He Superior Court of Justice of the Canary Islands (TSJC) has provisionally suspended the approval of the Catalog of Francoist vestiges of the Canary Islands The reason for making this decision is that the order by which the Ministry of Education, Universities, Culture and Sports of the Government of the Canary Islands of November 4, 2022, although it was published in the Official Gazette of the Canary Islands (BOC), was not accompanied of the complete content of the Catalogue, but to consult it, he referred to the website of the Ministry of Education. In this way, the TSJC agrees with the Asociación Revindicativa de la Memoria Histórica, a national entity that has presented similar appeals on the application of the Law on Historical Memory in different parts of Spanish territory.
The TSJC, which does not go into the merits of the matter, that is to say, the content of the Catalog, considers that the aforementioned association has the right to present the appeal that has led to the precautionary suspension of the document, something that had been questioned by the Ministry of Education. The Canarian high court supports its decision on the “criterion of appearance of good law”, noting that “a mere reading of the appealed Order is enough to appreciate that it does not publish the catalog in the bulletin, despite the fact that it is part of it , but it refers to it being consulted on the department’s website”.
The TSJC continues, noting that “the publication of any administrative decision that must be published must be complete and in the corresponding official gazette”, giving as an example different Supreme Court rulings in this regard.
According to the order issued by the high court, “since the publication must be complete and in the corresponding official bulletin there is no reference to a web page of a Ministry whose content, in addition, could be varied by the administrative department that has control Of the same”. A conclusion that “would not change if it were finally determined that the catalog does not have a normative character but an act, because also if it is an administrative act, what is published must be published in its entirety in the corresponding official bulletin”.
Thus, “that this is the reason for the suspension that we agreed to is of the greatest importance because it directly influences the element of the risk of default. Indeed, the reason for suspension being so clear, it would be irreparable to allow the application of the challenged provision, since it would not be reparable for a court of justice to have allowed the effectiveness of a norm that ostensibly lacks it”.
The TSJC concludes by noting that “as regards the general interest, nothing is of more interest to it than compliance with the laws, and the legal system requires full publication”.
The Government of the Canary Islands understands that the defect in form appreciated by the Chamber “is resolved by fully publishing” in the official bulletin of the autonomous community (BOC), the catalog of Francoist vestiges, which “will be done immediately”, they have pointed out to EFE sources of the regional Executive (PSOE, NC, Podemos and ASG).
