The review of the European Court of Human Rights judgments of Strasbourg against Spain by the Spanish Supreme Court in the last five years (2019-2024) (Second part): Contentious-administrative, civil and labour jurisdiction

Jurisdicción contencioso-administrativa, civil y laboral

Abstract

This article (which will be published in two parts, the first part about criminal matters, the second one about administrative, civil and labor ones) analyzes in a complete and innovative way all the judgments of review appeals presented before the Spanish Supreme Court in execution of sentences of the European Court of Human Rights of the last five years (2019-2024). They amount to a total of 32 sentences, of which 22 of them have already been resolved and their review has been estimated except in four cases. 6 of them are pending. The article exposes not only the appeal for review, but also what happened after it, in cases in which the judicial review has been returned to the previous instances and a new judgment has been ruled. An investigation is carried out on the way in which the Supreme Court has responded individually to each sentence depending on the specific violation indicated by the Strasbourg sentence, as well as the legal developments and creative solutions, all of them rigorous, given by the different sections of the Supreme Court. Furthermore, behind this list of cases, we can see the problems detected in the Spanish legal system and case-law, which would require action by the Spanish legislator and courts, beyond the specific plaintiffs who have filed an appeal before the ECtHR and subsequently before the TS. On the other hand, it is clearly seen how some rulings have in fact contributed to a profound change in the protection of the Human Rights contemplated in the Convention through the influence of the Strasbourg case-law in the Spanish courts. In contentious-administrative appeals, the novelty introduced by the Saquetti Iglesias ruling stands out regarding the need for the declaration of guilt or sentencing of administrative sanctions to be examined by a higher jurisdictional body to comply with Art. 2 of Protocol 7 of the ECHR. There are also several rulings against Spain for lack of procedural guarantees  in access to appeals in contentious-administrative matters on issues that affect all citizens, such as fiscal taxes, expropriations, demarcations and demolitions of homes or expulsion of foreigners by art. of LOEX 57.2, and the requirement to weigh family circumstances, which has given rise to extensive Spanish case-law in application of the Saber and Boughassal ruling and its incorporation into different judicial instances through the ruling of the TS. In terms of civil law, there are major developments in relation to the need to respect the consent of biological parents, in these cases immigrants, before giving their children consent for foster families or adoption in accordance with Art. 8 of the ECHR when there is no risk to the children. The need to notify those affected in the case of foreclosure for non-payment of mortgages is also emphasized.