Administrative acts

The Supreme Court (SC) has resolved a case that revolves around a very specific doubt, such as when someone submits a prior notification to start an activity at the City Hall (in this case, a harmless activity of real estate services in a premises), can that be appealed as if it were a formal decision of the City Hall?

The story begins because a community of property owners tried to challenge what happened with that prior notification. The City Hall, in a resolution, “took note” of the notification and also included conditions and notices (for example, requesting documentation and anticipating inspections). The community appealed, but the City Hall replied saying, essentially, that prior notifications cannot be appealed .

The administrative court annulled that resolution because it understood that the City Hall had mixed different things, since one thing is the prior notification (which is not appealable) and another thing is a subsequent municipal resolution with its own content (which can be appealed). It also annulled a part of the municipal resolution that referred to “conditioning the license”, because for that activity no license was required, the prior notification was sufficient.

Later, the High Court of Justice of Catalonia confirmed that the prior notification itself is not an administrative act and therefore cannot be appealed as such; what could be appealed, if applicable, would be an act of verification or control carried out by the Administration at a later stage.

Finally, the Supreme Court confirms this idea, the prior notification is not a decision of the City Council, neither express nor "by silence", because there is no obligation to resolve nor does administrative silence apply. It is a procedure of the individual that allows the activity to start from its submission, but municipal control comes afterwards. If a third party is affected , they can request the City Council to inspect or control ; and if the City Council does not act, then there may be ways to react to that inactivity.

If you feel harmed and dissatisfied with a decision made by the Administration, our professionals are at your disposal to defend your interests