SANTA CRUZ DE TENERIFE, 20 Sep. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The High Court of Justice of the Canary Islands (TSJC) has decided to suspend the protocol for the care of unaccompanied migrant minors from the Canary Islands following the request for precautionary measures raised by the High Prosecutor’s Office of the Canary Islands due to rights violations.
The judgement issued by the First Section of the Administrative Litigation Court, which was disclosed on Friday, allows the regional government a window of three days to “submit whatever it deems suitable”, acknowledging that “there are circumstances of particular urgency” justifying the Prosecutor’s Office’s request.
The Court clarifies in its reasoning that “this is not the right time” to assess the legality of the protocol drafted by the General Directorate for the Protection of Children and Families, but rather to determine if there is “special urgency” to reach a decision on its suspension.
In this context, it states that “the provisions incorporated into the Territorial Protocol do not feature a clause explicitly aimed at stipulating when the effectiveness – or commencement – of the actions outlined within it is to begin. Thus, in the absence of a provision of this nature, there seems to be nothing preventing the immediate enforceability of such actions, meaning from the moment of the Protocol’s official publication.”
The TSJC asserts that the new protocol introduces a “substantial innovation in the existing legal system” and acknowledges that while the regional government justifies it as being in the best interest of the minors, it is “challenging to deny” that the newly established criteria could hinder the transfer of minors to the regional authorities.
These new criteria include prior notification regarding the availability of accommodation; determining the location of handover and reception and the role of public officials; individual documentation of the minor at the point of reception or verification of documentation and identity of the unaccompanied minor for reception.
“SIGNIFICANT CHANGE” IN THE REGULATORY FRAMEWORK
Consequently, the ruling indicates that this “significant change” to the existing regulatory framework “recommends” maintaining the previously employed system.
“We must not overlook the impact that the implementation of the Protocol is expected to have on a group as particularly sensitive and vulnerable as minors, to whom the actions outlined in it are directed,” the Court emphasised.
Thus, it is deemed prudent to apply a “principle of elementary caution” while encouraging “the pursuit of collaborative spaces that promote coordinated actions within an atmosphere of loyalty and institutional cooperation that seems crucial to address the phenomenon of irregular immigration and its distinct impact on the Autonomous Community of the Canary Islands.”
