit against the Government Delegation of the Valencian Community on behalf of the Central Government has no relevance in determining judicial jurisdiction” since the jurisdiction of the courts “is directly linked to the activity carried out” by the various organizations and in this case, the so-called “inaction” would be that of the Government and not of its delegation.
On the merits of the petition, they emphasize that “despite the limited ‘particular urgency’ that exists in this case, given the situation of natural disaster produced in the peripheral villages of the city of Valencia”, the key lies in the question of whether the TSJ He may or may not be aware of the question and cannot find case law with the same applicable casuistry to answer yes. He therefore decides to refer it to the Supreme Court so that the Contentious-Administrative Chamber can rule on the case.
The procedure
It is, however, recorded with a partially dissenting vote. Judge Miguel A. Narváez Bermejo agrees with the majority that the TSJ is not competent to analyze this assertion through the fundamental rightsbut not because of a territorial issue, but because it considers that the claim does not meet the requirements established by the procedure, since there was no prior request to the Administration, and three months nor have they passed without her fulfilling her obligation from the same.
“In the absence of the requirement addressed to the Administration to act and to pay the required attention, the Administration does not have the possibility of proceeding accordingly, and this is loss of possibility for the Administration to grant the service or an intentional action, which prevents inactivity from being seen, which would open the doors or access to jurisdictional avenues,” he reasons.
