SANTA CRUZ DE TENERIFE, Jan. 17 (EUROPA PRESS) –
The Contentious-Administrative Chamber of the Superior Court of Justice of the Canary Islands (TSJC) has upheld the appeal filed by the Association for the Investigation and Protection of Artistic Heritage San Miguel Arcángel and has imposed the precautionary measure to protect the so-called ‘Monument to Franco’ until the Cabildo de Tenerife definitively decides on its declaration as an Asset of Cultural Interest (BIC).
The order, advanced by ‘Radio Club Tenerife’ and made public this Tuesday, indicates that the application of the Democratic Memory Law is not being discussed –something that would generate an undoubted appearance of good law in favor of the administration– but rather the possible cultural interest that the sculpture of Juan de Ávalos may have, given that if it were declared BIC it would be possible to reinterpret it “in another sense” as a Francoist monument.
It also points out that the monument is “devoid of Francoist symbols” and that the Cabildo itself has avoided adopting precautionary protection measures by not initiating the file for its declaration as BIC.
But then, the order continues, “if the requested judicial measure were not adopted, the ‘periculum in mora’ or the danger of losing the purpose of the appeal, for the interested plaintiffs, would be in this case resounding, because if finally were to uphold the appeal in the mere sense of obliging the administration to process a file, the interested parties would have been deprived of a legal obligation of protection during all this time, not only during the administrative period, which was mandatory, but also in the judicial, when the threat of dismantling the monument due to the existing political pressure in application of Law 20/2022 is absolutely real”.
The Chamber also says that if the precautionary measure is applied, “the public interest to be protected does not suffer any harm” and the monument, which has been in its location for half a century – more than double in constitutional times than in dictatorial times – plus the protection requested ” cannot cause any breach to the general interests or only subjectively to third parties”.
In fact, it points out that “it is so evident” that in the previous appeal filed against the silence of the Cabildo on the same request made by this same association, (Contentious Court Number 1 of Santa Cruz) the precautionary measure of suspension by order was adopted, that it was not even appealed by the legal services of the administration, “obvious proof that it was not a priority issue, much less of general interest or because such considerations were accepted then.”
For all these reasons, the Chamber revokes the order of the Investigating Court Number 3 and declares the precautionary measure that implies the protection
of the monument while the present appeal on the initiation of the BIC file is resolved without imposition of costs in any of the instances and with the possibility of filing an appeal.
