Extension of the State of Alarm in Spain

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The Congress of Deputies, at the plenary session on March 25, approved the extension of the State of Alarm for another 15 days, among other things. 

This means that all the measures, orders and decisions that have been implemented up to now and have been extended during the period of the State of Alarm shall be extended, a priori, for another 15 calendar days. In other words, the State of Alarm declared by the Royal Decree 463/2020 of 14th of March will last at least until midnight on April 11.

In fact, article 116 of the Spanish Constitution regulates the State of Alarm and establishes that it may be adopted by the Government for a maximum period of 15 calendar days. Yet it is precisely the article 116 of the Spanish Constitution that, in spite of limiting the action of the Government to declare the State of Alarm for a total period of 15 calendar days, in its second paragraph adds the possibility that the Congress of Deputies may extend such period, with unspecified time limitation. 

That is, as long as the Congress of Deputies approves the extension of the period of the State of Alarm the Constitution does not limit the duration of the period. Therefore, this could be prolonged if necessary.

Last measures adopted by the Spanish Government are:

LAND BORDER.- 

As we have already mentioned, the logical and direct consequence of the extension of the State of Alarm is that many of the Orders and Decisions that had been taken during the first two weeks of the State of Alarm shall also be extended during this second fortnight.

An example of this is the Order INT/283/2020, of 25 March, extending internal land border controls from 00:00 on 27 March 2020 to 24:00 on 11 April 2020. In other words, only the following persons will be allowed to enter the national territory by land: 

(a) Spanish citizens. 

(b) Residents of Spain. 

(c) Residents of other Member States or Schengen Associated States on their way to their place of residence.

(d) Cross-border workers. 

(e) Health or elderly care professionals on their way to work. 

(f) Those that provide documentary evidence of force majeure or necessity.

Exempt from these restrictions are foreign personnel accredited as members of diplomatic missions, consular offices and international organisations located in Spain, provided that they are travelling in connection with the performance of their official duties. Similarly, and in order to ensure the continuity of economic activity and to preserve the supply chain, these measures are not applicable to the transport of goods.

Another example is Order TMA/286/2020, of 25 March, which extends the ban on entry of passenger ships from the Italian Republic and cruise ships of any origin, on Spanish ports to limit the spread of COVID-19, from 00:00 hours on 27 March 2020 to 23:59 hours on 9 April 2020.

WORK.- 

At the same plenary meeting the Council of Deputies ratified the Royal Decree-Law, by means of which the objective dismissal for absenteeism was repealed (article 52.d of the Workers’ Statutes), which allowed dismissal for justified medical absences.

The main objective of the Minister of Health with the repeal of this article is to preserve the health of the workers, avoiding that they attend work while sick as they fear to be dismissed. Moreover, the Minister stresses that taking care of oneself, in addition to personal well-being, also guarantees the health of others. 

LAND TRANSPORT.- 

On the other hand, and in relation to the transport sector, on March 26th the Government enacted the Ministerial Order INT/284/2020 modifying the regulation that had been adopted during the State of Alarm for the management of traffic and circulation of motor vehicles. 

Article 1.1 states that the Minister of the Interior may agree to close to traffic roads or sections of roads for reasons of public health, safety or traffic flow, or to restrict access to certain vehicles on these roads for the same reasons. Furthermore, the paragraph 2 provides that, in the case of road closures or restrictions on the movement of certain vehicles, those intended for certain activities considered essential to ensure the supply of products and the provision of essential services to the population shall be exempted.

In particular, the vehicles considered essential to ensure the supply of essential goods and services are the following: 

a) Those of transport and health care, both public and private; those of the Security Forces and Corps, those of civil protection and rescue and those of fire extinction. 

b) Those transporting maintenance personnel or repair technicians for health facilities or equipment 

c) Those for the distribution of medicines and medical equipment. 

d) Those for the distribution of food. 

e) Those of the Armed Forces. 

f) Those for road assistance. 

g) Those of the road maintenance and conservation services. 

h) Those for the collection of solid urban waste. 

i) Those intended for the transport of melting materials. 

j) Those intended for the transport of fuels. 

k) Those intended for the production, marketing, processing and distribution of agricultural, livestock and fisheries products and their inputs; for the production, distribution, rental and repair of equipment and machinery for agriculture, fisheries, livestock farming and their associated industry, and for the transport and treatment of agricultural, livestock and fisheries waste and by-products and those of the food industry. 

l) Those intended for the carriage of perishable goods, understood as those set out in Annex 3 to the International Agreement on the Carriage of Perishable Foodstuffs (ATP) as well as fresh fruit and vegetables, in vehicles which meet the definitions and standards expressed in Annex 1 to the ATP. In any case, perishable goods must account for at least half the payload capacity of the vehicle or occupy half the payload volume of the vehicle. 

m) Those intended for the manufacture and distribution of cleaning and hygiene products. 

n) Those of the Sociedad Estatal Correos y Telégrafos, S.A. 

ñ) Funeral services. 

o) Those used by private security companies for the provision of security transport services, response to alarms, patrols or discontinuous surveillance, and those that are necessary for the performance of security services to guarantee essential services and supply the population.

p) Other vehicles that, if not included among the above, the agents in charge of traffic control and discipline consider, in each specific case, that they contribute to guaranteeing the supply of goods or the provision of essential services to the population.

Therefore, the circulation of these vehicles will be guaranteed during the entire State of Alarm, without limitation to restrictions, both existing and future.

The Judicial System and Administrative Procedures throughout the Spanish state

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On March 14, 2020, the President of the Spanish  Government declared the State of Alarm (by means of RD 463/2020) throughout the National Territory, due to the exceptional situation of danger to the Public Health generated by the COVID-19 outbreak. Thus, the part of the legal activity of the country has been practically suspended, with certain exceptions.

The measures to be taken by the Government in this regard must be aimed for protecting the health and safety of citizens, minimizing the progression of the disease and strengthening public health systems, but also trying to mitigate the health, social and economic impact that this exceptional situation may generate.

From the legal aspect point of view the main  measures are:

  1. The suspension of all procedural and administrative terms, what means that all these proceedings are actually suspended.
  2. The suspension of time bar terms and the expiration of any actions and rights has also been ordered.

These suspensions will be operative as far as the State Alarm is maintained, in principle 15 days as from the 14thof March 2020, but an extension is already foreseen.

The General Council of the Judicial Power issued two Orders on March 14, 2020, suspending all scheduled Court trials  and all procedural deadlines except for Essential Services.

These adopted measures are immediately applicable since 14th March 2020, being applicable to the whole country and that will remain in force while the State of Alarm remains, that is to say, for 15 calendar days from their publication except if they are extended.

Likewise, the Permanent Commission of the General Council of the Judiciary, working together with the Ministry of Justice and the Attorney General’s Office, agreed on the “Essential Services” that need to be maintained during this State Alarm.

These “Essential Services” will guarantee:

  1. Any legal proceedings which, if not carried out, could cause irreparable damage.
  2. Urgent internments of article 763 of the Law of Civil Procedure (non-voluntary internments for reasons of psychological disorder).
  3. The adoption of precautionary measures or other actions that cannot be postponed, such as the measures for the protection of minors in article 158 of the Civil Code.
  4. The courts of violence against women shall provide the corresponding on-call services. In particular, they shall ensure that protection orders are issued and any precautionary measures taken with regard to violence against women and minors.
  5. The Civil Registry shall provide permanent attention during court hours. In particular, they shall ensure that burial permits are issued, that births are registered within the prescribed period and that marriages are performed in accordance with article 52 of the Civil Code.
  6. Proceedings with detainees and others that cannot be postponed, such as urgent precautionary measures, removal of bodies, entries and searches, etc.
  7. Any proceedings with prisoners or detainees.
  8. Urgent actions in the area of prison surveillance.
  9. In the contentious-administrative jurisdictional order, urgent and undelayable health entry permits, fundamental rights whose resolution is urgent, urgent precautionary and preventive measures, and contentious-electoral appeals.
  10. In the social jurisdictional order, the holding of trials declared urgent by law and urgent and preferential precautionary measures, as well as the processes of Files for the Regulation of Employment and Files for the Temporary Regulation of Employment.
  11. In general, the processes in which a violation of fundamental rights is alleged when this are urgent and preferential (those whose postponement would prevent or make very burdensome the judicial protection claimed).
  12. The President of the High Court of Justice, the President of the Provincial Court and the Chief Justice will adopt the necessary measures regarding the cessation of activity in the judicial dependencies where their respective headquarters are located, and the closure and/or eviction of the same if necessary, informing and coordinating with the competent Monitoring Committee.

To ensure that these essential services are provided, orders are issued, to keep the court buildings operational and open. This will be done, however, by providing judges with the necessary protective elements to prevent the spread of viruses, warning signs providing information on minimum safety distances, by promoting teleworking and, in the case of rotating shifts, special attention will have to be given to people whose personal characteristics may became more sensitive to COVID-19.

To conclude, we would like to highlight the fact that prior to the publication of these Orders on 14 March 2020, and in view of the exceptional situation of some different territories, some Autonomous Communities, in the exercise of their autonomies, took measures such as those established by the CGPJ, to eliminate the spread of the COVID-19 virus, for example, Madrid, the Basque Country or the towns such as Haro (La Rioja) or Igualada (Barcelona). For its part, the Royal Decree ratifies all the provisions and measures previously adopted by the competent authorities of the Autonomous Communities and local entities on the occasion of the coronavirus COVID-19, which will continue in force and produce the effects foreseen in them, providing that they are compatible with it.

It is also compulsory for citizens and legal professionals to interact with the administration through the usual electronic offices, by telephone or via email, reducing the physical relationship to the essential and unavoidable procedures.

AIYON Abogados remain operative during the state of alarm declared in Spain

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During the State of Alarm declared by the Spanish Government on the last Saturday 14TH March, with an initial period of 15 days that may be further extended, all the team of AIYON Abogados remains operative to cover our clients’ needs, insofar as it is possible in this unpredictable scenario.

You can contact us through our telephone lines and email addresses which are published in “OUR TEAM” and “CONTACT” tabs.

From AIYON Abogados we thank you for your collaboration to manage this crisis with everyone’s effort.