The Ombudsman Summary of the Report to Parliament for 2005 June 2006

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Complaints to the Spanish Ombudsman Rose 37.1% in 2005, Compared with 2004 Rise in Complaints Involving the Environment, Land Management, and Social Services

he total number of citizens who registered complaints with the Ombudsman’s Office in 2005 was 39,750. Of these, 13,962 com- Tplaints led to individual cases being opened; 25,648 to the opening of group cases; and 140 of the Ombudsman’s actions were formulated as complaints in ex-officio proceedings. Therefore, the total number of complaints rose 37.1% compared with the previous year, during which there were 28,990 complaints, also bearing in mind that the latter number represented a considerable annual increase, as well.

ages 7, 8, and 9 provide a breakdown of them on their own terms or presenting ade- Civil Servants and Employment Pthe complaints registered from Spain, quate reasons for disagreement with the and the 354 that came from abroad. Regard- proposal, are, in percentage terms, similar Generally speaking, especially notewor- ing the different sectors encompassed by the to former years (Tables 23, 24, and 25). In thy were complaints regarding the retire- activities of the Public Administration, wor- the summary of actions involving each area, ment benefits of full-time mayors and city thy of note is the impressive ‘take-off’ in cit- it is striking that there are several which, council members who served their terms izens’ complaints involving land manage- due to different circumstances (number of after Spain’s first municipal elections fol- ment, and specifically, the environment; persons affected, media impact, a type of lowing the restoration of democracy, but those involving economic administration; complaint hitherto unseen), had a higher who had not been able to register with the those in the realm of education and culture; profile. Social Security system; or deficiencies in and those regarding health and social affairs.

Processing Stages

Of all the complaints presented, 26,693 were admitted for processing, or 71.42%; another 10,682 were not admitted for different reasons, representing 28.58% of the total. There were 1,556 complaints from previous years, but which were opened or reopened in 2005, and of these, 982 were regarding the decision to admit the complaint, 539 were petitions to reopen a closed case, and 45 were to repeat a suspended complaint.

Supervisory Efficiency

The Ombudsman’s office presented 396 resolutions to Public Administrations as a consequence of complaints investigated during 2005, which included 139 recommendations, 156 suggestions, 96 reminders of legal duties, and five warnings (see pp. 18, and 26-29). The resolutions attended to The Ombudsman, Enrique Múgica, is sworn in for a second term, in the Conference Hall of the by the Public Administrations, i.e. those that Spanish Parliament, in the presence of the Speakers of the Congress of Deputies, Manuel Marín received a response, whether admitting (right), and of the Senate, Javier Rojo (left). Photo: Povedano.

The Ombudsman • Summary of the Report for 2005 1 REPORT

On 7 July, during a ceremony held in the Conference Hall of the Spanish Parliament, the two Deputy Ombudsmen were sworn in for a second term, in the presence of the Speaker of the Congress, Manuel Marín, and of the Senate, Javier Rojo, as well as that of the Ombudsman. Previously, they had also been designated for a second term in their posts by Enrique Múgica, and were, on 4 July, unanimously confirmed by the Congress-Senate Joint Committee for the Ombudsman. carrying out certain competitive exams after imprisonment due to a guilty ver- lower than the previous year (when it was (e.g., computer anomalies, refusal to pro- dict). 6.8%) in percentage terms. This trends vide copies of exam papers, delays in pub- towards overcrowding gives cause for con- lishing the list of those named to posts, concern, due to the constitutionally established fusing or biased wording of exam conditions, Defence and of the Interior purpose of ‘re-education and social reinser- collectibility of payment of exam fees), as tion’ for prison sentences, and guarantees well as issues involving employment mobili- The number of prisoners –both serving the fundamental rights of those condemned ty and workplace harassment, with the sentences and in preventive custody— in to such sentences. number of complaints remaining stable. penitentiary centres continued to rise dur- The supervision of the Penitentiary Looking at statutory categories, there ing 2005, although the increase (2.7%) was Administration, apart from the visits made were noteworthy complaints involving health service personnel (delays in job selection processes and availability of positions, equivalency of degrees and training of healthcare technicians with those of coun- SUMMARY tries in the European Union, and development of the corresponding legal regula- • Complaints to the Ombudsman’s • Economic Administration: tions); issues involving public school Office up 37.1% in 2005...... 1-4 Different and Unequal Treatment teachers (refusal to admit delegates at ses- in the Inheritance and Donations sions prior to competitive civil service Statistics...... 6-22 Tax ...... 42-44 exams, demands for recognition of co-offi- • Land Management: cial languages, transfer of civil servants • Reminders of Legal Duties...... 23-26 Lack of Ecological Consciousness from the corps of secondary school teach- • Administrations which Have Contrasts with Growing Public ers of the Basque Country’s Penitentiary Failed to Respond to the Awareness About Natural Institutions, flexibility in time off for nurs- Ombudsman or Have Been Resources ...... 45-49 ing in Extremadura, systems of transfer Blatantly Tardy in Doing So...... 27-29 • Health and Social Policy: and evaluation of university professors); • Management Summary ...... 30-31 Economic, Clinical, and Social Justice Administration service personnel Obstacles Block Universal Access Summary by areas to the Right to Healthcare ...... 50-52 (issuing identification cards in the Com- • Immigration and Foreign Affairs: munity of Madrid, fulfilling job offers, • Civil Servants and Employment: Ombudsman’s Recommendations putting economic rights into effect); per- Complaints Regarding Selection on Immigrant Legalization Process sonnel from Penitentiary Institutions Processes and Competitive Civil Accepted ...... 53-58 (overwork due to lack of human resources, Service Exams ...... 32-35 • Education and Culture: internal promotion system); Military • Defence and Home For an Educational System Not Administration personnel (situation of Affairs: Subject to Electoral Swings...... 59-61 military reservists, benefits for those on Steady Rise in the Prison Population . 36-37 temporary military duty whilst on medical • Justice and Domestic Violence: • Institutional Relations leave from the Civil Guard), and the per- Rise in Delays in Judicial Techical Co-operation sonnel in public administrations and Procedures...... 38-41 and Promotion ...... 65-68 organisations (job selection and procure- ment, regulation of turns of duty for physicians, prolonged period on forced leave

2 The Ombudsman • Summary of the Report for 2005 REPORT during this year to 12 centres, has been ex-officio complaint making it possible to Land Management aimed at investigating deaths in prison, request the means necessary for the judges with the purpose of preventing suicides and district attorneys involved to be Regarding the environment itself, such and avoiding, as far as possible, the effects informed of the existence of places for issues as right of access to environmental of drug consumption and achieving the therapeutic internees. Regarding domestic information, the need for internal costs of highest possible health levels in prisoners, violence, investigations have been carried productive activity to integrate the man- with a follow-up of actions of the Adminis- out to confirm the establishment and effi- agement of threatened resources, or cau- tration in this area (e.g. routine and spe- ciency of protective measures aimed at tion in declaring a space to be protected, cialised consultations, HIV-related illness- guaranteeing the security of possible vic- are all elements for reflection which very es, tuberculosis, STDs, and psychiatric tims. often must be taken into account. Specifi- disorders). Another major area of activity was the cally noteworthy are the investigations car- Regarding citizen security, the situation of Spanish prisoners abroad ried out regarding water management Ombudsman’s Office has expressed its (consular actions, managing transfer (sanctioning jurisdictions, scope of sanc- favourable opinion of the draft version of requests, relations with foreign adminis- tions), water use (legal status of irrigation the ‘Law for the Protection of Victims of trations), especially those involved in cer- collectives), waste management and pre- Terrorism’, at the request of the High Com- tain cases in Venezuela, Morocco, the vention (location of garbage dumps and missioner for Support to Victims. It has Philippines, and Bolivia. recycling plants, regulation of livestock also opened up an ex-officio investigation Finally, although most importantly and waste), and the growing problem of noise of the so-called ‘Roquetas Case’, and has seriously, due to their now ‘chronic’ situa- pollution, upon which a special report has studied the problems raised by the prolif- tion, there are noteworthy difficulties and been written, and which has had a large eration and intensification of the activity adverse consequences stemming from the impact on administrations in charge of of juvenile gangs and the so-called ‘Latin overworked General Register Office, such infrastructures as airports, highways, gangs’. which is an obstacle to providing adequate and railroads. Issues involving automobile traffic gen- citizen services. For example, there are As for city planning and housing, erate complaints regarding the viability cases of delays of seven or eight months for Spain’s self-governing legislatures have and necessary formalities of regulating issuing an official copy of a birth certifi- adopted measures trying to put into prac- parking, above all in the big cities, which cate, after having achieved Spanish nation- tice the constitutional right to decent has originated a recommendation to the ality following several years of paperwork, housing (e.g., increasing the supply of land Spanish Federation of Municipalities and which causes easily imaginable complica- for building, promoting rentals, controlling Provinces in order to promote guarantees tions for those involved. fraud in state housing projects, and reha- in sanctions processes. bilitating old buildings in order to put The Military Administration has been them on the market), with the same pur- the object of supervision in certain specif- Economic Administration pose as that established for the Draft Bill ic cases of complaint (including the legal on Land and Assessment. Regarding city category of wounds received by a sergeant Complaints involving this sector were planning, in general, an increasingly in Iraq, proceedings regarding firing basically characterised by a common con- noticeable commitment can be seen ranges, and the right to economic aid due cern regarding appropriate and equal tax regarding administrative protection of to illness contracted during military ser- treatment, and there have been attempts to both urban and rural environments, and vice). reflect this in the analyses and suggestions observance of constitutional values (e.g., formulated by the Ombudsman’s Office. This the right to an adequate environment, cul- has been the case in the differing tax treat- tural heritage protection, and the right to Justice and Domestic Violence ment regarding inheritances and donations decent housing). During this year, there between parents and children or between was a striking number of complaints pre- Once again, complaints were registered spouses, in Spain’s ‘common regime’ Self- sented regarding the role in urban plan- regarding delays in judicial procedures governing Communities, on the one hand, ning of ‘development agents’ (i.e. high (in tribunals and courts), in spite of the and those having a ‘local regime’ (the Basque development costs), and which have to do measures that have been taken to try to Country, Navarre) on the other, an issue with difficulties in access to state housing, avoid these dysfunctions. which has occasioned an ex-officio com- whether publicly or privately built. Regarding deficiencies of public judicial plaint. Using a rigorous comparison as a services, several investigations have looked starting point, one can see various differ- into certain cases that generated com- ences, with the most striking being limita- Health and Social Policy plaints, due to the possible added damages tions on deductions or discounts, material for victims of especially violent crimes in tax inequalities due to place of residence, or Complaints regarding health matters the event of lack of information or inade- economic privileges associated with living in reopen, once again, the issue of universal quate communication, as well as the lack a certain place. access to the public health system, which of co-ordination between the police and The study carried out regarding the would involve wide-ranging legal reforms judicial authorities. Administration’s ‘Internet in the Class- touching upon, for example, the General Special cause for concern during 2005 room’ project and the ‘Connected House- Laws of Health and Social Security. On has been the situation in certain detention holds’ initiative, which aim to promote another level, there have also been investi- centres for juvenile delinquents, which family participation in the educational gations of complaints regarding assisted has generated a number of complaints. Vis- process through new technologies, but reproduction techniques; fibromyalgia its have been made to many of them and, which could, however, have a negative and chronic fatigue syndrome; care for consequently, some actions carried out, impact on companies in the personal com- those with traumatic brain injury (about noteworthy among them the opening of an puters market sector. which a special report was also written,

The Ombudsman • Summary of the Report for 2005 3 REPORT

well as the lack of legal orientation upon reaching Spanish territory, or the fact that the different procedure involved in cases of asylum-seeking could actually delay the applicants’ access to Spanish territory. Those actions stemming from massive entrances of aliens over the borders at Ceuta and Melilla also represented an opportunity to focus on certain questions affecting the right of asylum. This area also touched upon the issuing bar-code passports with digitalised pho- tographs (for those visiting the USA); services for Spanish residents at the consular office in Havana; the elimination Co-ordinating Board of the Ombudsman’s Office. Left to right: Second Deputy Manuel Ángel of delays in the pension payments, above Aguilar Belda; the Ombudsman, Enrique Múgica; First Deputy María Luisa Cava de Llano I Carrió; all in the case of Argentina; or the exten- and Secretary-General María del Mar España Martí, during one of the first meetings in their sion of compensations for the so-called second term. ‘Spanish Civil War children’ to other situations not specifically mentioned in the regulations. examining its epidemiological scope and special report on ‘Legal Assistance to For- impact on society and the healthcare sys- eign Nationals in Spain’. During 2005, tem); waiting lists (the number of most noteworthy were those actions stem- Education and Culture healthcare services with maximum times ming from the in situ investigation car- for access to care has grown, in accor- ried out due to the massive assaults on Special attention has been paid to the dance with the Ombudsman’s recommen- the security fences along the border need to reach a basic agreement on edu- dation); and thalidomide victims. between the Spanish city of Melilla and cation, above any kind of political or ide- In other areas regarding social policy, Morocco, which gave rise to testimony at ological discrepancy, with the aim of there was a noteworthy volume of activity different Parliamentary sessions, and a consolidating a system which would involving lack of attention paid to cer- number of resolutions. Other problems enable everyone—administrators, teach- tain groups of minors, most especially which generated a variety of actions ers, and other educational profession- those that involve a risk for their family involved the need, in the case of repatri- als—to carry out their educational and circle, due to the behavioural disorders or ating unaccompanied minors arriving in evaluative work with an eye to the long because they need specialised treatment; the Canary Islands, to analyse in detail run, thus promoting a stability that the situation of the elderly, especially the situation of the families, and of the would make it possible to fully develop those who cannot take care of themselves, minors themselves, before proceeding to our educational resources. whose hopes have been raised so high by repatriate them; the appropriateness and Another issue that has aroused particu- the so-called Dependency Law, soon to go functioning of detention centres for lar interest is that of violence in the into effect; the calculation of retirement aliens; the investigation regarding possi- schools. This is a serious problem, and pensions; the regulatory vacuum regard- ble cases of abuse of women illegal the Ombudsman already issued a special ing domestic partnerships; the recogni- aliens; and the recommendation that spe- report between 1999 and 2000. The per- tion of the compatibility of widows’ pen- cial assistance be given to those who, hav- ception of certain symptoms of worsening sions with those of Compulsory Old-Age ing collaborated with Spanish authorities has determined the decision to update and Disability Insurance (known by its in tracking down human trafficking rings, this analysis to confirm to what extent the Spanish initials, SOVI); modification and were then not granted legal residency. situation has changed. expansion of maternity leave (e.g., Another notable issue is the urgent Regarding complaints received during extending conditions for multiple-birth need for substantially modifying Span’s 2005, there has been a drop in those leave to cases involving adoptions) to pro- consular system to improve its services regarding school installations. The most mote reconciling personal and profes- (e.g. telephone lines, direct attention to frequent complaints have involved lack sional life; and the investigation of com- the public, cutting red tape), as well as to of places in preschool education (most- plaints involving consumer rights, change the legalisation process, using ly in large cities with a high number of especially those involving security con- other criteria and proofs than those new immigrants); for the concentration trols on toys for sale in the variety dis- mentioned specifically in the current reg- of immigrant children; for accreditation count shops known in Spain as todo a ulations, and not expelling anyone from of family income in the admission cien. the country during said process. This also process; for recognition of certain diplo- involves adopting standard criteria for mas and equivalencies; for the lack of family reunification (e.g., economic personal and other resources in special Immigration and Foreign Affairs requirements, adequacy of family hous- education; for delays in processing diplo- ing). ma equivalency recognition requests; for The importance of ex-officio com- There has been a noticeable drop in the characteristics of television program- plaints should be highlighted, due to the asylum-seeking, due, it is believed, to the ming; and, most especially, for the practi- nature of the issues being investigated in development of false stereotypes on the cal problems in implementing co-official this area, as well as the preparation of a part of mafias and human traffickers, as languages.

4 The Ombudsman • Summary of the Report for 2005 REPORT Institutional Relations

Following the clear upward trend observed Senate, on 7 April 2005. Shortly thereafter, in recent years, in 2005 there has been a on 20 April, there was an appearance at the large number of meetings and activities Congress-Senate Joint Committee for the involving the Ombudsman’s presence. Ombudsman. And on 19 May, the Ombuds- Generically, all of these have been grouped man appeared before the plenary session of under the title of ‘Institutional Relations’. Congress, followed by an appearance before th Besides the usual events included under the Senate on the 24 , on both occasions to this heading, in this year’s report it was con- elaborate on the content of the Annual sidered opportune to add a selection of Report. meetings and interviews with persons and Other institutional parliamentary appear- organisations interested in investigating ances by the Ombudsman’s Office included: certain complaints, or involving representa- — Appearance of the Second Deputy tives of the Public Administrations involved before the Non-Permanent Committee for in them. Following Up and Assessing the Toledo Due to its relevance and future interest, Pact Accords, to inform on dependence reg- this year the full version of the report has ulations, held at Congress of Deputies on 24 included a number of documents resulting February. from these institutional meetings. The full — Appearance of the Ombudsman, before th report includes the conclusions of the 20 the Joint Committee on Relations with the Co-ordination Seminar for Ombudsmen, Ombudsman, to inform on the special held in Alicante (Spain), focusing this year study ‘Noise Pollution’, held in the Senate, on the problems of children and adoles- on 8 March. cents; the so-called ‘Asuncion Declaration’ — Appearance of the Ombudsman before The Ombudsman, Enrique Múgica, presents signed by the Ombudsmen who met in that the Committee on Justice, Public Security, th the 2004 Annual Report to the Speaker of the Paraguayan city, to mark the 10 Annual Outside Relations, and the Governor’s Congress, Manuel Marín, on 7 April 2005. Meeting of the Ibero-American Federation Office, of the Assembly of the Principality of Photo: Povedano. of Ombudsmen (known by its Spanish ini- Asturias, within the informative hearings tials, FIO), and the resolution of the Ibero- regarding the Draft Bill for the Public American Network of Women’s Rights Prosecutor of the Principality of Asturias, — Swearing in of María Luisa Cava de Offices, approved at the corresponding under art. 67.1.f. of the Regulations of the Llano as First Deputy Ombudsman, and of meeting, which was held during the 10th Assembly, held in the Assembly Palace, Manuel Ángel Aguilar Belda as Second FIO Conference. Oviedo, on 15 September. Deputy Ombudsman, at the Congress of All of these documents, and a detailed — Appearance of the Ombudsman and Deputies, on 7 July 2005. list of all the institutional activities, par- the First Deputy before the Joint Commit- liamentary relations, relations with Span- tee for Relations with the Ombudsman ish autonomous ombusdmen, meetings regarding the ‘Report on Legal Assistance involving complaint proceedings, interna- to Foreign Nationals in Spain’ and ‘Avail- tional activities and travel, as well as doc- able Data and Reports on the Situation of uments resulting from the participation of Immigrants in Border Areas between the Ombudsman, or his Deputies, Secre- Morocco and Spain’, held in the Congress tary General, or other personnel, in sym- of Deputies, on 22 November. posia, seminars, conferences, workshops, — Appearance of the Ombudsman before or other kinds of events, may be consulted the Joint Committee for Relations with the in full in the complete version of the Ombudsman on ‘Traumatic Brain Injury in report, published by the Spanish Parlia- Spain: An Epidemiological and Social ment and the Ombudsman, and which may Health Approach’, held at the Congress of be accessed on the website www.defensor- Deputies on 22 December. delpueblo.es. These may also be consulted in the monthly magazine El Defensor al día (Ombudsman Update), which is post- Re-election of Enrique Múgica-Herzog ed every month within the website’s Press and His Deputies for a Second Term Section. To mark the re-election of Enrique Múgi- The Ombudsman, Enrique Múgica, ca-Herzog for a second term as Ombudsman, accompanied by the Co-ordinating Board of Parliamentary Activities the following events were held in Parlia- the Ombudsman’s Office, presents the 2004 ment: Annual Report to the Speaker of the Senate, Javier Rojo. From left to right: Secretary- During 2005, various special Parliamen- General of the Ombudsman’s Office, María del tary appearances were added to the routine Mar España Martí; the Ombudsman, Enrique appearances corresponding to the presenta- — Swearing in of Enrique Múgica-Herzog Múgica; the Speaker of the Senate; First Deputy Ombudsman María Luisa Cava de tion of the 2004 Annual Report to the Presi- as Ombudsman, at the Congress of Deputies, Llano i Carrió; and Second Deputy Manuel dents of Congress of Deputies and of the on 30 June. Ángel Aguilar Belda. Photo: Povedano.

The Ombudsman • Summary of the Report for 2005 5 STATISTICS A Notable Rise in Group Complaints

hroughout 2005, a total of 39,750 com- TABLE 2. Complaints received, by gender T plaints was received, including both ex- officio complaints generated by the Ombuds- 19971998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 man’s Office and those presented from Women 6,504 7,176 4,905 11,568 4,164 7,292 6,539 11,932 6,539 outside —a 37.1% increase over 2004. Group Men 10,161 15,337 7,589 14,194 7,873 12,879 9,854 15,355 23,971 Unclassifiable* 1,352 1,451 1,057 1,112 1,149 868 831 1,591 1,625 complaints rose notably, 75.1%, compared TOTAL 18,017 23,964 13,551 26,874 13,186 21,039 17,224 28,878 39,610 with a slight drop of 2.1% in individual complaints. Also striking is the rise in ex-officio *Consisting of entities complaints, to 25% of the total (see Table 1). The number of complaints received from men rose 56.1%, whereas complaints from women rose only 17.4%. Consequently, there is still a notable difference between genders, with men making nearly 10,000 more complaints FIGURE 1. Distribution of complaints by Self-governing Communities, 2005 (see Table 2). ASTURIAS CANTABRIA BASQUE 374 Distribution of Complaints 288 CUNTRYNAVARRE GALICIA 305 153 713 LA RIOJA by Self-governing Comunities CATALONIA CASTILLA 80 1,689 Y ARAGON LEÓN 43 Complaints received from Spain (39,256) 1,112 accounted for 99.11% of the total, with 354 24,092 (0.89%) from abroad. MADRID 313

TABLE 1. Number of complaints during CASTILLA-LA VALENCIA BALEARIC MANCHA 288 ISLANDS 2004 compared with 2003 EXTREMADURA 569 3,477 Number Number of complaints of complaints 385 MURCIA registered registered during 2004 during 2003 ANDALUSIA 1,671 CANARY Ex officio .... 112 25,648 ISLANDS Individual ... 14,264 13,962 644 Collective.... 14,614 140 CEUTA MELILLA 37 55 TOTAL...... 28,990 39,750

TABLE 3. Complaints from Spain, by Provinces and Self-governing Communities, 2004 and 2005

Number % over Community % over total Self-governing Community and provinces 2005 2004 2005 2004 2005 2004 Basque Region Alava ...... 49 104 16.07 17.22 0.12 0.36 Guipuzcoa ...... 84 182 27.54 30.13 0.21 0.64 Vizcaya ...... 172 318 56.39 52.65 0.45 1.12 TOTAL...... 305 604 100.00 100.00 0.78 2.12 Catalonia Barcelona ...... 1,328 2,017 78.62 77.87 3.38 7.09 Gerona ...... 131 202 7.76 7.80 0.33 0.70 Lerida ...... 101 133 5.98 5.14 0.26 0.47 Tarragona...... 129 238 7.64 9.19 0.33 0.84 TOTAL ...... 1,689 2,590 100.00 100.00 4.30 9.10 Galicia Corunna ...... 354 525 49.65 51.17 0.90 1.85 Lugo ...... 81 85 11.36 8.29 0.21 0.30 Orense...... 59 81 8.27 7.89 0.15 0.28 Pontevedra...... 219 335 30.72 32.65 0.56 1.18 TOTAL ...... 713 1,026 100.00 100.00 1.82 3.60 Andalusia Almeria...... 100 160 5.98 6.53 0.25 0.56 Cadiz ...... 295 370 17.65 15.10 0.75 1.30 Cordoba...... 152 242 9.10 9.88 0.39 0.85 Granada...... 179 224 10.71 9.14 0.46 0.79 Huelva...... 130 160 7.78 6.53 0.33 0.56 Jaen ...... 142 125 8.50 5.10 0.36 0.44 Malaga...... 345 496 20.65 20.24 0.88 1.74 Seville...... 328 673 19.63 27.47 0.84 2.36 TOTAL...... 1,671 2,450 100.00 100.00 4.26 8.60

6 The Ombudsman • Summary of the Report for 2005 STATISTICS

TABLE 3. Complaints from Spain, by Provinces and Self-governing Communities, 2004 and 2005 (cont.)

Number % over Community % over total Self-governing Community and provinces 2005 2004 2005 2004 2005 2004 Asturias TOTAL...... 374 730 100.00 100.00 0.95 2.57 Cantabria TOTAL...... 288 276 100.00 100.00 0.73 0.97 La Rioja TOTAL...... 80 147 100.00 100.00 0.20 0.52 Murcia TOTAL...... 385 608 100.00 100.00 0.98 2.14 Valencia Alicante ...... 1,339 832 46.88 32.90 3.41 2.92 Castellón ...... 1,315 1,467 46.05 58.01 3.35 5.16 Valencia...... 202 230 7.07 9.09 0.52 0.81 TOTAL...... 2,856 2,529 100.00 100.00 7.28 8.89 Aragon Huesca...... 105 167 23.70 22.72 0.27 0.58 Teruel ...... 36 40 8.13 5.44 0.09 0.14 Zaragoza ...... 302 528 68.17 71.84 0.77 1.86 TOTAL...... 443 735 100.00 100.00 1.13 2.58 Castilla-La Mancha Albacete...... 104 306 18.28 22.27 0.26 1.08 Ciudad Real...... 159 202 27.94 14.70 0.41 0.71 Cuenca...... 44 122 7.73 8.88 0.11 0.43 Guadalajara...... 75 237 13.18 17.25 0.19 0.82 Toledo...... 187 507 32.87 36.90 0.48 1.78 TOTAL...... 569 1,374 100.00 100.00 1,45 4.82 Canary Islands Las Palmas ...... 357 324 55.43 49.32 0.91 1.14 Santa Cruz de Tenerife ...... 287 333 44.57 50.68 0.73 1.17 TOTAL...... 644 657 100.00 100.00 1.64 2.31 Navarra TOTAL...... 153 397 100.00 100.00 0.39 1.40 Extremadura Badajoz...... 3,330 234 95.77 55.98 8.48 0.82 Caceres...... 147 184 4.23 44.02 0.38 0.65 TOTAL...... 3,477 418 100.00 100.00 8.86 1.47 Balearic Islands TOTAL...... 313 360 100.00 100.00 0.80 1.27 Community of Madrid TOTAL...... 24,092 11,595 100.00 100.00 61.37 40.75 Castilla y León Avila...... 52 100 4.67 5.47 0.13 0.35 Burgos...... 153 181 13.76 9.90 0.39 0.64 León ...... 282 395 25.36 21.60 0.72 1.39 Palencia...... 108 309 9.71 16.89 0.28 1.09 Salamanca...... 150 172 13.49 9.40 0.38 0.60 Segovia ...... 70 105 6.29 5.74 0.18 0.37 Soria...... 27 56 2.43 3.06 0.07 0.20 Valladolid ...... 207 430 18.62 23.51 0.53 1.51 Zamora...... 63 81 5.67 4.43 0.15 0.28 TOTAL...... 1,112 1,829 100.00 100.00 2.83 6.43 Ceuta TOTAL...... 37 30 100.00 100.00 0.09 0.11 Melilla TOTAL...... 55 99 100.00 100.00 0.14 0.35 GRAND TOTAL...... 39,256 28,454 — — 100.00 100.00

The Ombudsman • Summary of the Report for 2005 7 STATISTICS

TABLE 4. Individual and group complaints, by Self-governing Communities, 2004 and 2005

Individual complaints Group complaints Self-governing Communities Number % of total Number % of total 2005 2004 2005 2004 2005 2004 2005 2004 Basque Country...... 253 314 1.86 2.26 52 290 0.20 1.99 Catalonia...... 1,598 1,484 11.74 10.70 91 1,106 0.36 7.58 Galicia ...... 654 629 4.80 4.54 59 397 0.23 2.72 Andalusia ...... 1,394 1,396 10.24 10.07 277 1,054 1.08 7.23 Asturias ...... 342 387 2.51 2.79 32 343 0.13 2.35 Cantabria ...... 233 196 1.71 1.41 55 80 0.21 0.55 La Rioja ...... 75 95 0.55 0.69 5 52 0.02 0.36 Murcia ...... 344 371 2.53 2.68 41 237 0.16 1.62 Valencia...... 1,620 1,650 11.90 11.90 1,236 879 4.82 6.02 Aragon ...... 337 379 2.48 2.73 106 356 0.41 2.44 Castilla-La Mancha...... 411 497 3.02 3.58 158 877 0.62 6.01 Canary Islands...... 538 528 3.95 3.81 106 129 0.41 0.88 Navarre...... 115 104 0.84 0.7538 293 0.15 2.01 Extremadura...... 278 319 2.04 2.30 3,199 99 12.47 0.68 Balearic Islands ...... 288 267 2.12 1.93 25 93 0.10 0.64 Madrid...... 4,154 4,162 30.52 30.02 19,938 7,433 77.75 50.95 Castilla y Leon...... 891 973 6.55 7.02 221 856 0.86 5.87 Ceuta ...... 32 29 0.24 0.21 5 1 0.02 0.01 Melilla ...... 55 86 0.40 0.61 — 13 — 0.09 TOTAL...... 13,612 13,866 100.00 100.00 25,644 14,588 100.00 100.00

As in other years, a large proportion of com- Complaints from Abroad Distribution According to Source of plaints, both individual and group complaints, Complaints came from the Madrid, followed by Valencia, The total number of complaints from Catalonia, and Andalusia. abroad was 354. This figure is a slight drop Another way to classify complaints is from 2004, reversing the rising trend that according to how they were channelled, as began in 2002 (see Table 5). shown in Tables 6, 7, and 8.

TABLE 4. Complaints coming from abroad distributed by country. Years 2002-2004

Country 2005 2004 2003 2002 Country 2005 2004 2003 2002 Algeria...... 7 5 1 1 Honduras ...... 1 3 8 — Andorra...... — 3 — 4 Hungary ...... 1 — — — Argentina...... 40 62 83 158 India...... 1 — — — Australia ...... 3 1 5 4 Indonesia...... — 1 — — Austria...... 1 3 — 4 Ireland ...... 4 1 2 2 Belgium...... 10 13 17 3 Israel ...... 1 2 1 1 Benin...... — — — 1 Italy ...... 6 9 13 14 Bolivia ...... 6 2 3 2 Ivory Coast...... — — 1 — Brazil...... 13 16 9 13 Japan...... — — — 1 Bulgaria ...... 1 2 — — Lebanon ...... 1 — — — Cameroon ...... — — 1 — Lithuania ...... 2 — — — Canada ...... 1 4 3 9 Luxembourg ...... 1 — 1 — Cape Verde ...... — 1 — — Malta ...... — 2 — — Chile...... 6 11 5 11 Mauritania...... 1 — — 1 Colombia...... 24 14 8 48 Mexico...... 14 12 16 214 Costa Rica...... 2 3 4 8 Morocco ...... 26 27 20 28 Cuba ...... 18 14 5 5 Namibia...... — 1 — — Czech Republic ...... — 6 4 — Netherlands...... 5 3 8 12 Denmark...... 1 — 2 — New Zealand...... 1 — — — Dominican Republic...... 3 1 5 4 Nicaragua ...... 4 — 3 — Ecuador...... 5 11 6 8 Norway ...... — 1 — — Egypt ...... — 1 2 1 Oman...... — 1 — — El Salvador ...... — 1 — 1 Pakistan...... 1 — — — Equatorial Guinea ...... 4 — — 1 Panama ...... — — 3 1 Finland...... 1 2 1 1 Paraguay ...... — — 1 — France...... 38 32 43 30 Peru...... 11 8 6 28 Germany ...... 12 25 26 25 Philippines...... — 1 — — Ghana...... 38 — 1 — Poland ...... — — 2 2 Greece...... — — 1 — Portugal ...... 11 9 4 16 Guatemala ...... — 1 — 2 Puerto Rico...... — 1 1 3

8 The Ombudsman • Summary of the Report for 2005 STATISTICS

TABLE 4. Complaints coming from abroad distributed by country. Years 2002-2004

Country 2005 2004 2003 2002 Country 2005 2004 2003 2002 Russia...... 1 — 1 — Thailand...... — — 1 1 Sao Tome & Principe ...... — 1 — — Turkey...... — 1 — — Senegal ...... 1 — — — Ukraine ...... 1 — — — Serbia & Montenegro ...... — 1 1 1 United Kingdom...... 15 32 24 39 Slovenia ...... — 1 — — Uruguay...... 7 7 5 38 South Africa ...... — 1 2 — USA...... 15 26 20 27 South Korea...... — — 1 — Venezuela ...... 13 17 14 104 Sweden...... 6 3 3 2 Zambia ...... — — 1 1 Switzerland ...... 7 12 4 6 TOTAL...... 354 424 401 875

TABLE 6. Complaints classed according TABLE 7. Complaints received via Ombudsmen of Self-governing Communities, 2004 and 2005 to how they were channelled, 2005 Ombudsmen of Self-governing Community 2005 2004 Channel Number % total Directly (individuals Arateko. Basque Country...... 82 84 and groups) ...... 37,573 94,85 Sindic de Greuges, Catalonia ...... 277 282 Valedor de Pobo, Galicia...... 60 40 Defensor del Pueblo, Andalusia ...... 330 295 Via Ombudsmen of Sindic de Greuges, Valencia...... 328 261 Self-governing Communities... 2,011 5,08 Justicia de Aragón ...... 143 112 Defensora del Pueblo, Castilla-La Mancha...... 56 28 Via different entities Diputado de Común. Canary Islans ...... 263 183 and organisations Defensora del Pueblo, Navarre ...... 53 36 of the Administration ..... 26 0,07 Procurador del Común, Castilla y León ...... 419 363 TOTAL...... 39,610 100.00 TOTAL...... 2,011 1,684

TABLE 8. Complaints from different entities and organisations, 2004 and 2005

Distribution of complaints by sector Enties 2005 2004 Bar Association ...... 1 1 Table 9 provides a detailed breakdown on Commission for Petitions and Citizens’ Defence ...... —2 the complaints registered with the Ombuds- European Ombudsman...... 9 3 man during 2005, divided into the eight man- Office of the Citizens’ Defender...... —2 agement areas into which the office divides Municipal Consumer Information Office ...... —17 its operations; within these, there is a fur- Foreign Ombudsman ...... —1 Organisations of the Administration ...... 9 4 ther breakdown by subjects which generated Constitutional Tribunal ...... 3 5 the highest number of complaints. Taking Juvenile Defender ...... 2 2 into consideration the number of individ- Parliamentary Deputies ...... 1 — ual complaints received, for the sake of Galician Consumer Institute...... 1 — better representativity, the most significant TOTAL...... 26 37

TABLE 9. Distribution by sectors of complaints processed in 2005

Sectors Individual Group Ex-officio Total

Immigration and Foreign Affairs...... 1,297 54 24 1,375 Residency and Immigration ...... 948 — 20 968 Economic Administration...... 2,577 1,109 7 3,693 Taxation issues ...... 515 1 — 516 Information Society...... 78 254 1 333 Justice...... 1,897 133 16 2,046 Justice Administration...... 851 — — 851 General Register Office...... 422 — 2 424 Defence and Home Affairs...... 1,455 73 25 1,553 Roads security...... 471 72 1 544 Penitentiary Administration...... 322 — 12 334 Citizen security...... 141 — — 141 Education and Culture...... 1,928 1,336 4 3,268 Co-official languages...... 501 — — 501 Education ...... 471 — 3 474 Mass media...... 110 — 1 111 Health and Social Affairs...... 2,152 445 39 2,636 Health ...... 518 386 35 939 Social Security...... 574 — — 574 Consumer Affairs...... 162 59 1 222 Land Management ...... 1,490 22,007 15 23,512 Environmental issues...... 406 21,206 8 21,620 Zoning ...... 369 53 6 428 Housing...... 316 67 1 384 Civil Servants and Employment ...... 1,160 491 10 1,661 Personnel issues ...... 121 352 2 475 Civil servants from the Central Administration, Social Security, and Autonomous and Local Administrations ...... 289 75 1 365 Other...... 6 — — 6 TOTAL ...... 13,962 25,648 140 39,750

The Ombudsman • Summary of the Report for 2005 9 STATISTICS number involved Economic Administration, affairs, motivated by the cutting down of trees in The most numerous ex-officio complaints followed by those concerning Health and the city of Madrid, certain electrical installa- were regarding such issues as health, residen- Social Affairs. tions in the city of Arroyomolinos (Community cy and immigration, and the rights of prison- Regarding group complaints, the highest num- of Madrid), and the installation of a refinery in ers and their treatment by the Penitentiary ber, by far, were in the realm of environmental Tierra de Barros (Extremadura). Administration.

State of Complaints Processing at the End of 2005

TABLE 10. Situation of complaints registered in 2005, as of 31 December he data in Table 10 reflect the situation of complaints being processed on 31 Decem- Ex-officio Individual Group Total T Situation Number % Number % Number % Number % ber 2005. Admitted for processing 140 100.00 4,895 41.14 21,658 85.48 26,693 71.42 Complaints that were not investigated Suspended ...... — — 9 0.08 — — 9 0.02 because they failed to meet the admission crite- Being processed...... 134 95.71 3,462 29.10 21,637 85.40 25,233 67.51 ria established in General Act of Parliament Concluded...... 6 4.29 1,424 11.97 21 0.08 1,451 3.88 3/1981 which regulates the Ombudsman’s Not admitted for processing...... — — 7,003 58.86 3,679 14.52 10,682 28.58 Office, were classified as not admitted, although citizens were duly informed about them, in TOTAL...... 140 100.00 11,898 100.00 25,337 100.00 37,375 100.00 keeping with the previsions of art. 17 in the aforesaid General Act of Parliament. TABLE 11. Motives for non-admission of individual complaints, 2005 Although the number of complaints not admitted in 2005 was lower compared with pre- Motive for non-admission Number vious years, it remains quite high. This could be Administrative authority regarding issues within its own jurisdiction...... 68 Lack of basis ...... 91 due both to a certain lack of information provid- Inexistence of claim...... 43 ed to citizens regarding the Ombudsman’s man- Judicial intervention...... 487 date, as well as the confidence that this institu- Bad faith...... 3 tion inspires, which leads citizens to present No previous administrative action ...... 925 complaints beyond its scope of action, especial- No action involving public authorities...... 667 ly when they request assistance regarding how No answer to resolvable defects...... 15 to better resolve their problems. No answer to requests for information...... 143 On the other hand, it should be noted that No formal complaint, information sent ...... 193 there has been a remarkable rise in group com- No formal complaint, information requested...... 277 No evidence of administrative irregularity ...... 2,527 plaints in recent years. Given their very nature, No legitimate interest...... 28 such collective ventures make a large number of Other motives for non-admission ...... 1,053 people depend on the resolution of the same Period over a year ...... 16 proceedings. Anonymous complaint...... 3 This circumstance would explain, in part, the Resolved without Ombudsman’s intervention...... 133 drop in the total number of complaints conclud- Irreversible sentence...... 323 ed in 2005, compared with other years. Damage to third parties...... 8 It seems that the number of complaints not TOTAL...... 7,003 admitted for processing continues to be quite high year after year, and this could be due as much to a certain erroneous perception on the the most numerous have been those aimed at ‘Correct action’ means that, after the part of the citizens regarding the Ombudsman’s the General State Administration (Table 12). investigation carried out by the Ombuds- jurisdiction, as to the high level of trust that this Tables 13 and 14 break down complaints man, it is shown that the Administration institution inspires, which means that they trust in 2005 presented to the General State acted in accordance with the regulations it with their problems, or ask for assistance in Administration and bodies dependent on in force. The expression ‘solution provid- order to focus on the best way to resolve them. Self-governing Communities. Regarding ed’ indicates that the Administration mod- The motives for non-admission of individual Table 13, it can be seen that once again, the ified an incorrect action after the complaints in 2005 are reflected in Table 11. highest number of complaints processed Ombudsman intervened. When the Admin- corresponds to the Ministry of the Interior, istration maintains an incorrect action, or Complaints Presented to Public whose mandate includes the penitentiary one not in keeping with the regulation Administrations system, as well as the lower number of com- that has been pointed out by the Ombuds- plaints presented to the Prime Minister’s man, then it is considered a situation of Regarding individual and ex-officio com- Office and the Ministries of Housing and of ‘no solution provided’ (see Tables 15, 16, plaints presented to public administrations, Culture. and 17).

10 The Ombudsman • Summary of the Report for 2005 STATISTICS

TABLE 12. Individual and ex-officio complaints presented to the Administration, 2005

Being processed Concluded Suspended Total

General State Administration ...... 1.342 406 3 1.751 Self-governing Community Administration ...... 418 200 — 618 Local Administration...... 569 139 3 711 Attorney General’s Office...... 161 31 — 192 Other public entities ...... 122 49 — 171 Miscellaneous administrations ...... 121 22 — 143 Investigation unnecessary...... 863 583 3 1.449 TOTAL ...... 3,596 1,430 9 5,035

TABLE 13. Breakdown of complaints presented to the General State Administration, 2005 Individual and ex-officio complaints

Ministry Being processed Concluded Suspended Total

Prime Minister ...... — 1 — 1 Prime Minister’s Office ...... 2 1 — 3 Ministry of Public Administrations...... 14 10 — 24 Ministry of Agriculture, Fishing, and Food...... 5 — — 5 Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Co-operation...... 112 26 — 138 Ministry of Culture ...... 3 2 — 5 Ministry of Defence ...... 34 4 — 38 Ministry of Finance ...... 105 27 — 132 Ministry of Education and Science...... 49 43 — 92 Ministry of Public Works...... 136 26 1 163 Ministry of Industry, Tourism, and Trade...... 44 6 — 50 Ministry of the Interior ...... 245 91 1 337 Ministry of Justice...... 221 48 — 269 Ministry of the Environment...... 32 1 — 33 Ministry of Health and Consumer Affairs...... 16 7 — 23 Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs...... 84 51 — 135 Ministry of Housing ...... 1 1 — 2 Peripheral administrations...... 209 50 1 260 Miscellaneous administrations ...... 30 11 — 41 TOTAL ...... 1,342 406 3 1,751

TABLE 14. Breakdown of complaints presented to Self-governing Community Administrations, 2005 Individual and ex-officio complaints

Self-governing Community Being processed Concluded Suspended Total

Catalonia...... 55 8 — 63 Basque Country...... 3 — — 3 Galicia...... 15 11— 26 Cantabria ...... 11 4 — 15 Asturias...... 18 16 —34 Andalusia...... 24 7 — 31 Murcia...... 17 5 — 22 Aragon...... 9 4 — 13 Castilla-La Mancha...... 11 5 — 16 Valencia ...... 26 17 — 43 La Rioja...... 6 2 — 8 Extremadura ...... 17 49 — 66 Canary Islands...... 12 3 — 15 Castilla y Leon...... 20 9 — 29 Balearic Islands ...... 15 2 — 17 Madrid...... 148 54 — 202 Navarre ...... 4 — — 4 Ceuta...... 3 1 — 4 Melilla ...... 3 2 — 5 Miscellaneous Administrations...... 1 1 — 2 TOTAL ...... 418 200 — 618

The Ombudsman • Summary of the Report for 2005 11 STATISTICS

TABLE 15. Conclusion of individual and ex-officio complaints, by administration, 2005

Correct Solution Solution not Administration Other action provided provided Total General State Administration...... 261 128 5 12 406 Self-governing Community Administrations...... 131 49 3 17 200 Local Administrations...... 89 45 — 5 139 Attorney General’s Office ...... 28 1 2 31 Investigation unnecessary...... 91 58 26 408 583 Other public entities...... 43 2 — 4 49 Miscellaneous administrations...... 16 4 1 1 22 TOTAL ...... 659 287 35 449 1,430

TABLE 16. Breakdown of conclusions for individual and ex-officio complaints presented to the General State Administration, 2005

Correct Solution Solution not General State Administration Other action provided provided Total Prime Minister...... 1 — — — 1 Prime Minister’s Office...... 1 — — — 1 Ministry of Public Administrations ...... 6 4 — — 10 Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Co-operation ...... 16 10 — — 26 Ministry of Culture...... 2 — — 2 Ministry of Defence...... 3 1 — — 4 Ministry of Finance...... 20 7 — — 27 Ministry of Education and Science...... 13 29 — 1 43 Ministry of Public Works...... 14 10 2 — 26 Ministry of Industry, Tourism, and Trade...... 5 1 — — 6 Ministry of the Interior...... 80 10 1 — 91 Ministry of Justice...... 29 14 — 5 48 Ministry of the Environment ...... 1 — — — 1 Ministry of Health and Consumer Affairs...... 4 3 — — 7 Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs ...... 29 19 2 1 51 Ministry of Housing...... — 1 — — 1 Peripheral administrations...... 36 12 — 2 50 Miscellaneous administrations...... 3 5 — 3 11 TOTAL ...... 261 128 5 12 406

TABLE 17. Breakdown of conclusions for individual and ex-officio complaints presented to Self-governing Community Administrations, 2005

Correct Solution Solution not Self-governing Community Other action provided provided Total Catalonia...... 5 2— 1 8 Galicia ...... 8 2 — 1 11 Cantabria...... 2 2— 4 Asturias ...... 84—416 Andalusia ...... 4 2 —1 7 Murcia ...... 311 5 Aragon ...... 12—14 Castilla-La Mancha ...... 2 1 1 1 5 Valencia...... 98——17 La Rioja ...... 2——— 2 Extremadura...... 46 3 — — 49 Canary Islands...... 2 1 — — 3 Castilla y Leon...... 6 3 — — 9 Balearic Islands...... 1 1 — — 2 Madrid ...... 31 15 1 7 54 Ceuta ...... — 1 — — 1 Melilla...... 1 1 — — 2 Miscellaneous administrations...... — — — 1 1 TOTAL ...... 131 48 3 12 406

12 The Ombudsman • Summary of the Report for 2005 STATISTICS 25,648 Group Complaints

he total of group complaints processed • 51 of those affected by an expropria- Statute of Non-Physician Healthcare Per- Tin 2005 was 25,648, which can be tion complained that they were not relo- sonnel. divided into two categories, featuring a cated. total of 40 groups, which are summarised • 56 workers from the Ebro Waterworks below. Confederation registered a complaint for Group Complaints Registered being classified as water technicians for in 2004 which Determined general services. Complaints Registered • 16 applicants for state housing in Par- the Opening of Dossiers and Opened la (Madrid) expressed their disagreement in 2005 with the maximum sales price for a square in 2005 metre of living space. • 47 persons expressed their disagree- • 29 civil servants from the State ment with the judicial authorisation to • 386 people requested public use for Peripheral Administration complained at have an abortion granted to a pregnant the specialities centre of the former Air not being allowed to access to vacant medically handicapped woman. Force Hospital in Madrid. posts in the Central Administration. • 15 residents of Benicassim (Castel- • 3931 residents of Arroyomolinos • 70 owners of homes in a development lon) joined their complaint to another (Madrid) registered their concern for the in Puig (Valencia Region) reported the regarding a development to be built high-tension electrical towers in the town. deficiencies in public services provided by around a golf course, which they did not • 59 citizens denounced the situation in the City Council. consider to be in the general interest. which a member of the Consumer Council • 28 civil servants registered a com- • 1 group complaint against the possi- continues to hold his post although his plaint for delays in assuming their posts ble application of a canon or some other term ended five years ago. as administrators within the General kind of fee for library loans, in applica- • 44 of those affected complained about State Administration. tion of Directive 92/100/EEC. the future problems for their homes due to • 16 citizens manifested their disagree- • 1 person seconded previously the public works to put part of Madrid’s M- ment with the supposed radicalism of a received complaints regarding the decla- 30 ring-round underground, as well as the political party towards the Roman rations of a political leader criticising construction of its southern expansion. Catholic Church. the Roman Catholic Church. • 72 persons demanded that their dri- • 23 persons considered that a certain • 5 citizens added their complaints to ving licenses from the Bolivarian Republic political party was attacking the freedom others previously received opposing of Venezuela be recognised in Spain, which of worship and religious freedom recog- reforms in the Civil Code introducing was agreed by the governments of both nised by the Spanish Constitution. same-sex marriage. countries in September 2005. • 254 persons manifested their concern • 31 persons joined their complaints to • 899 citizens requested that the for the traces that could be left by person- others previously received, considering Ombudsman present an appeal of uncon- al communications related to controls of a illegal the maximum price for state hous- stitutionality against Law 13/2004, of 27 judicial nature, which could become ing fixed by the Madrid Self-governing December, on Hunting in the Valencia known by third parties. Administration. Region. • 3,188 residents of Tierra de Barros • 39 motorcyclists added their com- •60 residents of Congosto (Leon) (Extremadura) expressed their disagree- plaints to other previous ones, regarding expressed their disagreement with the ment with the installation of an oil refin- national and legislation involved limita- construction in their town of a combined- ery in the area. tions on the access of such vehicles to cycle electrical power station. • 15 residents of San Glorio (Leon) natural parks. • 38 members of a housing co-operative expressed their concern regarding the • 1 citizen seconded a previously regis- in Fuensaldaña (Valladolid) presented a environmental impact of building ski slope tered complaint requesting the Ombuds- complaint against the Municipal Adminis- installations. man’s intervention regarding street sig- tration for refusing to give initial approval • 853 workers from financial companies nage, especially the delimitations of to the Partial Plan affecting them. registered a complaint for the outsourcing pedestrian crossings due to the dangers • 54 complaints against the Kingdom of of pension commitments assumed by their they pose to motorcyclists, bicyclists, Morocco were sent by e-mail for transfer- companies. and even pedestrians, because they are ring illegal aliens from Sub-Saharan • 18 civil servants working at the Social so slippery. Africa to desert regions. Security Financial Office in Tudela • 1 person joined others who had pre- • 28 residents of the Carabanchel and (Navarre) registered a complaint regard- viously requested that the Ombudsman Usera districts of Madrid, and an ecologi- ing lack of job mobility. register an appeal of unconstitutionality cal association, presented complaints for • 1,265 citizens registered a complaint against the Law of the General Budget the elimination of a green area within the regarding the increase in advertising for for 2004. Emperatriz María de Austria Park, and phone-sex hotlines. • 4 civil servants added their com- the cutting down of trees. • 13,660 residents of Madrid complaint to a previous one, for the non- • 296 administrative officials from the plained about trees being cut down due to approval of a list of jobs at the Ministry Ministry of Defence rejected the job cate- different public works carried out by the of Defence. gories assigned to them. City of Madrid. • 1 worker from an insurance agency • 41 citizens expressed their concern • 20 workers with jobs as auxiliary nurse- joined others who had previously expressed regarding a statement by Pope John midwives expressed their disagreement with their disagreement with the outsourcing of Paul II regarding freedom of religion in the application of an improvement in their pension commitments assumed by their Spain. retirement conditions established in the company.

The Ombudsman • Summary of the Report for 2005 13 STATISTICS

• 40 persons joined others who had TABLE 19. Group complaints received in 2005 and presented to the Administrations previously asked the Ombudsman to present a recourse against the Resolution of Administrations In process Concluded Total the Secretary of State for Universities and Research, which established the pro- General State Administration ...... 481 19 500 cedures and deadlines for presenting Autonomous Administration...... 3,233 — 3,233 applications for the assessment of Local Administration...... 13,874 — 13,874 Investigation Unnecessary ...... 59 2 61 research activities to the National Miscellaneous administrations ...... 3,990 — 3,990 Assessment Committee. TOTAL...... 21,637 21 21,658 As expressed in the section pertaining to individual complaints, Tables 19, 20, and 21 present a breakdown of group complaints registered in 2005 and presented to TABLE 20. Breakdown of processing of group complaints presented to the General State the different public administrations, speci- Administration in 2005 fying the different public entities and bodies to which they were presented. Here, the Administrations In process Concluded Total majority of the cases has been presented to Defence...... 300 — 300 Autonomous and Local Administrations. Public Administrations ...... 113 — 113 Interior...... 68 — 68 Labour and Social Affairs ...... — 18 18 Finance ...... — 1 1 TOTAL...... 481 19 500 TABLE 18. Breakdown of group complaints processing, 31 December 2005 TABLE 21. Breakdown in processing of group complaints presented to Self-governing Situation Number % Community Administrations in 2005 Non-admitted complaints.. 3,679 14.34 Complaints being Autonomous Administration In Process Concluded Total processed ...... 21,637 84.36 Murcia ...... 20 — 20 Complaints pending Extremadura...... 3.189 — 3.189 processing ...... 311 1.21 Castilla y Leon...... 15 — 15 Closed complaints...... 21 0.09 Madrid ...... 9 — 9 TOTAL...... 25,648 100.00 TOTAL ...... 3,233 — 3,233

140 Ex-Officio Complaints

TABLE 22. Ex-officio complaints presented to different Administrations in 2005 uring 2005, the Ombudsman’s Office has In Dacted ex officio on 140 occasions. As their Concluded Suspended Total name indicates, these are actions carried out Administrations process by the Ombudsman’s Office on its own initia- General State Administration ...... 41 3 — 44 tive, after receiving information regarding an Autonomous Administration ...... 48 1 — 49 event which should be investigated. A good Local Administration ...... 8 1 — 9 source of information are the mass media. Public Prosecutor...... 2 — — 2 These actions, which occur under the aegis of Investigation Unnecessary ...... 18 — — 18 art. 12.1 of General Act of Parliament 3/1981, Other public entities...... 2 — — 2 of 6 April, are broken down in Table 22, show- Miscellaneous administrations...... 15 1 — 16 ing the situation of these investigations on 31 TOTAL...... 134 6 — 140 December 2004, and the Administration before which they had been presented. These ex-officio complaints cover a wide citizen whom they had confused with a ber 2004; another prisoner from the same cen- variety of current events, events which have Colombian criminal; in the series of trans- tre who died on 24 February 2005; another created some kind of public concern, or when fers of illegal aliens from the Canary also died after having been transferred from it is considered that fundamental rights could Islands to the Spanish mainland, and in the the Zuera centre to Miguel Servet Hospital in presumably be breached or misapplied. assistance they received after arriving; and Zaragoza; and two other prisoners from the whenever there is a death in prison, as same centre died on 5 April and 14 October of occurred on 5 January 2005 at a penitentiary 2004; as well as the incident of another pris- Deaths of Prisoners in Jail for the criminally insane in Fontcalent (Ali- oner found hung at the San Sebastian Peni- cante), resulting from smoke inhalation after tentiary Centre on 10 November, 2005. For example, when, at dawn on Friday, 14 a mattress caught on fire; in the case of a pris- After each of these deaths, ex-officio January 2005, members of the National oner at the Zuera (Zaragoza) penitentiary complaints were put into effect, as well as Police’s Special Forces repeatedly struck a who appeared hung in his cell on 26 Novem- for another incident also occurring at the

14 The Ombudsman • Summary of the Report for 2005 STATISTICS

Zuera Penitentiary Centre, resulting in the transatlantic flight. The airport failed to injury of various prisoners and civil ser- attend to her protest, informing her that she vants. had to present her complaint upon arrival in A dossier for an ex-officio complaint was Valencia, where she was given a provisional also opened when a group of prisoners from wheelchair that did not meet her needs, to the Nanclares de la Oca (Alava) Peniten- use whilst her own was being repaired. More- tiary Centre presented an oral complaint over, she had to deal with rude treatment regarding sexual harassment on the part of a from an airport employee. civil servant, or when at the same penitentiary Another action in defence of the rights of centre two prisoners appeared dead in their with limited mobility was in reaction to the cells, one from hanging; and after the death by news that the Mayor of Las Palmas de Grand suicide of two prisoners at the Soria Peniten- Canary had ordered the eviction of a family tiary Centre. comprising six members, three of them chil- Moreover, an investigation was launched dren, and one of the adults a paraplegic forced regarding the death of another prisoner, on 18 to remain permanently in a wheelchair. Like- January 2005, at the Huelva Penitentiary wise, the Ombudsman acted ex-officio in the Centre, and when women prisoners from the case of a handicapped person who needed a Tenerife II Penitentiary Centre complained wheelchair to move about, but could not use Many complaints are received regarding services provided by operators in the of discrimination compared with male prison- the daily train between Orihuela and Elche, telecommunications market, whether involving ers; and in the cases in which the media since those train stations lacked the elevating cell phones, video, or television. denounced that, between 2001 and 2004, at platforms enabling wheelchairs to enter least 239 persons died in custody in Spain; or trains. when news reports appeared according to Yet another ex-officio complaint was filed Sagunto (Valencia), who then entered Span- which abuses may have occurred at the peni- against Ibiza’s airport, due to an electrical ish territory and was detained by the police tentiary for the criminally insane in Fontca- malfunctioning that caused discomfort and and brought back to the ship, without the lent (Alicante); after the aggression suffered delays to the passengers. guarantees required by such expulsion proce- by a prisoner at the Castellon Penitentiary Other ex-officio complaints have been dures. Centre; and subsequent to the death of a citi- brought against public services, involving zen at the Civil Guard post in Roquetas del such events as the chaotic traffic in Madrid’s Mar (Almeria), after being taken into cus- Chamberí district, after the Windsor Build- Civil Servants tody. ing fire; or the forest fire within the munici- Other dossiers for ex-officio complaints palities of Riba de Saelices, Santa María Regarding civil servants, ex-officio com- regarding the situation in prisons were del Espino, Luzón, Luzaga, and Molina de plaints were filed, amongst others, regarding opened after the visit of civil servants from Aragón (all in Guadalajara province), in the extension of the 5-day deadline for pre- the Ombudsman’s Office to the penitentiary which eleven forest rangers lost their lives. senting appeals in selection processes centres in San Sebastian, Bilbao, Nanclares involving temporary personnel; the situation de la Oca (Alava) and Gerona. of a selection process in the City of Camba- Cell Phone Services dos (Pontevedra) to cover certain firefighting jobs in which, according to one of the par- The Functioning of Public Services Actions of the Secretary of State for ticipants, the previously approved selection Telecommunications and the Information criteria were not respected; regarding the sui- Ex-officio complaints were also registered Society, under the Ministry of Industry, cide of a Civil Guard at the Fuencaliente regarding the functioning of certain public Tourism, and Trade, have also sparked ex-offi- (Ciudad Real) barracks, who was alleged to services: to investigate the situation of the cio complaints, regarding control of cell have suffered workplace harassment; as well Murcia Juvenile Court, or the Register phone service, as well as the existence, in Las as the number of those on sick leave due to Office of Fuengirola (Malaga), closed for 12 Palmas de Gran Canaria (Canary Islands), of psychological ailments, and the number of days due to lack of personnel; or inquiring various cell phone installations (antennas suicides, amongst members of the Civil after why surgery was suspended at the Pae- and power stations) which apparently, in Guard. diatric Intensive Care Unit of Doce de spite of lacking municipal licenses and that Other such complaints were registered Octubre Hospital, Madrid; to confirm that City Hall had confirmed this three years against the City of Humanes (Madrid) for it Madrid’s commuter trains lack reserved before, continued to operate on the rooftops to adjust its personnel selection processes seats for the elderly, pregnant women, and of various buildings. to fulfil the constitutional principles of the physically handicapped, whilst other Repeated complaints were presented equality, merit, capacity, and publicity; and public transport, and trains in other cities, do before the Secretary of State for Telecommu- due to the problem of lack of job security and have these kinds of reserved seats, which are nications and the Information Society regard- the use of subcontracted services in the Com- duly marked. ing services provided by different operators munity of Madrid. Other involved the lack of Another such complaint involved the within the telecommunications market, and locales for dressing rooms and bathrooms, actions of those in charge of Barajas Air- the precarious protection of users’ consumer especially for female personnel, of the port, when a handicapped woman flew on 20 rights, as well as for the lack of awareness of Oviedo local police. February 2005 from New York to Madrid, the specific rights that should be brought to Moreover, ex-officio complaints were where she had to change planes to reach bear in this area. filed due to the existence of well-grounded her destination in Valencia, and found that Occasional ex-officio complaints have been suspicions that many applicants taking the wheelchair she needed to move about registered over such events as the escape of a part in the competitive exam for the Peni- had been completely destroyed during her stowaway found in a ship in the port of tentiary Institution’s Assistants Corps

The Ombudsman • Summary of the Report for 2005 15 STATISTICS

situation of the San Jorge juvenile detention Castilla-La Mancha, Catalonia, Valencia, centre in Zaragoza. The Ombudsman’s Office Extremadura, Galicia, Murcia, Navarre, La visited the Fuerteventura detention centre for Rioja, Madrid, Andalusia, and the Basque unaccompanied underage illegal aliens, and Country. that of La Isleta in Las Palmas de Grand Canary. Public Education

Immigration Regarding education, an ex-officio complaint was opened regarding the lack of places The major events related with immigration for children between 0 and 3 years of age in in Spain over the course of 2005 accounted for the City of Madrid in public preschool cen- a large proportion of the ex-officio complaints tres, which have places for barely 7% of those that year, both regarding the legalisation under three years old in Madrid. process generally and specific events, includ- The Ombudsman’s Office was also following the death of two Cameroonians, one of ing the apparent cases of school bullying suf- them possibly a minor, along the border fered by two children, 6 and 7 years old, at between Morocco and Melilla; and regarding public schools in Estepona and San Pedro de Sick leave for psychological motives is on the the events on the Melilla border on 15 Sep- Alcántara (Malaga), whose parents had opt- rise in the Civil Guard. tember 2005. ed for taking them out of school due to the Another ex-officio complaint was lodged competent educational administration’s fail- regarding the situation of a family including a ure to adopt measures able to guarantee had been previous informed of the questions Pakistani, an Indonesian, and their two immediately the psychological security of on the test, and that the results were leaked minor children, who were living illegally in these children, after their situation had been out several days before the competent tri- Spain, after Germany decided not to concede reported. bunal made them public; regarding the stan- the asylum status they sought, after trying to Another ex-officio complaint was lodged dardised recognition of titles for certain deport them to one of their respective coun- regarding the low level of funding available to health services professionals; and the mobil- tries, neither of which would accept the entire Spanish students studying abroad with an ity of these professionals within the Nation- family. Erasmus Programme grant, which barely al Health System. reached 150 euros a month, an amount covering only 8-12% of their total expenses. The Health Ombudsman’s Office also found that this Situation in Juvenile Detention grant money was made available to the stu- Centres Regarding events related to public health dents with considerable delay after they had services, the following ex-officio complaints, begun their stay abroad, so that the entirety Over the course of the year, investigations amongst others, were presented: after the of their early expenses had to be borne by the were conducted regarding the situation in heart attack suffered by a patient during a students. juvenile detention centres in Gáldar and La cardiological exam at the Doce de Octubre Montañeta, both in Las Palmas de Grand Hospital in Madrid, when he had been waiting Canary (Canary Islands), as well as that of 19 months for this exam; due to the waiting Land Management Valle de Tabares, in Tenerife; the Cantalgallo lists for mammograms at different hospitals in therapeutic juvenile detention centre for drug Madrid; due to the finding of clinical histories Amongst the ex-officio complaints lodged addicts, in Dos Hermanas (Seville); and the and medical reports from Madrid’s Gregorio within the realm of Land Management and the Marañón Hospital in a dumpster; regarding the Environment, a noteworthy case is that of the prerequisites and procedures making possible construction of a hotel on El Algarrobico joint treatment and reciprocal processing of beach within the Cabo de Gata Nature Park information contained in the personnel lists (Almeria); the cutting down of approximate- of different health services; and regarding the ly 100 trees, many of them more than a cen- resources available in the health services of tury old, in the town of Pelayos de la Presa the Andalusia for the treatment of persons (Madrid); for the construction by Paradores with eating disorders. de Turismo de España, S.A. of a hotel, on the Moreover, dossiers for ex-officio complaints grounds of Lorca Castle, which in 1985 was were opened to investigate the resources declared a cultural monument. Those apposed for the treatment of persons with eating to the construction allege that its impact on disorders in Aragon, Asturias, the Balearic the landscape would alter the physiognomy of Islands, the Canary Islands, Cantabria, Castil- the city, as well as its impact on 11th-century la-La Mancha, Castilla y Leon, Catalonia, archaeological findings. The hotel takes up Valencia, Extremadura, Galicia, Murcia, 18,500 m2 of land. Navarre, La Rioja, and the Basque Country. Another ex-officio complaint was regis- The Ombudsman’s Office also investigat- tered regarding the a 600-ton spill of crude ed the resources of the public health system oil on Nueva Umbría beach (Huelva), near Valle de Tabarés juvenile detention centre, in for persons with borderline personality El Rompido; the repeated requests presented Tenerife, where the Ombudsman has lodged an ex-officio complaint regarding its functioning disorder in Aragon, Asturias, the Balearic to the City of Ronda, over the course of more and housing conditions. Islands, the Canary Islands, Cantabria, than a year, by a resident of the area affected

16 The Ombudsman • Summary of the Report for 2005 STATISTICS Special Reports

ne of the activities taking up a great regarding guaranteed access to records, Odeal of the Ombudsman’s Office efforts making public inter-administrative are its special reports, some prepared at instructions and regulations regarding the Ombudsman’s own initiative, others stowaways; to the Director-General of the commissioned by Parliament’s Joint Com- Police, regarding different aspects of the mittee for Relations with the Ombudsman. asylum-seeking and legalisation process- One of the special reports written during es; to the Directorate General for Interior 2005 was ‘Legal Assistance to Foreign Policy, regarding the material conditions Nationals in Spain’. of detention and detention centres where This report includes various recommen- legal assistance work is carried out; to dations for the Ministry of the Interior the Ministry of Justice; the General Coun- regarding legal guarantees in the deten- cil of the Judiciary; Spain’s Attorney Gen- tion of immigrants, regulations regarding eral; the Departments of Justice and of appeals to denial of entrance, and mak- Public Administration of Andalusia; the ing public inter-administrative instruc- Department of the Governor’s Office and tions. Justice of the Canary Islands; the Depart- Recommendations regarding the organi- ment of Justice of Catalonia; the Depart- sation and supervision of free legal assis- ment of Justice and Public Administrations tance services were also made to the of the Valencia Region; and the Spanish Rescuing inmigrants arriving to the Canary islands in a makeshift boat. Photo: A-3 Department of the Governor’s Office, Public Lawyers Council. Administration and Justice of Galicia; the Another ex-officio investigation referred Department of Justice and the Interior of to the processing of a complaint to the Reg- soil by climbing over the fence along the Madrid; the Department of the Governor’s ister Office of Santander about the decla- Moroccan border. Office, Justice, and the Interior of Navarre; ration, on the basis of a simple assump- Other reports were drawn up on the vis- and the Department of Justice, Employ- tion, regarding the Spanish nationality of its made to the Geneto and El Portezuelo ment, and Social Security of the Basque a minor. centres for unaccompanied underage Country. A report was also written regarding the aliens in San Cristóbal de la Laguna In this same special report on legal assis- visit to the Autonomous City of Melilla, in (Tenerife), and the centres for the deten- tance to foreign nationals, recommenda- order to supervise the administrative tion and internment of aliens in Fuerteven- tions were also made to the Secretary of actions being carried out regarding the tura, Las Palmas de Grand Canary, Santa State for Immigration and Emigration, Sub-Saharan Africans who entered Spanish Cruz de Tenerife, Madrid, and Barcelona.

by a handicap that kept her from moving An ex-officio complaint regarding problems about autonomously, to the city’s Padre Jesús in mail delivery was lodged in the Sistallo and District Council, whose head is also responsi- Rioaveso parishes of Cospeito (Lugo), as a con- ble for the municipal Social Affairs Depart- sequence of the changes of the names of ment. streets by the Town Council and the lack of Ex-officio complaints were lodged with the flexibility on the part of mail carriers who Under Secretary of Health and Consumer apparently returned to their senders all corre- Affairs of the Ministry of Health and Consumer spondence bearing the old addresses, making Affairs, and the Secretary of State for Telecom- no effort to deliver them. munications and the Information Society of Other ex-officio complaints in this area the Ministry of Industry, Tourism and Trade, involved trafficking in centuries-old Spanish regarding the studies and work carried out by olive trees in the Valencia Region; possible different groups regarding the impact of elec- changes in the use and demolition of the Beti tromagnetic fields on health, fields created by Jai jai-alai installations, which had been the broadcasts of telephone stations and other declared a protected cultural monument; and telecommunications and energy networks. the serious problems faced by some thirty fam- An ex-officio complaint was lodged with the ilies in El Rompido, Cartaya (Huelva) after Department of the Environment and Land they were given the keys to their state-sub- Management of the Community of Madrid, and sidised flats, which had no water or electri- the Department of the Environment of Castilla city services. y Leon for delays in approving their Natural Resource Management Plans for the Sierra de Guadarrama on both the Madrid and the Driving Licenses The Ombudsman’s Office opened an Segovian sides of the mountain range. investigation regarding the construction of a Another ex-officio complaint was registered Within the scope of the Department of the hotel on El Algarrobico beach, in Cabo de regarding the functioning of a temporary shel- Interior, ex-officio complaints were lodged to Gata Nature Park, on a public coastal area. The Andalusian Administration decided to ter for the homeless run by the City of deal with the generalised problem of the expi- order that it be torn down. Photo: Los Verdes Madrid during the winter 2005/06 campaign. ration of driver’s licenses four years after the Indymedia.

The Ombudsman • Summary of the Report for 2005 17 STATISTICS finalisation of the period for which they had The Mayor of San Cugat del Vallés Barcelona because the underground was been issued, given that there could be human- (Barcelona) was presented with an ex-officio apparently not properly adapted to meet the itarian reasons for which, exceptionally, it complaint for his opposition to the creation criteria in Decree 135/1995 of 24 March. could it be possible to renew the driver’s of a residence for the handicapped. Finally, an ex-officio complaint was lodged licence more than four years after the finali- The lack of security controls in toys sold against the Department of Labour and Indus- sation of said period of duration. in the variety discount shops known as todo try of Catalonia due to citizens’ opposition to Another ex-officio complaint in this area a cien originated an ex-officio complaint. the installation of very high tension electri- was regarding the marketing of a video game Regarding the Barcelona Metro, an ex- cal towers and lines (400 kV) between which could induce players to commit crimes. officio complaint was presented to the City of France and Spain.

42 Recommendations and 56 Suggestions Admitted

s part of the processing of the com- TABLE 23. Resolutions presented to Public Administrations, by type and situation on 31 Aplaints investigated throughout 2005, December 2005 the resolutions detailed in Table 23 were presented to different public administra- Resolutions Accepted Rejected Pending Total tions. Reminders regarding legal duties are not Recommendations...... 42 35 62 139 listed as accepted, rejected, or pending, due Suggestions ...... 56 39 61 156 to their very nature. Reminders of legal duties...... — — — 96 In Tables 24, 25, and 26, there are break- Warnings...... — — — 5 downs of the results of recommendations and suggestions sent by the Ombudsman, according to type of resolution and the Pub- TABLE 24. Recommendations, by Public Administration to which they were presented, situation lic Administration involved. on 31 December 2005

Administrations Presented Accepted Rejected Pending

General State Administration...... 80 26 21 33 Autonomous Administration ...... 34 6 8 20 Local Administration ...... 19 6 5 8 Other organisations...... 6 4 1 1 TOTAL...... 139 42 35 62

TABLE 26. Reminders of legal duties sent TABLE 25. Suggestions, by Public Administration to which they were presented, situation on 31 in 2005, by Public Administration to December 2005 which they were presented

Situation % Administrations Presented Accepted Rejected Pending General State Administration ...... 40 General State Administration...... 69 24 21 24 Autonomous Administration... 22 Autonomous Administration ...... 25 11 6 8 Local Administration...... 33 Local Administration ...... 61 21 12 28 Other organisations ...... 1 Other organisations...... 1 — — 1 TOTAL ...... 96 TOTAL...... 156 56 39 61

PROVISIONAL OMBUDSMAN’S OFFICE: ZURBANO, 42

Presentation of complaints: — By Internet: www.defensordelpueblo.es [email protected]

— By telephone: (+34) 900101025 (free) and (+34) 914327900 / Fax: (+34) 913081158

— Complaints may also be lodged in person at Zurbano, 42, corner of Eduardo Dato, from Monday to Thursday, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. to 6 p.m., and Friday from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Closest underground stop: Rubén Darío, line 5; buses 40 and 147

— Complaints lodged by mail should be sent to the above address, postcode 28010, Madrid.

18 The Ombudsman • Summary of the Report for 2005 REPORT 139 Recommendations, 156 Suggestions

he Ombudsman formulated a total of 139 recommendations and 156 suggestions in 2005, of which, at the closing of this report, T42 recommendations had been accepted, and 56 suggestions, as reflected in Tables 24, 25, and 26. Moreover, 96 reminders of legal duties and five warnings were issued (see Table 23). The following is a summary of the accepted recommendations and suggestions. The complete list of those rejected and pending may be found in the full report, published on the Ombudsman’s website, www.defensordelpueblo.es. In the summaries of the resolutions included in this report, no personal data that could enable anyone to identify those involved in investigation procedures is included, in accordance with the confidentiality conditions specified in the General Act of Parliament that regulates Ombudsman’s Office.

List of Accepted Recommendations

General State Administration Ministry of Finance indicating erroneous appeals channels to them. Ministry of Public Administrations Under-Secretary: Regarding the need to So that in the event that modifications be adequately fulfil the necessary requirements proposed regarding a vacancy in the cata- Under-Secretary: Regarding job mobility to decide which is the competent body to logue of job positions, the same not be pub- of civil servants. Recommendation for estab- resolve matters presented by citizens. lished in the Official Bulletin of the Civil lishing better use of resources, bearing in Guard until it be confirmed by the Inter- mind both the number of years since it had ministerial Salaries Committee whether the been possible to convoke ‘targeted competi- Ministry of Education and Science proposed modification be accepted or no, tive selection’, and the existence of other and the date on which the aforesaid may be instruments for achieving a more rational dis- Directorate General for Territorial Co- put into effect, in order to avoid false tribution of civil servants. operation and the High Inspector: For study expectations on the part of the interested Secretary General for Public Administra- scholarships and grants to allow the deduc- parties, as well as family and professional tions: Regarding the international promotion of 2255 euros from the family’s base complications. tion system of the Special Corps of Peni- income for each family member affected by Directorate General for Infrastructures tentiary Institutions, when civil servants are a disability of 65% or higher. and Security Materiel: Regarding the materi- stationed in positions of the General State Directorate General for Universities: For al conditions in the detention or intern- Administration by virtue of inter-administra- the selective processes held to determine ment centres where public defenders must tive mobility agreements. postgraduate research grants, within the carry out their work. framework of the National University Profes- Directorate General for Penitentiary Insti- sors Training Programme, to respect the tutions: Regarding the system of internal pro- Ministry of Foreign Affairs timeframes established in the correspond- motions, in order to adopt specific measures and Co-operation ing application conditions. so that civil servants in the Special Techni- cians Corps of the Penitentiary Services Directorate General for Consular Affairs may have access to the selection processes and Assistance: Regarding the possibility of Ministry of Industry, Tourism, convoked by the Ministry of the Interior adequately informing interested parties and Trade through the internal promotional system in being denied residence visas for the pur- the speciality of Special Corps of Peniten- pose of family reunification. Minister: To promote, in the fight against tiary Institutions, when the aforesaid civil To the Consulate-General of Spain in child pornography, a standardisation of servants are posted within the General Shanghai, to cease to require applicants for penal legislation on a European level and State Administration by virtue of inter- residency and work visas to present a job within all international organisations. administrative mobility agreements. offer from an employer. Directorate General for the Police: Regard- ing the imparting of instructions to police Ministry of the Interior stations, to guide the actions of civil ser- Ministry of Defence vants intervening in the detention of Secretary of State for Security: Regarding minors. Institute for Armed Forces Housing: the convoking of ordinary plenary meetings of Regarding the adoption of measures to Regarding the need to control, on the part of the Police Council, so that in future the time- resolve the dysfunctions found in the instal- the competent Administration, the execu- frame established in the norms regarding lations of the department of National Iden- tion of consulting contracts for appraising routine activities of the Police Council may tity Cards and Passports of the Cantabria housing being put on sale, and regarding be respected. Police Headquarters. the illegality of one of the clauses included Directorate General for the Civil Guard: To Directorate General for Traffic: To provide in these sales contracts. avoid inducing citizens to commit errors by opportune instructions in those cases in

The Ombudsman • Summary of the Report for 2005 19 REPORT which interested parties present to agents a requirements for receiving them, and the for fulfilling their tax obligations, which is photocopy of the document required, so only unknown data are the base salaries not authorised by law. that the agent may make note of this in the to be applied in calculating the benefit Town of El Espinar (Segovia): Regard- citation, in the event that this documenta- involved. ing the modification of the Regulations tion is not considered valid for some rea- regarding the Motor Vehicles Tax, so that son. the handicapped, who due to the severity Regarding the modification of the comput- Self-governing Community of their disability are unable to drive are er program for creating drivers licenses, so Administrations not required to provide a drivers license that it can admit all of the punctuation nor the insurance policy of a vehicle bought marks necessary in order to correctly write in their name. the name and surnames figuring on the Canary Islands City of Granada: Regarding prevention national identity card of any person. of and sanctions for noise pollution in the Department of Employment and Social city, generated by the recent botellón phe- Affairs: For approval of the necessary bud- nomenon (young people drinking alcohol Ministry of Justice get increases to prioritise policy actions on the street), and to avoid an undesir- in the realm of juvenile justice. able institutionalisation of this behaviour. Minister: To create a second Juvenile City of Madrid: Regarding including on Court in the city of Murcia, and to adopt traffic citations the name and surnames measures to expand the existing one. Madrid that appear on the official documents pro- To promote the necessary legislative ini- vided by the interested parties, and if said tiatives in order to avoid that minors who Department of Education: Regarding the names are not Spanish, to avoid translat- are victims of crimes need appear in oral need to provide instructions to educational ing them. hearings. centres regarding the observance of certain Town of Torrejón de Ardoz (Madrid): Regarding legislative reforms involving regulatory requirements regarding the Regarding the need to adapt the proce- traffic accidents, in order for events accreditation of family income levels in dures followed for towing away aban- derived from traffic accidents to receive determining student admissions processing. doned vehicles to those specified in the in the Penal Code the appropriate sanc- Department of Justice and the Interior: general legislation for administrative pro- tion based on their seriousness, specify- Regarding the advisability of reforming cedures, so that, in any case, before towing ing this in said text based on the circum- the existing zoning for the Firefighting away a vehicle, its owner be notified via the stances appearing in each case, whether Corps to be activated in the event of corresponding citation. such imprudence is severe, very severe, or emergencies in Madrid. Town of Siero (Asturias): Regarding the slight. Department of Health and Consumer resolution of specific appeals presented by Secretary of State for Justice: Regarding Affairs: Regarding the need to investigate citizens. the need to adopt the necessary measures the incident that occurred in the CAID to improve the deficiencies found at the laboratory in the Tetuán district of General Register Office, regarding both the Madrid, which led to a patient’s ingesting a Others inadequacy of the building itself, insuffi- urine sample instead of a dose of methadone cient personnel, lack of space for archives, at said centre, and for the opportune mea- General Council of Spanish Lawyers: and inappropriate location of the installa- sures to be adopted in order to avoid the rep- Regarding forms of acting, organising, and tions. etition of such an event. co-ordinating legal services for foreign Directorate General for the Madrid nationals in Spain. Health Services: Regarding the advisability, Spanish Federation of Municipalities Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs in cases in which it is decided to transfer and Provinces: Regarding the problems cit- patients from their hospital of reference, izens face in using the system of regulated Secretary of State for Immigration and should they require immediate hospitalisa- motor vehicles parking in municipalities Emigration: Regarding the admissibility of tion, to previously verify whether the cen- where such systems exist, with a recom- other means of proof, other than a census tre to which they are being sent is able to mendation to the Spanish Federation of certificate, to prove one’s time living in accept them and provide quality health Municipalities and Provinces to assess the Spain in order to meet the requirements care at that time. advisability, given the sanctions generated of the legalisation process. Regarding the advisability of adopting mea- by regulated parking, to promote in those Under-Secretary: Regarding coverage of sures aimed at reducing the delay for carry- municipalities affected the strictest respect vacancies in the commission of services. ing out bone density tests at the Rheuma- for guarantees in the sanctions process. Directorate General for Immigration: tology Department of the Speciality Centre Attorney General’s Office: Regarding the To promote the promulgation of specific in the Argüelles district of Madrid. actions on the part of the Attorney General’s regulations regarding the accreditation Office involving legal assistance to foreign of economic requirements for family nationals in Spain. reunification, and to expand the existing Local Administrations Cervantes Institute: Regarding personnel regulations regarding adequate housing selection processes, so that the application requirements. City of Barcelona: In order for the City of the principles of equality, merit, capacity, Directorate General for Public Services of Barcelona to adopt measures to provide and public information may be fully guaran- for State Employment: Regarding auto- free information services to taxpayers, and, teed, and to evaluate, within the selection matic recognition of benefits, in those in particular, to do away with the charges process, solely the merits involved in the cases in which there is evidence that for using the 807 public information line, aforesaid and which form part of the pub- those requesting them meet all of the which involved charging money to citizens lished selection criteria.

20 The Ombudsman • Summary of the Report for 2005 REPORT Accepted Suggestions

General State Administration existence of error be confirmed, to the Regarding the opening of a disciplinary revocation of their denial. investigation based on the content of that Ministry of Public Administrations which was established in point one of the legal grounds in Sentence nº 112/05 of 13 Under-Secretary: Regarding sending com- Ministry of Defence April, of the Second Penal Court of Valladolid. muniqués intended for the Ombudsman. Regarding the opening of a discipli- Directorate General for the Armed Forces nary investigation of a civil servant to Government Delegation in Extremadura: Housing Institute: Regarding the interested the National Police Corps, suspending the Regarding returning the quota of the Rural party’s access to the dossier of the declara- same until a final judicial decision is hand- Real Estate Tax for the year 1997, under tion of new construction and horizontal ed down, in order to avoid the expiration of Royal Decree Law 24/1997, of 12 December. division. disciplinary responsibility. Regarding urgent measures for the damages caused by floods in the Town of Azua- Commissioner-General for Aliens and Doc- ga (Badajoz) on 5 and 6 November 1997. Ministry of Education and Science umentation: In order to permit the entrance into Spain of a Cuban citizen, married to a Government Delegation in the Community Technical Secretary General: Regarding Spanish woman, who was entrance since he of Madrid: For the interested party to be delays in the resolution of a request for had been denied a card of the family mem- notified in the case of a resolution regard- granting equivalency to a foreign university ber of a Community resident, and for having ing a request for a self-employed work per- degree. been forbidden to enter the Schengen area. mit, in order for said party to exercise the right to appeal, if appropriate. Directorate General for Interior Policy: To revoke the expulsion order for an Ministry of Public Works Regarding the revocation of a sanction individual being held at Malaga’s Alien imposed upon a citizen who had refused to Detention Centre, since the Administration Secretary of State for Infrastructures and identify herself within the framework of an had yet to resolve his request to be includ- Planning: Regarding the beginning of a action of the local Zaragoza police, since ed within the legalisation process. current evaluation of the noise level on her identity was not duly accredited. a state highway, and the consequent neces- Government Delegation in the Valencia sary maintenance work. Directorate General for Traffic: Regarding Region: To revoke the resolution denying an the adoption of the opportune measures so application for a residence and work per- that the Provincial Head of Traffic in mit, for failure to meet the requirements in Ministry of the Interior Madrid may offer citizens efficient tele- the Royal Decree on the rights and free- phone services, avoiding their having to visit doms of foreign nationals in Spain. Directorate General for the Civil Guard. its offices unless this is absolutely necessary. Regarding the need to provide correct and National Institute of Public Administra- courteous treatment in relations with citi- tions, Permanent Selection Committee: zens, and to prevent any abusive, arbitrary, Ministry of Environmental Affairs Regarding specifically answering a question or discriminatory practice. presented in writing. Regarding the need, should a citizen be Guadiana Waterworks Confederation: Re- cited to appear before the Guardia Civil at garding the expropriation and compensa- its installations, to apply the instructions tion for damages produced, in the execution Ministry of Foreign Affairs of 13 September 2000, reiterated on 6 June of the second phase of the project to and Co-operation 2001, regarding voluntary appearances of improve water supplies to Badajoz and the citizens at official Civil Guard installations. surrounding town. Directorate General for Consular Affairs and Services: Regarding the express resolu- Directorate General for the Police: Regard- tion of the appeal for reversal against the ing the opening of a disciplinary investigation Prime Minister’s Office negative resolution regarding a tourist visa of two members of the National Police Corps, requested at the Consulate-General of Spain suspending the aforesaid pending the judi- Chairman of the Board of Administration in Havana. cial resolution to be handed down in future. for National Heritage: Regarding the exclu- In order to permit the wife and daughter Regarding the transfers of civil servants sion of the list of candidates for contract- of an Iraqi citizen, with a Spanish resi- assigned to the police station of Quart de ing temporary personnel. dence permit, to request the corresponding Poblet (Valencia), due to a series of consid- visas for family reunification at the Spanish erations involving the rules of action that Consulate in Damascus to avoid having to go should be respected when civil servants pro- Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs to Baghdad. ceed to intervene in the detention of a To revise the dossier regarding a num- minor, with the aim of guaranteeing respect Regarding the revocation of a resolution ber of residence visas for family reunifica- for the higher interests of the same, avoid- declaring an authorisation of residency to tions processed at the Spanish Embassy in ing actions and behaviours that could have a be null and void, and suspending an expul- Pakistan, in order to proceed, should the negative impact on the minor. sion order.

The Ombudsman • Summary of the Report for 2005 21 REPORT

Self-governing Community and dangerous activities, when the Munici- City of Madrid: Regarding commence- Administrations pal Administration does not act. ment of sanctions procedures, if the possible infraction has not lapsed, against the owner of a discotheque whose noise levels Andalusia Autonomous City of Melilla exceed the legal limit. Regarding information to the public Department of Justice and Public The Governor’s Office: Regarding undue and participation of residents in dealing Administration: Regarding the selection of demands for requisites (i.e. a residency with the problems appearing after build- a system for entering the Andalusia permit) to register with the local census. ing and opening Madrid’s Municipal Ice Administrations corps of auxiliary Rink. administrators. Regarding the immediate suspension, Miscellaneous and if necessary, imposition of sanctions, in activities that generate environmental Castilla-La Mancha Cantabria (Department of Industry, damages and lack an operating license, as in Labour, and Technological Development) the case of a pizzeria. Department of Education and Science: and Madrid (Department of the Economy Regarding the municipal order to adopt Regarding supervision by educational and Innovation): Suggestions regarding correction measures applicable to the own- inspectors of the documentation involved rehabilitation of a vehicle and requiring its er of industrial facilities for textiles and in the dossiers regarding the admissions antecedents. shoemaking. process for students in the 2005-05 school year at a certain public school in Guadala- Madrid Municipal Transport Company: jara. Local Administrations Regarding the right to travel for free on buses of the Municipal Transport Compa- Department of Public Works: Regarding Town of Arucas (Las Palmas de Grand ny, due to being the wife of a civil servant installation of a fire escape. Canary): Regarding noise measurement working for the aforesaid. and adoption of cautionary measures, urging, in this case, the co-operation of the Regional City of Merida (Badajoz): Regarding the Extremadura Administration. constitution of an Anti-Fire Consortium.

Department of Rural Development: City of Atienza (Guadaljar): Regarding a City of Paterna (Valencia): Regarding Regarding the obligation to carry out inspec- request for collaboration with other the works that a property owner should be tions to confirm trespassing upon a live- administrations in order to fulfil its duty of ordered to undertake, due to damages stock route and adopting, if necessary, proceeding to review its municipal plan- being caused to the neighbouring property. measures tending to repossess said route ning. and to re-establish its proper use. Town of Santa María de Cayón Town of Camariñas (Corunna): Regard- (Cantabria): Regarding its personnel selec- Department of Education, Science, and ing the closure of an illegal garbage dump. tion system. Technology: Regarding lack of response to claims lodged. City of Castellon de la Plana: Regarding Town of Siero (Asturias): Regarding the the opening of a dossier to sanction, and if express resolution of an appeal for rever- necessary, close down the installations of a sal presented by the interested party. Galicia petrol station operating without respecting the norms proposed in the project presented Town of Siruela (Bajajoz): Regarding Department of Fishing and Maritime to obtain its license, failing to meet the con- personnel selection. Affairs: Regarding the importance of provid- ditions imposed when conceding the afore- ing documentary proofs in sanctions pro- said. Town of Tabernes Blanques (Valen- cessing involving infractions against the cia): Regarding the application of legisla- environment. Town of Fuente Álamo de Murcia (Mur- tion against noise pollution during local cia): Regarding the need to review an festivals and other events organised on pub- expropriation order and to emit a report on lic streets. Community of Madrid it, due to the appearance of certain omis- sions of interest for the determination of a City of Valencia: Regarding the adoption Department of Environmental Affairs and fair price. of opportune measures to proceed to the Land Management: Regarding an express installation of bollards in Río Duero Plaza, response to the communiqués sent by the City of Guadalupe (Caceres): Regarding Valencia, in order to avoid repeated inci- interested party. the obligation to carry out inspections and dence of undue parking there. other actions within the scope of the oblig- To proceed suspend the traffic fine ations involving city planning that are the imposed on a citizen, since the sanctioning Region of Valencia mandate of the Municipal Administration. procedure brought against her had expired.

Department of Territory and Housing, Town of Higuera de Calatrava (Jaen): City of Zaragoza: Regarding the onset of Directorate General for Environmental Quali- Regarding a specific response to the a current evaluation of the noise level on a ty: Regarding the intervention of the Region- request contained in a communiqué pre- state highway, and the consequent neces- al Administration in the area of noxious sented by the interested party. sary maintenance work.

22 The Ombudsman • Summary of the Report for 2005 STATISTICS Reminders of Legal Duties

uring the year 2005, the Ombudsman sent 10 reminders of legal duties to the General State Administration, 12 to the Self-governing DCommunity Administrations, and 31 to Local Administrations and others.

General State Administration Ministry of Finance sitting a competitive civil service exam with the data requested, due to which, in spite of having Ministry of Public Administration — To the Directorate General for Per- obtained the highest score according to the sonnel Costs and Public Pensions, regarding ranking of merits, was finally not selected. — To the Government Delegation in the legal duty incumbent upon it to remit, in a — To the Technical Secretary General, Melilla, regarding its legal duty to respect, proper and timely manner, the opportune regarding the office’s legal duty to regulate its in its actions involving underage foreign responses to whatever requests citizens may actions in according with criteria of efficien- nationals, the Spanish legal regulations cur- present. cy and service to the public. rently in effect, as well as those included in — To the Regional Economic-Adminis- — To the Ministry of Environmental international agreements ratified by Spain; trative Tribunals of Castilla y Leon, Catalo- Affairs, regarding the legal duty incumbent as well as regarding the legal duty within its nia, Madrid, and Valencia, regarding the upon it to answer the written requests pre- mandate to dictate the pertinent adminis- legal duty incumbent upon them to resolve, in sented by the citizens in general, and the trative resolutions in the processing of a proper and timely manner, the appeals and interested parties in particular; regarding the applications for residency permits, requiring applications sent presented to them. right to access to environmental information, the interested parties, if necessary, to pre- since the law requires said Ministry to pro- sent documents or correct any errors found vide any information in its custody. in them. Ministry of Education and Science — To the Guadalquivir Waterworks Con- — To the Subdelegation of the Govern- federation, regarding the duty incumbent ment in Valencia, for it to process proceed- — To the Technical Secretary General, upon it to commence, process and resolve ings regarding the deportation of foreign regarding the duty to resolve appeals and with due diligence the corresponding sanc- nationals in those cases in which there are reclamations within the legally established tions procedures. attempts at flight on the part of stowaways timelines. — To the Segura Waterworks Confeder- from the ships where they are found, when- ation, regarding the administration’s legal ever they reach or try to reach land. duty to act in a co-ordinated manner, the con- Ministry of Public Works stitutional principle underpinning all administrative activity. Ministry of Foreign Affairs and — To the Secretary of State for Infra- Cooperation structures and Planning, regarding the duty to adopt those measures to prevent and Ministry of Health and Consumer Affairs — To the Directorate General for Con- reduce noise pollution and to cover damages, sular Affairs and Assistance, regarding its avoidable or not, which are the obligation of — To the Director of the National Con- legal duty to dictate the pertinent instruc- the Public Administrations; and regarding the sumer Institute, regarding the legal duty tions for those actions of Spanish represen- excessive level of acoustic impact of a high- incumbent upon the Public Administration to tatives abroad so that they may fulfil the way, imputable to highway information broad- resolve, in a proper and timely manner, those stipulations of the Law on the Legal Regime casting activities, which confers upon the appeals and requests that citizens may present. of Public Administrations and Common owners of the affected housing the right to Administrative Procedures and, consequent- obtain financing in order to be provided with ly, to dictate express resolutions regarding supplementary soundproofing, as well as to Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs those appeals for reversals formulated by fulfil the legal duty of public bodies of giving interested parties. sufficient responses to the requests presented — To the Directorate General for Social by citizens, and to adopt measures of noise Security, regarding the legal duty for resolutions pollution prevention and reduction and cover- handed down regarding Social Security benefits Ministry of Defence ing damages, avoidable or no, involving the to be not only well grounded, but also to include airports of Madrid-Barajas and Sabadell, and an appeals note that should summarise the pos- — To the Secretary of State for Defence, the Air Force Bases of Cuatro Vientos sibility for interested parties to formulate the cor- regarding the legal duty incumbent upon that (Madrid), San Javier (Murcia), and Zaragoza. responding appeal, the body to which it should be body to adopt measures to prevent and presented, and the deadline for doing so. reduce noise pollution and to cover damages, avoidable or not, regarding the Air Force Ministry of the Interior Bases of Cuatro Vientos (Madrid), Rota Self-governing Community Administrations (Cadiz), San Javier (Murcia), Torrejón — To the Technical Secretary General, (Madrid), and Zaragoza. regarding the office’s legal duty to regulate its — To the Under-Secretary of Defence, actions in according with criteria of efficien- Andalusia regarding the legal duty to provide an express cy and service to the public. response to the requests presented to that — To the Directorate General for Peni- — To the Department of the Environ- office. tentiary Institutions, that it provide a person ment, Andalusian Water Agency of Malaga,

The Ombudsman • Summary of the Report for 2005 23 STATISTICS regarding the duty to resolve expressly, in a Extremadura — To the Directorate General for Land proper and timely manner, whatever requests and Coastal Management, regarding the and proceedings are presented to it or initiat- — To the Department of Education, Sci- duty to respect citizens’ rights to receive noti- ed by interested parties. ence, and Technology, regarding the legal fications at the address which the interested duty to resolve expressly, in a proper and party has indicated to that effect, and not at timely manner, the requests and appeals pre- another; as well as to receive information and Aragon sented to them. orientation regarding the legal or technical — To the Department of Health and Con- requirements that the current regulations — To the Department of Agriculture sumer Affairs, regarding the legal duty to place upon proposed projects. and Food, regarding the legal duty to hand resolve issues within the established time limits. — To the Department of Public Works, down a resolution in appeals to higher Housing, and Transportation, regarding the courts presented by those involved. legal duty to process the complaints received Galicia and to act with efficacy and speed, removing the obstacles impeding such processing. Asturias — To the Galician Ports Authority of the — To the Regional Governor’s Office, Department of Land Management, Public regarding the legal duty to adjust its actions — To the Department of the Environ- Works, and Housing, regarding the legal duty to the law, insofar as its obligation to respond to ment, Land Management and Infrastruc- to resolve the requests and appeals presented the written communications of interested par- ture, regarding the legal duty to resolve the to them. ties is concerned. appeals for reversal presented by the interested party. Madrid Valencia

Canary Islands — To the Department of Economic — To the Department of Land Manage- Affairs and Technological Innovation, ment and Housing, regarding the legal duty — To the Department of Employment regarding its legal duty to conserve and to inform consumers quickly, sufficiently, and and Social Affairs, regarding the legal duty restore, in a diligent and efficient manner, the appropriately, via the appropriate media. to act in accordance with the principle of traditional Cañada Real livestock pathways. efficiency and full compliance with the current — To the Department of Education, legal regulations, in order to avoid produc- regarding the legal duty to carry out the Ceuta ing problems in the processing of residence requirements in force within its management permits for unaccompanied underage scope, which guarantee students’ right to con- — To the Department of Public Works, minors which impede their obtaining proper tinue studying, in the second year of their regarding the legal duty to provide the envi- identification. non-compulsory secondary school studies ronmental information at its disposal, without (bachillerato), the same foreign language requiring the party making the request to they had chosen as an optional course in their accredit any particular interest. Castilla-La Mancha first year. — To the Department of Transportation — To the Department of the Economy and Infrastructures, regarding the legal duty Local Administrations and Finances, regarding the duty of proper to resolve the requests and appeals presented custody of the documents collated in the to them. — The Town of Águilas (Murcia), regard- exercise of the functioning of public enti- — To the Directorate General for Archi- ing the legal duty to process the complaints ties. tecture and Housing, regarding the legal duty received and to act with efficacy and speed, to agree ex officio on putting into practice the removing the obstacles delaying their process- means of obtaining pertinent proofs tending ing. Castilla y León to demonstrate the moment in which an — The Town of Alpedrete (Madrid), for infraction occurred, determining the person it to resolve, according to the established — To the Department of the Environ- or persons responsible, so that the resolution manner and time limits, the petitions and ment, regarding the legal duty to resolve body may put an end to the procedure with an appeals that it receives. expressly, in a proper and timely manner, action conforming fully to the law. — The City of Badajoz, regarding the the requests and appeals presented to them. legal duty to expressly resolve all complaints — To the Department of Health, and appeals presented by interested parties. regarding the legal duty, when an adminis- Murcia — The Town of Benifaió (Valencia), trative body considers itself hindered in the regarding to the legal duty to respond to all resolution of an issue, it must directly trans- — To the Department of Industry and the requests for information sent by residents. fer the matter to the body which it considers Environment, regarding the duties involved — The Town of Bullas (Murcia), regard- competent should the aforesaid belong to in regulations of the right to access environ- ing the legal duty incumbent upon the Public the same Public Administration. mental information, to provide those request- Administrations to resolve, in a proper and — To the Territorial Delegation in Bur- ing it with the information at their disposal, timely manner, the complaints and requests gos of the Assembly of Castilla y Leon, under the required terms and legal requisites; presented by citizens. regarding the own Administration’s legal as well as regarding the legal duty to process — The Town of Burón (Leon), regarding duty to exercise, in substitution, municipal the complaints received and to act with effi- the legal duty incumbent upon it to expressly authority in case of inaction on the part of cacy and speed, removing the obstacles dictate resolutions regarding whatever requests City officials. impeding such processing. or appeals are presented by interested parties.

24 The Ombudsman • Summary of the Report for 2005 STATISTICS The Ombudsman Issues Five Warnings

esides recommendations, suggestions, be declared obstructive, for not providing Communities Commission on Classified Band reminders regarding their legal the appropriate response to our demand Activities. duties sent to Public Administrations, the for a report. The City of Madrid was warned not to Ombudsman’s Office may issue warnings, in The Office of the Governor of Extre- fail to take into account, as it has in the accordance with art. 30 of the General Act madura was warned of the need for this past, the need to consider, among other cir- of Parliament that regulates its function- Administration to become more intensely cumstances, that the option of carrying out ing. In 2005, the Ombudsman issued five involved in the problem of noise pollution, public works at night (M-30 South Ring warnings: which goes back a number of years, as Road by-pass) involves, or could involve, To the Directorate General for the Civ- well as requiring the competent Depart- making it impossible for to sleep at night, a il Guard (Ministry of the Interior) for it to ments to make sure that Municipal Admin- basic and vital need for the immense major- carry out its functions (art. 11 of General istrations act on reports by the Self-governing ity of the population. Act of Parliament 2/1986, of 13 March, on the State Security Forces), in accordance with the basic principles that should govern its actions (art. 5 of the aforesaid General Act of Parliament), for which a minimal follow-up of the environmental complaints that it receives is necessary, which may be carried out through the Government Dele- gation or the Ministry of the Interior. The Department of the Environment of Cantabria was warned regarding the need to take direct interest in the problem of dumping into rivers; although it has no decisive mandate, it does have a mandate—as an environmental body—to procure data and request other bodies to obtain them, and to act in consequence. The Land Management Service of the Industry, Commerce, and Tourism Depart- ment of Segovia, Castilla y Leon, was warned that, if this institution persisted in its lack of co-ordination, its attitude would Public works on the M-30 South Ring Road.

— The Town of Cabanas de Bergantiños valid means of denouncing actions constitut- received from citizens, in general, and from (Corunna), regarding the legal duty to assist ing an infraction or the norms, exercising de interested parties, in particular, as well as to the Ombudsman in his investigations, pro- officio the control and vigilance of bothersome expressly respond to those requests presented viding, preferentially and urgently, appropri- activities without the need for residents to to it, and to promote the necessary conditions ate and complete information regarding the register complaints or go to the police, and to make effective the right to appropriate and issues raised. without demanding that citizens present doc- decent housing. — The Town of Cacabelos (Leon), uments not required by applicable norms. — The Town of Marina de Cudeyo regarding the legal duty incumbent upon Pub- — The Town of Cox (Alicante), regarding (Cantabria), regarding the legal duty incum- lic Administrations to resolve, in a proper and the legal duty incumbent upon it, regarding bent upon it to adopt the necessary municipal timely manner, the appeals and requests pre- bothersome, unhealthy, noxious, or dangerous agreements, in which it expressly sets forth sented by citizens. activities, to sanction the non-observance or the reasons for which the selection process for — The City of Caceres, regarding the legal violation of the regulations contained in the filling a position is not carried out via a com- duty incumbent upon it to supervise the legal- laws or municipal ordinances which consti- petitive civil service exam, but rather an exam ity of city planning, and the correct function- tute administrative infractions. with the possibility of gaining extra points for ing of activities classified as such, within its — The Town of El Berrueco (Madrid), one’s résumé, seniority, or other factors. municipal boundaries. regarding its legal duty to respond to the written — The Town of Méntrida (Toledo), — The City of Cartagena (Murcia), communications received from citizens, in gen- regarding the legal duty to resolve whatever regarding the legal duty of Public Administra- eral, and from interested parties, in particular. procedures it has in the processing phase tions to act in a co-ordinated manner, which — The Town of El Boalo (Madrid), regarding environmental protection. is the constitutional principle of all adminis- regarding the legal duty incumbent upon it to — The Town of Moncada (Valencia), trative activity (art. 103, Spanish Constitu- expressly dictate resolutions regarding what- regarding the legal duty incumbent upon it to tion). ever requests or appeals are presented by resolve, in an efficient and timely manner, the — The Town of Coslada (Madrid), interested parties. appeals presented to it. regarding its legal duty, in issues involving — The City of Madrid, regarding its legal — To the Town of Naquera (Valencia), noise pollution, to consider the telephone as a duty to respond to the written communications regarding the legal duty to inform consumers

The Ombudsman • Summary of the Report for 2005 25 STATISTICS quickly, sufficiently, and appropriately, via — The Town of San Martín del Rey to carry out the necessary actions and pro- the appropriate media. Aurelio (Asturias), regarding its legal ceedings necessary in order to redress the — The City of Oviedo, regarding its legal duty to fulfil the regulations and require- legal situation, reminding it that city planning duty to serve the general interest objectively, ments in competitive exams to fill posts for is a public function belonging to the Public acting in accordance with the principles of public employees. Administrations, which are responsible for it efficiency, hierarchy, decentralisation, and — The City of Santa Cruz de Tenerife, within the scope of their respective mandates. co-ordination, fully respecting the rule of law. regarding its legal duty to fulfil the applic- — The City of Vigo (Pontevedra), — The Town of Pinto (Madrid), regard- able regulations in the realm of city plan- regarding the legal duty incumbent upon it ing its legal duty to use Municipal Informa- ning, and to expressly resolve a dossier to expressly resolve whatever requests and tive Committees for the purpose for which involving patrimonial responsibility. appeals are presented by interested par- they were created. — The Town of Torrejón de Ardoz ties. — The Town of Rota (Cadiz), regarding (Madrid), regarding its legal duty to act — The Province of Leon, regarding its the legal duty incumbent upon it in the realm with efficiency and speed, removing the legal duty to apply art. 20g. of the Regula- of public entertainments and recreational obstacles delaying the implementation of tions for Spanish Ski Areas, which establish activities, including the mandate to impose any action. the obligation of the installations’ employ- sanctions in the event of possible infractions. — The Town of Torrevieja (Alicante), ees to treat users politely. — The Town of San Javier (Murcia), regarding its legal duty to attend directly to regarding the legal duty to respect citizens’ resident’s complaints when they involve right to receive notifications in the place areas under its mandate, or indirectly when Miscellaneous where the interested party has indicated they do not, by offering sufficient indica- to that effect, and not in another; as well as to tions regarding the legal requisites of the — The Cejancas (Cantabria) Resi- receive information and orientation regarding issues raised. dents Association, regarding the legal duty the legal or technical requirements that the — The Town of Valdescorriel (Zamora), incumbent upon it to expressly resolve current regulations place upon proposed pro- regarding its legal duty to obey the regula- whatever requests and appeals are present- jects. tions in force at all times and, consequently, ed by interested parties.

Appeals for unconstitutionality and legal protection

he Ombudsman has the right to pre- 1) Law 11/2004 of 29 October of issues involving marital separation and T sent appeals for unconstitutionality Navarre, updating the local regulations in divorce. and legal protection, in accordance Navarre. 10)Law 17/2005 of 19 July, regulating dri- with the Spanish Constitution and the 2) Law 13/2004 of 27 December of Valen- ving permits and licenses with a penalty General Act of Parliament regarding cia, regarding hunting. points system, and modifying the text of the the Constitutional Tribunal. The 3)Law 13/2004 of 29 December of Galicia, Traffic, Motor Vehicles and Road Security Ombudsman’s Office either did not find regarding Galicia’s budget for 2005. Law. sufficient evidence of unconstitutionali- 4) General Act of Parliament 1/2004, of 28 It should be noted that two different ty in the eleven cases presented, which December, regarding Integrated Means of requests were considered regarding an appeal requested that the Ombudsman present Protection against Gender Violence. for unconstitutionality against the aforesaid an appeal for unconstitutionality 5) Law 2/2005 of 2 March of the Balearic law, which consequently originated two reso- against different laws or specific pre- Islands, regarding the marketing of tourist lutions by the Ombudsman’s Office, printed in cepts of norms, or it was determined stays in houses and apartments. full in the complete version of the present that such appeals had already been pre- 6) Law 6/2005 of 3 June of the Balearic report and the publications cited therein. sented by other bodies constitutionally Islands, regarding the co-ordination of local 11) Law 13/2005 of 1 July, modifying the legitimated to do so. police forces in the Balearics. Civil Code regarding the right to contract mat- All of those presenting cases to the 7) Law 9/2005 of 6 June, making pen- rimony. Ombudsman were informed of the bases sions from the Compulsory Old-Age and Five different writs presented to the for decisions made in each case, and these Disability Insurance (known by its Span- Ombudsman’s Office —four from private citi- communiqués may be consulted in full in ish initials, SOVI) system compatible with zens and one from a trade union— requested the complete version of the present report widows’ pensions from the Social Security that the Ombudsman present an appeal for published by the Ombudsman’s Office on System. unconstitutionality against Law 13/2005 of 1 its website (www.defensordelpueblo.es) 8) Law 9/2005 of 16 June of Cantabria, July, which modified the Civil Code regarding and also by the Spanish Parliament. creating the Professional Association of the right to contract matrimony. The reason- The norms regarding which the Jewellers, Goldsmiths, Watchmakers, and ing behind the Ombudsman’s decision may be Ombudsman was requested to present an Gemologists of Cantabria. found in the complete version of the present appeal for unconstitutionality were the 9) Law 15/2005 of 8 July, modifying the report and on the website of the Ombuds- following: Civil Code and Law of Civil Trials regarding man’s Office, www.defensordelpueblo.es.

26 The Ombudsman • Summary of the Report for 2005 REPORT Administrations Which Have Failed to Respond to the Ombudsman or Have Been Blatantly Tardy in Doing So

s usual, the present section features the list of bodies and departments of the different Public Administrations which have not Aresponded adequately to requests or summons from the Ombudsman’s Office, thus failing to fulfil public authorities’ obligation to collaborate with this institution in an ‘urgent and preferential manner’, as established in art. 19 of the General Act of Parliament 3/1981, which regulates it. Under such circumstances, art. 18.2 of the aforesaid General Act of Parliament empowers the Ombudsman to declare such an administrative body or department to be ‘hostile or a hindrance to [the Ombudsman’s] functions’, immediately informing Parliament of such conduct and including it in the present Annual Report, or, if appropriate, in a Special Report. In application of these precepts, the following list makes manifest such actions of a negative nature that occurred over the course of 2005.

Obstructive Administrations

General State Administration — The Town of Morón de la Frontera — The Town of Peñíscola (Murcia), (Seville), regarding its conservation duties. regarding noise pollution produced by a hotel. — In the Ministry of Public Works, as — The Town of Noja (Cantabria), regarding — The Town of Torrevieja (Alicante), has become the norm in recent years, the disturbances from a bar. regarding occupying the street without paying. complaints processed through the Secre- tariat of State have to be repeated two or three times in order to obtain the issuing of the corresponding report regarding delays in payment of a fair price for forced expropriations. — The Directorate General for Civil Avi- ation, regarding recognition of an air traffic controller license issued by a foreign country.

Self-governing Community Administration

— The Department of Public Works of the Autonomous City of Ceuta, regarding difficult access to the Príncipe Alfonso shanty town.

Local Administration

— The Town of Caravaca de la Cruz (Murcia), regarding the lack of a resolution on an appeal for reversal. — The Town of Las Ventas de Reta- mosa (Toledo) regarding a septic tank. — The City of Logroño, regarding a complaint as a consequence of a zoning infraction. — The City of Merida (Badajoz), regarding laxity in its conservation duties on the part of the Municipal Administra- tion. The Ministry of Public Works is tardy in paying compensation for expropriations.

The Ombudsman • Summary of the Report for 2005 27 REPORT Complaints that Received No Reply in 2005, After Three Reminders

General State Administration affected by public works project 31-CC-505, subsequent bundling together of these stu- as well as disagreement on the fair price dents in the public school in the town of Ministry of Public Works established by the Provincial Expropriations Rincón de Beniscornia which, together with Jury, which has been appealed. similar actions taken in previous school years, — The Secretary of State for Infrastruc- had led to some parents taking their children tures and Planning, due to the works on the out of the schools because they felt that these new access highway to the Port of Vigo, Ministry of the Interior measures ended up lowering the quality of between Castrelos and Bouzas, due to which teaching, all of which could lead to the closing lot number 160-1, within the city limits of — The Directorate General for Traffic of the school. Vigo, was affecting, without having received, received a reiteration of the recommendation — The Department of Education, Univer- to date, the fair price determined by mutual of 14 September 2004, regarding modification sities, and Research of the Basque Country, agreement on 12 January 2000. of the criteria used when it is found that the was given recommendations regarding inter- — Due to public works project CN-620, data appearing in the files of the Direc- im personnel working as civil servants in this the Castilla Highway, from Burgos to Portu- torate General for Traffic do not coincide Self-governing Community. gal via Salamanca, at kilometric point with those appearing on a citizen’s National — The Department of Land Management 74.4/86.6, between Magaz and Venta de I.D. Card (known by its Spanish initials, and Housing of the Valencia Region was Baños, which affected lot number 117-4, DNI), and a civil servant considers that there asked to provide a report on complaints property of the interested party, within the could have been an error in the issuing of said regarding illegal construction. town limits of Venta de Baños (Palencia). document. — All of the above bodies were sent a third Although the fair price was paid in 1995, the summons. interest due for late payment has yet to be received, despite repeated requests for such Self-governing Administrations payment. Local Administrations — Due to the Levante Highway public — The Department of Public Works and works project: at kilometric point 19.6 to Transportation of Andalusia was asked for a — The City of Alicante, regarding the 42.0, on the Arganda and Perales de Tajuña report on the elimination of a railway cross- impossibility of obtaining residence card, alternative route, key T3-ÇM-4800, which ing in La Palma del Condado (Huelva) and given the cost and inconvenience involved for affected lots number 137 P, 229 P, and 231 the elimination two railway crossings in Gádor those persons who do not have their own P, within the town limits of Perales de (Almeria). parking space. Tajuña (Madrid), whose fair price, deter- — The Department of Education and Sci- — The Town of Altea (Alicante), regard- mined by the Provincial Expropriations Jury, ence of Asturias was asked for a report on a ing the poor state of conservation of a hous- was determined on 28 October 1992, paid on 6 property of cultural interests affected by a ing development in the town, as well as the July 1994, and then late-payment interest construction project. lack of any kind of services. paid on 18 July 1995, although this lengthy — The Department of the Environment, — The Town of Alzira (Valencia), regard- delay generated interest on the interest, Land Management, and Infrastructures of ing a complaint for the situation of abandon- which was approved by a resolution dated 29 Asturias was asked for a report regarding ment of a shanty town, and another sum- September 1998, which to date has not been dumping on a beach. mons due to hydrocarbons pollution. paid. — The Provincial Agrarian Chamber of — The City of Barcelona, regarding the — Due to the public works project 31-PO- Ciudad Real was asked for a report on the refusal to adjudicate the interested party a 501, improvements on the CN-640 platform adjudication of a locale resulting from an stand at the artisans fair in Reis de Santa between Vegadeo and Vilagarcía, which exchange for a lot in Puertollano (Ciudad Lucía. resulted in the expropriation of lot number Real), belonging to a farmworkers associa- — The Town of Barruelo de Santullán 060, with the interested party being paid the tion. (Palencia), regarding the lack of running fair price established by the Provincial Expro- — The Department of Agriculture and water in a home in the town, despite the fact priation Jury of Pontevedra via a resolution the Environment of Extremadura was asked that the owner had made repeated requests 14 February 1998, although the late-payment for a report regarding the lack of response to for such service in the last few years. interest due has yet to be paid. a complaint presented by an animal welfare — The Town of Becerril de la Sierra — Due to the appeal to a higher court of association regarding the illegal slaughtering (Madrid) was asked to provide a report (and 25 February 2003 against the agreement on hogs in Barquilla de Pinares (Caceres). expanded information) on the problems suf- reached by the Demarcation of State High- — The Department of Environmental fered by a resident in the town due to hav- ways in Aragon which declared that the over- Affairs and Land Management of Madrid ing her water cut off. all amount decided by mutual agreement was asked for a report on planning modifica- — The Town of Benalmádena (Malaga) included every aspect of the total payment, tions. was asked for a report on the installation of a including the interest which may have gener- — It was asked, on 1 October 2004, for a vertical awning on a public street without a ated from the legal determination date to the report regarding the lack of response to license. date of signing, having passed the legal dead- a request for the annulment of fencing — The City of Benidorm (Alicante) was line for resolving this type of appeal. licenses. asked to report on the motives due to which it — Due to disagreement on the assess- — The Department of Education and had yet to return the fee paid for a vehicle ments made by the Town of Casas del Cas- Culture of the Murcia Region was asked for being towed, after the sanction leading to this tañar (Caceres) for various lots which were a report on the elimination of a unit and action had been filed.

28 The Ombudsman • Summary of the Report for 2005 REPORT

— The Town of Beteta (Cuenca) was irregularities in the construction of a build- — The City of Toledo was asked to report asked to report on the lack of response to two ing on highway C-500, in an urban area and on the de facto occupation of approximate- complaints involving the sale of certain com- at a distance of 7.4 m from the edge of the ly 10,000 square metres of a farm next to munal goods without their being previous road pavement. Highway N-301 in industrial park 41, lot rezoned, and regarding the adjudication of — The Town of Liendo (Cantabria) was 504, due to a construction project promoted hunting grounds. asked to report, on 12 May 2004, regarding the by the municipal authorities, involving a — The Town of Boceguillas (Segovia) refusal to authorise access from a state one-way bridge as part of building an alter- was asked to report on the refusal to autho- highway to a private home. nate route to Highway N-400 as it goes rise access from a state highway to a house. — The Town of Llanes (Asturias) was through the Town of Ocaña. Moreover, access — The Town of Cabañas del Castillo asked to report on the lack of agreement to the farm has been cut off, and a completely (Caceres) was asked to report on the alleged regarding the zoning classification of a lot. unusable path has been built. rude treatment received from the Secretary — The Town of Marbella (Malaga) was — The Town of Torrevieja (Alicante) has of the aforesaid Municipal Administration. asked to report on a complaint regarding been asked to report on construction within — The Town of Calpe (Alicante) was zoning irregularities. a public shore area. asked to report on the lack of response on — The Town of Méntrida (Toledo) was — The Town of Valdestillas (Valladolid) the part of the Calpe Joint Municipal Water notified of a recommendation, on 18 was asked to report on the demand of pay- Company to the appeal regarding bills from November 2004, regarding inappropriate ment of a price higher than that stipulated the year 2003. use of data included in the municipal cen- originally, in the acquisition of public hous- — The Town of Camargo (Santander) sus. ing. was asked to report on a concrete warehouse — The City of Merida (Badajoz) was — The Town of Valverde de la Virgen blocking access to a plot of land. asked to report on its inactivity regarding a (Leon) was asked to report on construction — The Town of Canencia de Carracedelo zoning sanction. deficiencies. (Leon) was asked to report on unlicensed — The Town of Moralzarzal (Madrid) — The Town of Villamiel (Caceres) was construction failing to meet technical regu- was asked to report on deficiencies in unfin- asked to report on a request for a copy of a lations. ished city planning works. document which had not been provided by — The Town of Canencia de la Sierra — The Town of Nalda (Logroño) was municipal authorities. (Madrid) was asked to report on the fact that asked to report on the decision to declare a — The Town of Vinarós (Castellon) was the interested party had requested, on 26 building a ruin. asked to provide a report regarding the dis- June 2001, economic information and the — The Town of Peñíscola (Castellon) turbances produced by a locale. budgets from recent years, without receiv- was asked to report on the noise in a — The City of Zaragoza was asked to ing any reply. nightlife district in the historic centre. report on a complaint regarding unlicensed — The Town of Carballo (Corunna) was — The City of Pontevedra was asked to construction which affected the outside asked to report on an excessive delay in pro- report on its inactivity regarding a com- appearance of a building. cessing a sanction. plaint about unlicensed construction. — The Residents Association of Terán, — The Town of Cehegín (Murcia) was — The Town of Pozo Alcón (Jaen) was from the Town of Cabuérniga (Cantabria) asked to report on the deficient state of an asked to report on the nuisance produced was asked to report on its delay in resolving adjoining roof. by a hog farm. a complaint opening regarding the reopen- — The Town of Cilleros (Caceres) was — The Town of Sa Pobla (Balearic ing of a public road between the La Torre asked to report on a preliminary project for Islands) was asked to report on comple- and Sepoyo districts. building an animal feed warehouse, about mentary project number 2 of the public which no information had been received. works to reopen the Inca-Sa Pobla-Alcud- — The Town of Deltebre (Tarragona) ia line, phase one, stretch between Inca and Miscellaneous was asked to report on the conditions under Sa Pobla. which a licence was granted for building a — The Town of San Vitero (Zamora) — The General Council of Spanish kennel. was sent a reminder regarding its legal duty Lawyers was asked to report on the possible — The Town of El Molar (Madrid) was to respect the Spanish Constitution and refusal on the part of the central Magis- asked to report on water damage caused by the hiring laws, as well as to collaborate trates’ Courts to provide copies of its rulings the general system. with the Ombudsman’s investigations. to the lawyers requesting them, basing this — The Town of Finestrat (Alicante) was — The Town of Santa María La Real de refusal on agreements with the National asked to report on the order to stop the fenc- Nieva (Segovia) was asked to report on the Criminal Court. ing of a piece of property. requirement to pay, by court order, water — The Council of Bar Associations of the — The Town of Fuente de Piedra (Mala- and sewage fees, without having previous- Community of Madrid was sent a suggestion ga) was asked to report on the Municipal ly sent the bills during the voluntary pay- that it deal with a dossier, which originated a Government’s inactivity regarding fulfilment period. complaint, according to the regulations in force. ment of city planning norms. — The Town of Segura de la Sierra Due to lack of space, we do not include — The Town of Getxo (Biscay) was asked (Jaen) was asked to report on the bad state here the list of those Administrations which to report on the sacking of personnel from of the access road to a farm situated with- answered the third summons from the the municipal political group belonging to in the town limits, which at certain times of Ombudsman in 2003 or 2004. The majority the Popular Party. year becomes unusable, since it is cut off by of these Administrations responded over the — The Town of Guadalupe (Caceres) streams of water in three places, without course of 2005. The list of Ministries, Self- was asked to report on the demolition of a any bridges. governing Community and Local Adminis- building. — The City of Seville was asked to report trations, and other public bodies included — The Town of Hoyocasero (Avila) on the disturbances caused by an outdoor in this category may be found in the com- was asked to report on alleged zoning café-bar. plete version of the present report.

The Ombudsman • Summary of the Report for 2005 29 REPORT Highlights of the Ombudsman’s Budget for the Year 2005

he following aspects can be highlighted in — Constant efforts were made to rein in • Mr Múgica-Herzog was elected as Tthe execution of the budget for 2005: everyday management costs. President of the Ibero-American Federation — High budget execution index: 99.96%. — Culmination of Phase Two of the of Ombudsmen (known by its Spanish ini- This is the highest percentage of the last four Ombudsman’s Technological Renovation tials, FIO), for a two-year term, from 2006 years. Plan: In April 2005, a new system for com- to 2007. — Improvements of the Institution’s head plaints management was up and running, with • The agreement with the University of offices and other facilities: In November the aim of improving processing, security, and Alcalá de Henares continued: its most signif- 2005, the Directorate General for State Prop- service to the public. It was financed com- icant initiatives included the ceremony dur- erties began the rehabilitation works at the pletely with the working budget, and has been ing which TM the King and Queen of Spain Ombudsman’s Office headquarters on calle adjusted according to the means and aims of gave the 1st King of Spain Human Rights Eduardo Dato, 31, which made it necessary the Ombudsman’s Office. Award to the Brazilian organisation Pastoral to move some of the personnel to the offices — Regarding institutional issues, high- da Criança, for its efforts involving more than nearby at Zurbano, 42, as well as rented lights include: 1.4 million children, to reduce malnutrition, premises at Zurbano, 71, having a surface area • Mr Enrique Múgica-Herzog was re- which led to cutting the mortality rate in half. of approximately 1200 m2, where some 65 per- elected as Ombudsman for a five-year term, The finalists with the Mexican Red Cross and sons are provisionally working. from 2005-2010. the National Widows Confederation of Guatemala. Moreover, the University collaborated on the 2nd Human Rights Master’s Pro- gramme. • Signing of the Third Protocol annexed to the agreement with UNICEF for updating the study on violence in the schools and, more specifically, violence affecting students in compulsory secondary education (known as ESO in Spain). This study should be finished at the end of 2006. • Signing an agreement with Miguel Hernández University in Elche, to organise a seminar on ‘Humanitarian Action and Social Exclusion in Developed Countries’, held 9-11 June 2005. Various summer courses were organised at different universities on issues involving human rights: — Menéndez Pelayo International Uni- versity, a seminar on ‘The Protection of Eco- nomic, Social, and Cultural Rights’. — University of the Balearic Islands On the right, the Ombudsman’s temporary headquarters on Zurbano, 42, during the renovation (Ibiza), a course on ‘Human Rights in Europe works at the old headquarters on Eduardo Dato, 31, on the left. from the Ombudsman’s Perspective’.

Citizens’ Information Services

he Ombudsman believes that it is such as services provided over the tele- and the telephone calls received via its T important to measure certain aspects phone, visits received by the Ombuds- free 900 number, mostly asking for infor- reflecting the institution’s activities, man’s Office personnel at its headquarters, mation.

TABLE 27. Number of telephone calls and visits in 2005 which involved citizens’ services Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Total Office visits...... 195 166 205 233 189 166 162 153 187 196 167 124 2,143 Telephone consultations...... 657 647 670 691 804 770 700 452 728 700 600 465 7,884 Free 900 number ... 258 305 311 347 372 310 360 295 310 374 358 235 3,835

30 The Ombudsman • Summary of the Report for 2005 REPORT Updating Computer Applications

he Master Plan for Information Systems carried out at the Ombuds- and to this end, all of its personnel were provided with a card incorporat- Tman’s Office embarked on a project of processing re-engineering ing a computer chip, which could carry out the following functions: and administrative streamlining which would, in the end, determine — Digital certificate of authentication and access to computer sys- our current organisation and the requisites of our main information systems from workstations. tem: the Complaint Files Management System (Spanish initials, GEX). — Digital certification of electronic signature. This new system began operating in April 2004, and now encompasses — Authorise entry to the Ombudsman’s Office installations. nearly all of the Ombudsman’s Office computer needs, being the corner- — Identification card for personnel outside of the office. stone supporting 90% of its work.

Advantages of the System Objectives of the GEX System — Standardisation and systematisation in processing procedures. The main objectives of this project have been to simplify and optimise — Changing the models of work organisation, from a batch approach the working processes, improve information security and processing, and to one of online processing. cut processing times, as well as encompassing the Electronic Signature — Cutting a significant volume of paperwork within the Ombudsman’s project, based on certificates expedited by the National Mint (known by Office, including the elimination of trolleys filled with complaint forms. its Spanish initials, FNMT), covering two main aspects: — Raising staff productivity, since they can devote their time to high- — The possibility of enabling citizens to sign complaints electronical- er value-added tasks. ly, sending them from the Ombudsman’s website; Electronically signing — Better control of complaints processing, steadily improving ser- communiqués regarding complaints sent by the Ombudsman to citizens vice. or the Administration. The year 2005 has been one of consolidating and optimising this Regarding the first point, there was a noteworthy rise in complaints solution, basically working on training users in the new system, and sent from the website rather than via regular post: in 2005, 4 out of every systematically introducing improvements. 10 complaints were sent via the website. Above all, it has been a year for drawing conclusions, and review- Another important new development was the incorporation of electron- ing the objectives of excellence that have been defined, and which we ic signatures into all of the communiqués sent by the Ombudsman’s Office, shall continue to pursue.

Digital ID card of the Ombudsman, like that used by the Office’s personnel for acceding to their workplaces.

Rise in Complaints Received via the Website

ver the course of 2005, the use of the the steady rise in individual complaints made via associations or other kinds of OOmbudsman’s website has become con- via the website’s online form, now accounting organisations, continue to use the solidated. During 2004, a total of 116,576 visits for 40% of the total. postal service, rather than the website. were made, with hits on 545,520 pages. This Nevertheless, it is worth noting that Table 28 details the types of complaints has become especially evident, for example, in collective complaints, usually promoted received.

TABLE 28. Complaints received via the Ombudsman’s website and by post in 2005

2005 complaints Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Total Website complaints ...... 658 614 724 496 387 403 432 343 404 687 596 450 6,194 Postal complaints...... 620 749 2,383 2,814 2,843 2,648 1,717 5,054 5,028 4,164 4,598 798 33,416 MONTHLY TOTAL ...... 1,278 1,363 3,107 3,310 3,230 3,051 2,149 5,397 5,432 4,851 5,194 1,248 39,610

The Ombudsman • Summary of the Report for 2005 31 CIVIL SERVANTS AND EMPLOYMENT Complaints Regarding Selection Processes and Competitive Civil Service Exams

Fewer National Civil Servants, More Civil Servants of Self-governing Communities

he civil service corps has been undergoing a steady transformation in recent years, since the number of state employees belonging Tto the National Administration has fallen, whereas civil servants of self-governing communities, and to a lesser extent, municipal employees, have been on the rise, as Spain’s decentralisation process continues apace. Since 1998, Spain’s Self-governing Communities Administrations have practically doubled their number of civil servants, currently 49.9% of the total, with 22.5% belonging to the National Administration, and 23.7% to municipalities. The remaining 3.9% are university personnel. Throughout 2005, the Ombudsman’s Office has received many complaints from this collective, which account for 5.45% of the total from residents in Spain; moreover, there were other complaints from citizens who had taken part in competitive exams for admission to the civil service corps.

oteworthy in this category are the with the way in which exams were adminis- or that extra points were given to those reg- N complaints referring to the pensions tered, because they were not allowed to see istered as living in the municipality where of those who were elected mayors and city a copy of their own exam for an appeal, or the selection process was held. Likewise, councilmen during the first local democ- due to the delays in publishing the destina- another citizen complained about the ratic elections, and who held their posts tions of successful candidates in the Boletín demand for payment in order to sit an exam, full-time without being able to enjoy the Oficial del Estado (Official Spanish even in the case of unemployed persons; oth- benefits of the National Social Security Gazette), once they had passed the selection er complaints were registered against cer- System, because the regulations in effect process. tain townships which, with the excuse of at the time did not contemplate this pos- Moreover, there were complaints that the urgency or special needs, contracted pri- sibility. requirements for certain selection processes vately personnel who, due to the functions to Other complaints have referred, for exam- were written in such a way that they gave be carried out, should have been civil ser- ple, to the anomalous functioning of the the qualifying tribunal a great deal of lee- vants; or against townships which wrote up computers which were used for practical way, since they failed to specify the points the requirements for a selection process tests, or to certain candidates’ disagreement corresponding to each specific qualification, specifically in order to favour those who

Incidents still occur in the different phases of the selection process for the civil service corps.

32 The Ombudsman • Summary of the Report for 2005 CIVIL SERVANTS AND EMPLOYMENT already had temporary positions in the local would be given fixed positions, an issue seniority rights, so that guarantees could be government. which has generated different complaints obtained for students to be taught in Span- Some of the complaints registered by civ- over the course of the year. Order 4034/2005 ish and in Basque, as well as for the teachers il servants brought up problems which of 12 December, of the Ministry of Health who failed to meet the requisites of language should be solved through the new Basic and Consumer Affairs, once again modified proficiency to be able to keep their jobs, Statute of Public Employment, a draft ver- the deadline for bringing this process to an which had been agreed upon with the sion of which is being drawn up by the Min- end. In this case, by extending another 12 Basque Administration regarding its interim istry of Public Administrations. months the deadline established in the sin- teaching personnel, seeking out conciliatory gle article of Royal Decree 9/2004, so that it proposals able to avoid infringing on the is now December 2006. principles that should always be utmost in Mobility of Civil Servants Another issue under study is that of the the functioning of public administrations. Health Technicians corps, due to a national In the end, the process of decentralising the Regarding the mobility of public employ- strike called by the organisations represent- teaching corps for Basic General Education in ees, given the difficulties existing until now ing these professionals, demanding that the Penitentiary Institutions, transferring for certain categories or geographical areas, their certification and training be standard- these employees to Aragon, Cantabria, and the in application of the stipulations in Royal ised in order to become equivalent to those Balearic Islands has ended or is about to end, Decree 121/2005 of 4 February, through the in other European Union countries. so that now only the Basque Country remains, offers of public employment for 2005 was since this Government maintains that the approved, a new focus has been given to the process should include wider-ranging negotia- regulation of civil servants belonging to the Public Schoolteachers tions regarding the Penitentiary Administra- General State Administration, doing away tion, which the Central Government, for the with the classification of departments and Amongst the issues raised in the com- moment, has not considered opportune. territories into having a personnel surplus plaints received in this area, noteworthy is Referring to time off for breastfee- or deficit, which has put an end to the exclu- the rejection of the request to act through a ding, the Educational Administration of sions for participating in competitive selec- representative in the presentation prior to Extremadura has announced that it intends tion processes which were previously the competitive exam for access to the corps to make the conditions for having such time applied to civil servants in those ministries, of secondary public schoolteachers in off more flexible, adjusting them to the mod- bodies, or territories defined as having a per- Andalusia. ifications carried out by the Central State sonnel deficit. Considering that the presentation is not Administration and other Autonomous During 2005, no relevant complaints, nor included in the basic norms regulating Administrations, so that workers with a significant number of complaints, were access to the teaching corps, and during this infants under nine months of age could received which would confirm a notable rise event participants are merely informed of a leave their workplace for an hour, divided in situations of workplace harassment with- series of guidelines, which require no contri- into two fractions, or reduce the usual work- in the public administrations, which the rise bution on the part of contestants aimed at day by half an hour at the beginning and half in previous years would have seemed to indi- obtaining any demonstration of their knowl- an hour at the end, or an hour at the begin- cate —undoubtedly very good news. edge or skills, it was recommended that, as ning or the end, and that this measure was However, given the importance of this in other Spanish Self-governing Comunities, to be put into practice within the civil ser- issue, all of the cases have been studied with Andalusia contemplate the possibility that vice corps. the greatest attention in order to determine candidates could be present at the event more precisely the truth of the complaints through a duly accredited representative. received, although this is very difficult, due Mobility of the Teaching Corps to the contradictory versions that appear in such situations. Demands for Proficiency in Co-Official Complaints are also still being received Languages in Self-governing Communities regarding the mobility of teachers, questioning the systems of competitive processes for Statutory Personnel in the Health Regarding the problems which continue transferring civil servants from the sec- Services to arise as to the accreditation of proficien- ondary school teaching corps, given the fact cy in the Basque language for civil servants that the Autonomous Administrations offer The need to develop a legal framework for in the Basque Country, a highlight is the vis- more jobs, and more attractive ones, than these personnel, having a special relation- it to the Ombudsman by a group of interim those offered in competitive processes on a ship with the civil service corps —on the teachers in the non-university public school national level. Having compared the data basis of the regulations established in the system, who explained the impact on them regarding the national competitive process- Law for Cohesion and Quality in the Nation- of the Stability Agreement between the es in 2002-2003, and the Autonomous ones in al Health System, in the Framework Statute, Administration and some trade unions of 5 2003-2004, it appears that this trend has and in the Regulatory Law for the health July 2004, published as Decree 158/2004 of been reversed, ad that overall, more vacan- professions— has led to the opening of 27 July, which had introduced the requisite cies have been available in the national com- three ex-officio investigations, currently of accrediting proficiency in order to main- petitive process. underway, regarding the regulation and tain one’s position, without applying any sys- Related to the right to free circulation of development of this legal framework, which tem of exemptions, as included in previous citizens of Member States of the European is essential for the co-ordination and cohe- agreements from 1998 and 2002, meaning Union, it is noteworthy that there is a regu- sion of the National Health System. that those who failed to meet this prerequi- latory gap regarding article 89 of General Due to its impact on the general problems site would lose their jobs over time. Act of Parliament 6/2001 of 21 December, on involved in human resource management, Even though, since this issue was in the Universities, which should establish the pro- mention should be made of the series of midst of legal proceedings, the Ombuds- cedures and conditions under which profes- delays in concluding the selection process man’s Office had to abstain from intervening sors from Member States of the European for statutory personnel positions established directly, it was considered necessary to Union may receive equivalent status. by Law 16/2001 of 21 November, which stip- advise these teachers that it would be desir- The Ministry of Education and Science ulated that a number of interim personnel able for them to make compatible their has indicated that the procedure will be

The Ombudsman • Summary of the Report for 2005 33 CIVIL SERVANTS AND EMPLOYMENT applied only to those professors from univer- Ministry of Education and Science has to management problems—in the cases sities of Member States of the European announced that the greater or lesser success examined— involving the implantation of Union and the European Economic Space in of these evaluations is strongly determined new computer applications. which the faculty has been selected via pub- by the development over time and by the licly controlled proceedings comparable to international parameters operative in each Personnel from Penitentiary Institutions those of the national selection process in the area of knowledge, and its homologation Spanish university system, and that appli- with the international standards of each dis- Some workers stationed at the peniten- cants should accredit the fact that they have cipline. tiary installations in Valencia have regis- held a professorship equivalent to those of Insofar as the formalisation of these crite- tered complaints with the Ombudsman’s civil servants from the Spanish university ria is concerned, it was explained that the Office, claiming that they are overloaded teaching corps, during five years over the CNEAI is the party most interested in detail- with responsibilities at their work cen- previous ten immediately prior to presenting ing these criteria more precisely, but that tres due to lack of material and human their application, in a university within the this is not easy to do in those areas in which resources, a situation which they consider to European Union or the European Economic research is not very active and which, if the have an impact on their personal as well as Space. Committee had only to judge in areas such their working life, and on the attention as theoretical physics, organic chemistry, or being given to the prisoners at the centre. molecular biology, the evaluations could be A situation of understaffing has also been Evaluations of Teaching Personnel highly regulated, with a low degree of sub- reported in the surveillance area of the Teix- jectivity. eiro Penitentiary Centre (Corunna), accen- Regarding the complaints related to the The data provided have contributed tuated by a notable rise in the number of evaluation of university professors, the Sec- to clarifying the situations under considera- inmates. retary of State for Universities and Research tion, and have made it possible to acquire a The system of internal promotion of civil has announced that it aims to adopt certain global viewpoint regarding the evalua- servants has been questioned in peniten- measures, as a consequence of the recom- tions made by the CNEAI and the results tiary circles, given that a member of the mendations made by the Ombudsman last obtained. corps of specialised technicians, from the year as to the evaluation procedures for hir- Notwithstanding, it is important to bear group integrated into the penitentiary ser- ing teaching and research personnel, car- in mind that, although the Supreme Court vices of the Catalan Administration, sta- ried out by the National Agency for Quality sentence of 5 July 1996 exonerates the tioned at the Castellon Penitentiary Centre, Assessment and Accreditation (ANECA), CNEAI of handing down unjustified deci- objected to the fact that they were not able and has committed itself to carrying out the sions, this legal decision should not be inter- to gain access, via internal promotion, to the necessary legal modifications, in order to preted as an enabling clause justifying that special corps for Penitentiary Institutions of mitigate the deficiencies indicated and the resolutions handed down in the evalua- the Central Penitentiary Administration. to fulfil, at least partially, the recommendation processes lack a sufficiently detailed In keeping with the Ombudsman’s recom- tions expressed. The Directorate General for argumentation, so that the professors being mendation, it has been agreed to create a Universities has published its Resolution of evaluated are unable to know the process working group involving the Directorate 18 February 2005, regarding the procedures through which a certain decision has been General for Civil Servants and the Direc- for presenting applications. made. torate General for Penitentiary Institutions Regarding follow-up on previous actions to deal with this issue. related to the deficiencies observed in the actions of the National Committee for The Justice Administration the Evaluation of Research (CNEAI), the Personnel Stationed in the Military Regarding the management of personnel Administration working for the Justice Administration in Madrid, a complaint has been registered Over the course of 2005, the Ombuds- regarding the expedition of the correspond- man’s Office has continued its actions initi- ing professional ID card, so that civil ser- ated with the Undersecretary of Defence vants may identify themselves when enter- regarding the situation of those commis- ing the premises of judicial bodies, and sioned officers, troops and seamen on short- which they are currently not being issued. term contracts who had ended their rela- The mobility of personnel at the service of tionship of providing professional services, the Justice Administration is a right that in keeping with the stipulations of Law cannot be guaranteed continuously through 17/1999 of 18 May, regarding Armed Forces the corresponding competitive selection personnel. processes for transfers, in order to meet the The Military Administration accepted expectations of these professionals regard- the recommendation made last year, in the ing family reunification, as well as long-term sense that this should Department carry out, planning for a stable personal and profes- within the scope of its jurisdiction, the neces- sional life, so that special attention has been sary actions to make it possible, in a minimal devoted to observing the filling of job vacan- period of time, to approve a new set of cy openings, given that some citizens have norms, or modify the one in force, in order to complained that, since 2003, the Ministry of enable those military personnel on tempo- Justice has not conducted any competitive rary contracts, who were on medical leave processes for transfers in this civil service for psychological or physical reasons, to corps. finalise their commitment with the Armed Regarding salaries, it is worth noting the Forces, and be able to receive the benefits to The differences in pay amongst different difficulties that continue to arise in certain which they are entitled under the aforesaid police forces is a constant source of departments to fully implement the econom- Law 17/1999, and not be left, after years of complaints. ic rights of their civil servants, generally due providing their professional services, in a

34 The Ombudsman • Summary of the Report for 2005 CIVIL SERVANTS AND EMPLOYMENT situation of abandonment. The Military processed opportunely, thus upholding the the necessary measures for carrying them Administration pointed out that it is drawing principles of providing security and legal out will be approved. up a draft Law on Professional Troops and guarantees. Seamen which would stipulate that those who, at the moment of ending their commit- Personnel Working for ment to the Armed Forces, were in a situa- The Civil Guard. A petition was rejected Public Administrations tion of occupational disability, due to an ill- from a civil guard who had asked that and Organisations ness or accident arising from their service, a Military ID Card be issued for his would have their rights to unemployment common-law partner, due to the The need to guarantee, on the part of the benefits and health care guaranteed. understanding that the condition of different public administrations, respect for spouse, required under the norms the constitutional principles that should regulating the right to use this ID, could preside over access to public employment in Security Forces and Corps not be considered the equivalent, to all the processes of selecting and providing for effects, of stable relationships involving personnel working for them, continues to be National Police Corps and Local Police. cohabitation. The Ombudsman’s Office a constant in the supervisory activity of the In keeping with the order from the Ministry expressed the opinion to the Civil Guard Ombudsman’s Office, as shown by the inter- of the Interior approving, provisionally, the that it should adjust to new social ventions stemming from the lack of respect regulations organising the internal func- realities, and recommended that the for the prerequisites specified for competi- tioning of the Police Council, it should hold opportune instructions be made, to tively filling vacancies. ordinary plenary meetings at least once the effect that the right to a Military ID An intervention was also carried out every two months; however, a complaint Card for family members of Civil Guard regarding the conditions under which ser- from the year 2004 stated that only one personnel should be extended to persons vices are rendered in the public administra- ordinary plenary meeting of the Police who cohabit in a marital fashion with the tions on the part of personnel under contract, Council had been held, at an essential member of the corps who is source of that attending to the complaint presented by car- moment for the structural modification of right, under the same terms stipulated for diologists of the Central Defence Hospital of the Directorate General for the Police, a spouses, pensioned widows and widowers, Madrid, who asked for adequate legal regula- possible modification of the catalogue of and orphans, and that, consequently, the tion of civilian medical personnel’s turns on job categories, and study of raising salaries. wording of the norms in force should be duty, so that, given the circumstances Once the opportune investigation got modified. involved and the regulations established for underway, the Ministry of the Interior indi- On another subject, the Ombudsman’s other personnel carrying out comparable cated that, due to the fact that general Office has been following up on the actions functions, the factor of age could be consid- elections had been held, leading to the for- first carried out in 1999, regarding medical ered as determining the limits for whether mation of the current Government and leave for psychological motives, and sui- these physicians can be required to be on restructuring of ministerial departments, cides, on the part of Civil Guard personnel, duty at night or on weekends. it had been considered advisable to delay since members of the Corps and their fami- In light of the contents of the Workplace any new meetings of the Police Council, lies continue to report that tensions with Accidents Prevention Law, on the protection and therefore during 2004, only two ordi- superiors and disciplinary sanctions are the due to specially sensitive workers, regarding nary plenary meetings had been held; how- principal causes of this. the stipulations of the Sole Collective Agree- ever, in fulfilment of the Ombudsman’s rec- Specifically, information was requested ment for personnel of the General State ommendation, the Directorate General for on the number of civil guards granted leave Administration, it was suggested that the the Police set itself the goal of fulfilling, in for psychological motives, and of those who Ministry of Defence consider the advisability the future, the number of meetings stipu- had committed suicide, since the last figures of carrying out an assessment of the real lated in the regulations in force. were made public in 2001, which referred to needs of the Cardiology Service at the afore- Regarding the rights of petitioners, the the year 1999 and the first trimesters of said hospital, as well as the number of per- City of Madrid has been informed that the 2000; and specially, on whether there had sons necessary in order to provide adequate fact that it does not given them an official been an increase or decrease in such cases, health services, and that it then proceed to receipt is a source of legal insecurity, and as seemed to be the trend indicated by the draw up a proposal for regulating medical causes a sense of unease in the citizen latest report available. Moreover, it was duty for these workers, so that this modality making the complaint. asked that specific information be provided of service could be adjusted to their situa- The obligation to provide a receipt in no on the measures being adopted or planned tion, considering the possibility of exemp- way changes the consideration that should with the aim of preventing these situations, tion after a certain age. be given to the petition, but such a receipt as well as to determine in which zones the Another subject for intervention has been would serve as a guarantee, to the peti- highest, or more significant, number of such the lengthy period of suspending the con- tioner, that the Administration has indeed incidents had occurred. tract of a worker who was on forced leave received the written complaint, and that From the data provided by the Direc- after a period of incarceration due to a judi- the opportune investigation is going to be torate General for the Civil Guard, it can be cial sentence, whose request to return to carried out; it is also a guarantee that the deduced that there has been a rise in the active duty had been turned down due to local administration is acting transparent- number of those given psychological leave lack of vacancies. In such situations it is ly and efficiently at the service of its citi- during every year except for 2001. As to sui- necessary to speed up the resolution of zens. cides, the number rose in 2000, 2001, and these kinds of petitions, given that having a For all of these reasons, it was recom- 2002; fell sharply in 2003; and then rose job is an essential requisite for being con- mended that the City of Madrid give the again in 2004 and 2005. ceded the penitentiary benefit of the so- opportune instructions so that the compe- To prevent such situations, the 2nd Suici- called third degree (a prison furlough pro- tent bodies would provide, generally speak- dal Behaviour Prevention Plan has been put gramme), which is why it was decided that ing, receipts for the written petitions into effect; regarding psychological leave, a the Directorate General for Civil Servants received, so that the petitioners would have working group has been created, whose con- should provide an urgent solution. Finally, evidence that their petitions had indeed clusions and proposals will be analysed to the worker was authorised to return to his been received and that they were going to be determine their viability and, if appropriate, job.

The Ombudsman • Summary of the Report for 2005 35 DEFENCE AND HOME AFFAIRS Steady Rise in the Prison Population

he year 2005 marked the highest number of prisoners in Spanish jails: on 9 December 2005, it reached 61,405, a record for Spain’s T democratic era. As to preventive prisoners, the highest number was reached on 16 September, with 14,435. In recent years, the Ombudsman’s Office has been expressing its concern over the steady rise in the penitentiary population. This trend moderated some- what in 2005, but it remains steady.

n 2005, the Ombudsman’s Office visited Prisoners’ Health pointing out the problem of the legal Ithe penitentiaries of Barcelona (for vacuum suffered by Spanish victims of men), Barcelona (for women), Bilbao, The Ombudsman also took interest terrorist attacks committed abroad Naclares de Oca, Navalcarnero, Pam- in seriously ill prisoners, in order to pro- before September 2001, and their fami- plona, San Sebastian, Valladolid, Madrid mote the application, in such cases, ly members, in order to know whether (Victoria Kent), Avila, Gerona, and Oca- of the previsions established in art. some sort of legislative initiative in this ña I. 196 of the Penitentiary Regulations, regard was planned. ranging from those regarding dental The High Commissioner sent the Ombuds- treatment to the transfer of prisoners to man a report on a draft for a ‘Law for Deaths in Prison hospitals for ordinary consultations, the Protection of Victims of Terrorism’. which sometimes failed to occur, whether At the request of the High Commission, Cause for concern is the number of due to problems involved in custody dur- and regarding the stance of the Ombuds- deaths from suicide or the effects of psy- ing the trip, or problems involving the man’s Office regarding Spanish victims of chotropic substances in penitentiary set- hospitals themselves. terrorist attacks committed abroad before tings. The Ombudsman always investi- The problem of drug addiction in prison September 2001, the Ombudsman’s Office gates all reported cases of deaths in is a continuing one. The figures are dis- has responded that it is completely in prison, following up on the tasks which heartening, and confirm the triple associ- favour of granting the maximum recogni- in such cases are within the jurisdiction ation of drugs/crime/prison. According to tion and benefits possible to those per- of the Penitentiary Institution, touching the study ‘Drug Addicts in Prison: Con- sons. on such issues as prevention of suicide sumption and Risk Practices’ cited in the risk and the fight against drug addiction 2004 Report regarding ‘Drug Addiction and its impact on prisoners. Intervention Programmes in Prisons’ The ‘Roquetas Case’ In 2005, an ex-officio investigation was (Report by the Deputy Director-General launched as the consequence of a story for Prison Health, sent to the Ombudsman The death of a citizen at the Civil Guard appearing in the news referring to the in October 2005), 77.2% of prisoners con- station in Roquetas de Mar (Almeria) high number of deaths in prison settings. sumed drugs in the month before they after being detained in July 2005 caused a As part of this ex-officio investigation, went to jail, generally more than one sub- major social uproar. The Ombudsman information was requested regarding all stance. opened up on ex-officio investigation known cases. Moreover, as indicated in the aforesaid regarding the matter. As reported in the The Directorate General of Peniten- report, they frequently have illnesses media, various members of the Civil tiary Institutions sent the Ombudsman a associated with HIV/AIDS, hepatitis B and Guard from that station were accused in a detailed report regarding all such deaths, C, tuberculosis, sexually transmitted dis- judicial proceeding that was underway, from which it was deduced that there eases, and mental disorders. Other char- and had adopted, apparently, cautionary were three basic causes: natural death acteristics of the drug addicts who are disciplinary measures. due to the worsening of a previously exist- sent to jail is their lack of proper groom- The Directorate General for the Civil ing conditions (e.g., HIV, hepatitis), ing and hygiene habits, deficient knowl- Guard was asked for a report on the disci- drugs (overdose or adverse reaction, edge regarding the risks of getting sick, plinary measures which had been taken sometimes a methadone overdose), and lack of previous contact with health regarding the civil guards involved in the suicide—the latter generally by hanging, services and drug-addiction treatment ser- case, as well as the use of defence mea- although there were some cases of ingest- vices, low educational level, personality sures that were against regulations. In ing caustic substances or carbon monox- disorders, dysfunctional families, and so any case, the judicial authorities will be ide poisoning. on; in sum, a set of negative elements, the ones to determine any eventual from the start, which require vigorous responsibilities. action on the part of the administrations and of all the social organisations able to help these prisoners recover their human Latino Gangs dignity. The Ombudsman has continued to fol- The Ombudsman has looked into the low up on the Administration’s actions in problem of street crime in different neigh- this complex setting of the fight again bourhoods and districts, both in big cities drug addiction. and smaller towns, as well as the insecurity stemming from the so-called ‘Latino gangs’. Machismo and violence, within the Support for Victims of Terrorism framework of a paramilitary structure (which includes different uniforms), all The Ombudsman addressed the High form the identifying traits of these groups, Zuera Penitentiary Centre. Commissioner for Victims of Terrorism, which involve violent practices affecting

36 The Ombudsman • Summary of the Report for 2005 DEFENCE AND HOME AFFAIRS both outsiders and those within their seeks to raise officials’ consciousness internal structures. regarding the serious logistical and eco- The police are aware of this emerging nomic problems that this system creates problem, and have been carrying opera- for citizens and, consequently, urges the tions to repress and prevent it in those promotion of public policies for creating places where these young people get free or subsidised parking for such peo- together, as well as in the vicinity of ple. schools, the natural place for them to recruit new members. The problem of juvenile gangs, which is Military Administration new in Spain, is a serious one, because although on the one hand it is just anoth- Regarding actions of the Military Adminis- er form of crime, which rightfully alarms tration, the Ombudsman’s Office has looked the citizens affected and mobilises insti- into a wide variety of problems. Noteworthy tutions to action, on the other it signifies, here was the visit to the institution of an from a cultural perspective, the presence army sergeant’s wife, reporting that her of organised groups with deeply antidemo- husband was wounded in a mission in Iraq cratic values and which are an offence on 11 February 2004, suffering, along with again human dignity, such as racism, sex- other men in his unit and his section ism, and violence carried out in different chief, an attack from a hand grenade in forms; committed, moreover, within a Ad Diwaniyah. hierarchical, authoritarian structure. The Ombudsman asked the Ministry of Defence for a report regarding the legal qualification of the wounds suffered by the sergeant; whether it was considered a combat wound or a terrorist attack, or rather, what was the appropriate legal category, which is the most relevant point from a constitutional perspective of legal security and respect for the rights pertaining to the affected party. The Ministry of Defence was also asked why the affected party was not evacuated from Iraq on 13 February 2004, waiting twelve days for his repatriation; what attention he Parking meters are the subject of complaint received at Madrid’s Gómez Ulla Military and controversy, especially in some cities. Hospital, and why the wounded man was not being provided with treatment by the Army, given the physical and mental prob- generating rising social discontent, along lems that he continued to suffer. Even with rejection of the regulated parking though he had asked to be released from systems in the municipalities where they active duty after his return home, it have been put into effect. seemed evident that the Army should con- It has also been confirmed that, gener- tinue to be concerned about the physical ally, there is no free parking in the city Latino gangs, mainly comprising the children of and mental health of those who had been immigrants living in marginalised ghettos in centres. Citizens therefore must choose wounded in the line of duty. major cities, have become a public security between a parking garage, paying for Lastly, it was asked why the sergeant in problem. parking on the street in a limited parking question had not received any kind of zone, or the risk of being fined—with or commendation for the mission that he without a good reason, given the difficul- had carried out, and the reasons why he had Problems of Regulated Parking ties of defending themselves indicated been denied the Iraq Service Medal, bear- above. Given this situation, there is a lack ing in mind that he had been wounded It is clear that there are notable restric- of free or subsidised municipal parking there whilst carrying out a mission. tions suffered by citizens, above all in the for those citizens having the greatest The Ministry of Defence sent the major cities, who want to park their pri- need. This situation aggravates the nega- Ombudsman complete information on the vate automobiles. Besides the fact that tive social effects of the system, as it is case in question, both insofar as the legal they have to pay their automobile tax, they currently set up. qualifications of the sergeant’s wounds also have to pay the established rates for For all of these reasons, the Spa- were concerned, as the rights pertaining parking in regulated zones, zones which, nish Federation of Municipalities and to him. Likewise, the report provided moreover, are continually expanding and Provinces has been recommended to pro- detailed information regarding the cir- no longer limited to central, overcrowded mote, in the municipalities affected, the cumstances of his evacuation, treatment neighbourhoods. Besides having to pay strictest respect for procedural guaran- received at the Central Defence Hospital the established amount, they run the risk tees when fines are handed out. In particu- and, finally, that he had been conceded of being ticketed for reasons which, some- lar, they should be sure that precise impu- the Distinction of Merit for Maintenance times, are not entirely correct. Often, tations are made, citing the regulations Operations regarding Iraq, by virtue of low-to-medium-income individuals are infringed upon, rather than a generic Resolution 216/1880/05, published in the harassed by fines from which they cannot reference making a defence more diffi- Boletín Oficial de Defensa (Official Defence effectively defend themselves, which is cult. Moreover, the Ombudsman’s Office Gazette) nº 142.

The Ombudsman • Summary of the Report for 2005 37 JUSTICE AND DOMESTIC VIOLENCE More Delays in Judicial Procedures

he right to a process without undue delay, considered as a constitutional right requiring judicial bodies to resolve and order the Texecution of their resolutions within a reasonable time period continues to be, unfortunately, an aspiration, in light of the many complaints that the Ombudsman continues to receive year after year. The Supreme Court’s Civil Division is one of those accumulating the most delays. The Ombudsman has repeatedly expressed concern, in different annual reports, over the severe delays occurring in the resolution of the appeals to the Supreme Court involving the First Court of Appeals. For yet another year, it is necessary, once again, to insist that this situation, far from being similar to that of last year, is still getting worse.

in Alicante, whose professional activities have been harmed by the poor functioning of this court, and another complaint referring to the same court regarding a procedure initiated in 1993 and which, in 2005, was still underway. After initiating an investigation with the Valencia Region’s Department of Justice and Public Administration and the General Council of the Judiciary, the report sent from the aforesaid Department provided details on the measures agreed upon, within its jurisdiction, in order to adapt its human and material resources to fit its needs. The construction of a new courthouse was promoted, and plans were approved for generic biyearly reinforcements aimed at solving the problems derived from the seasonal accu- mulation of issues pending processing. For its part, the General Council of the Judicia- ry admitted that it was conscious of the del- icate and difficult situation at the court of San Vicente del Raspeig, adding that this court would be included in its upcoming cal- endar of visits, in order to have more exact knowledge of the court’s situation in order to propose the opportune measures and solutions. Also noteworthy is the deficient functioning of the First Magistrates Court of Alme- ria. In this regard, a complaint was admitted for processing that was presented regarding the delays in the preliminary judicial inquiry underway at that court, stemming from the presentation of criminal charges. The report requested not only recognised the delays The Supreme Court’s Civil Division is one of those accumulating the most delays. existing in these inquiries, but also the overall situation of the court itself. Specifically, it was indicated that, within the space of two years, the courthouse had been moved twice, the report by the Attorney General, sent to Lack of Courts staff had been changed four times, and, since Athe Ombudsman’s Office as part of its the month of June 2004, all of the career civil investigations, highlighted the fact that in Regarding other courts, the worrisome servants had asked to be transferred else- 2005, the First Court of Appeals had heard delays affecting the court of San Vicente del where, leaving the court entirely in the hands some appeals which had been presented in Raspeig, which the Ombudsman already of interim administrators. 1999. pointed out in previous reports, continue Moreover, the Ombudsman considers it Similar delays could be found in the unresolved, in spite of the measures that necessary to underscore the situation affect- Supreme Court’s Third Administrative Court, have been taken since the first complaints ing Madrid’s 73rd Court of First Instance. A also reflected in previous Annual Reports from about its dysfunction were received. We can citizen reported that a petition for an ordi- the Ombudsman’s Offices. highlight the complaint by a lawyer’s collective nary trial had been presented on 8 February

38 The Ombudsman • Summary of the Report for 2005 JUSTICE AND DOMESTIC VIOLENCE

2005, and that via a court order of 31 March, Catalonia and the Basque Country, at the the trial was given a date for 7 March 2006. close of the Ombudsman’s 2004 Report, all of The information received from the Council’s the reports requested had been received, Inspection Service indicated the motives except for that of the General Council of the impeding the possibility of setting hearing Judiciary, and the information therein dates within a shorter time-frame than the —memos, instructions, manuals, guides, one that had become the norm. etc.— confirmed that these different bodies These alleged motives basically referred had adopted specific measures to remind to the need to fulfil the principle of obtain- their civil servants of the legal duty to ing oral testimony from the parties involved, inform victims. which is part of the new judicial proceed- In April 2005, the General Council of the ings; the lack of hearing rooms in the court- Judiciary responded to the Ombudsman’s The situation at the Gáldar Juvenile Detention houses, which made it necessary to divide request for a report, stating that by means of Centre in Las Palmas led the Ombudsman to those available amongst the different courts; the Head of the Inspection Service, instruc- propose its closure. and the volume of new cases being present- tions had been given to all of the inspection ed in the Madrid courts. units that each one should report on its On 5 July 2005, the Madrid Judiciary experiences with this issue during their investigations are always opened when the Council approved unanimously a set of crite- inspection visits. These reports indicated Ombudsman is informed of events that ria to lend greater coherence to the setting that the judicial bodies were indeed fulfill- affect detained minors. of hearing dates, consisting of two weekly ing their obligation to provide information, Of these visits, special attention is due to preliminary hearings, two ordinary trials, as stipulated in article 15 of Law 35/1995. one of them because of its special character- and six hearings. Given these data, it was However, some dysfunctions could be seen istics: the Cantalgallo Drug Addiction Treat- obvious that Madrid’s 73rd Court of First in the joint judicial bodies of Madrid, ment Facility for Minors in the town of Dos Instance was, on a weekly basis, carrying out Extremadura, and Catalonia, because there Hermanas (Seville). This centre, which is a higher number of hearings than those was no evidence that victims of violent privately owned and managed, is directed by agreed upon by the Judiciary Council, since crimes and sexual assault were receiving the Proyecto Hombre Foundation. We found every day in session it heard two preliminary specific information regarding the assis- a high level of satisfaction in the minors at hearings, two ordinary trials, and four hear- tance to which they were entitled and the this centre, and regarding the treatment of ings. procedures to follow in order to obtain it, the workers. This centre combines treat- The only solution possible, according to although, in any case, the victims were being ment for addiction with social reinsertion the General Council of the Judiciary, to nor- properly attended to by the Municipal Social programmes. malise this situation was to create new Services or by the different State Security As a consequence of the visit to the courts of first instance in Madrid. To do so, Forces. Cantalgallo Centre, an ex-officio petition it was considered appropriate to open up a The lack of personnel in the Justice was made, asking for the collaboration of new line of investigation, with the Ministry Administration was compounded, according the General Council of the Judiciary, and the of Justice, in order to be familiar with the to some complaints presented to the Attorney General, so that they could provide latter’s planning regarding the creation of Ombudsman, by the lack of co-ordination the means necessary for judges and prosecu- new courts in Madrid. between the authorities who intervene in tors working with juvenile courts to be police and judicial investigations of events aware of the existence of such treatment causing the someone’s death, and which led centres, of the programmes carried out Deficiencies in Judicial Services to the to delays in communicating this circum- there, and their minimum duration, as well Public stance to the person’s family, in spite of as the advisability of including, in the train- knowing who they were and that they were ing of juvenile judges and prosecutors, infor- The good or bad functioning of the admin- easily located. To this end, a communiqué mation on the complete inefficacy of the istration of justice has a direct impact on was sent to the district attorneys requesting measure of short-term internment for treat- the victims of crimes. A 76-year-old woman that they see to it that these families be ment. As the present Report was being who had been the victim of a robbery com- informed more quickly. closed, response had yet to be received plained that, seven months after reporting regarding the communiqués sent to the Gen- the crime, she had not been seen by a foren- eral Council of the Judiciary and the Attor- sic physician, nor had she received any com- Situations in Some Juvenile Detention ney General. muniqué whatsoever from the court, nor had Centres she been informed regarding the aid and legal assistance available to victims of vio- During 2005, the Ombudsman’s Office vis- Actions against Domestic Violence lent crimes. Moreover, other victims of vio- ited the following juvenile detention cen- lent crimes and sexual assaults were not tres, without prior warning, as usual: There have been too many fatalities receiving such information, either, although Tielmes (Madrid), Concepción Arenal among victims of domestic violence in 2005, the General Council of the Judiciary later (Corunna), San Jorge (Zaragoza), Las Mor- and the Ombudsman’s Office launched ex- confirmed to the Ombudsman that it had eras (Murcia), Mesa Ponte and Valle officio investigations aimed at finding out reminded its administrators of the legal Tabares (Tenerife), Gáldar and La Mon- whether the those administrations having obligation to provide this information. tañeta (Las Palmas), and the drug addiction jurisdiction in the matter had adopted all of After requesting the collaboration of the treatment facility Cantalgallo (Seville). the measures necessary and, when appropri- General Council of the Judiciary, the Attor- Indeed, more than 80% of such centres in ate, to know why there had not been proper ney General, the Secretary of State for Secu- Spain have already been visited two or three functioning of all the mechanisms that could rity, and the Departments of the Interior of times, aside from the fact that ex-officio have made it possible to avoid these deaths.

The Ombudsman • Summary of the Report for 2005 39 JUSTICE AND DOMESTIC VIOLENCE

In other cases, and as a direct consequence Spanish Prisoners Abroad of the complaints presented by citizens, investigations have been launched tending As has been reflected in reports from previ- towards asking the competent administra- ous years, as well as by the volume of com- tions to adopt the preventive measures neces- plaints received, the Ombudsman’s Office has sary to guarantee victims’ security. been paying special attention to those persons The Ombudsman’s Office has also investi- who, due to certain circumstances, find them- gated the procedures initiated in the social selves deprived of their liberty in foreign coun- services to solve marital crises. tries. The investigations undertaken are aimed— as stipulated in the General Act of Parliament Complaints against the General Register regulating the Ombudsman’s activities—at Office The Spanish Consulate in Tangiers (Morocco). supervising the actions of the Spanish public administrations, and therefore the majority of The General Register Office, as has been The Ombudsman, while recognising the the complaints admitted for processing stem highlighted in past reports, has such an over- efforts on the part of the Ministry of Justice to from two motives: the actions of Spanish con- load of work that it is impossible to provide try to solve the dysfunctions at the General sulates, and delays in processing transfers. quality service with a minimum of speed. Its Register Office, is of the opinion that the mea- It should be kept in mind that the actions of document-processing times continue to grow. sures adopted to date are clearly insufficient. Spanish authorities are conditioned by those The deficient functioning of its call centre Therefore, the Ombudsman considered it of the competent authorities in the country impedes many citizens from knowing where advisable, in February 2005, to recommend where the interested party has been convicted. their documents are. There is a high number of that this Ministry address all of these deficien- Often, dossiers are stymied for causes exclu- complaints regarding delays of seven or eight cies, anomalies which included the inadequa- sively imputable to these foreign administra- months in issuing certified copies of birth cer- cy of the building itself, the insufficient per- tions, which is discouraging for Spanish pris- tificates once Spanish nationality is granted, sonnel, lack of space for archives, and its oners abroad, since the prisons where they are after several years of paperwork. Without this inadequate location. The Ombudsman consid- detained do not meet minimal hygiene, securi- certificate, citizens cannot obtain a Spanish ered it necessary and urgent to design a Spe- ty, or health conditions. National I.D. Card (DNI) or Spanish passport, cial Plan to remedy all of these deficiencies, Amongst the actions carried out by the meaning that they have no official identifica- which affect thousands of citizens. Likewise, Ombudsman during 2005 regarding certain tion for an indefinite period, which keeps them the Ombudsman has underscored, yet again, Spanish prisoners abroad, we can highlight the from getting a job, paying Social Security, leav- the deficient functioning of the call centre. petition to the Directorate General of Consular ing Spain, certifying their driving license—in The Ministry of Justice’s report on this rec- Affairs, asking about the personal situation of short, it can cause severe economic and per- ommendation was received at the end of 2005, a Spanish prisoner in Venezuela who was shot sonal hardship to those involved. and it indicated the actions carried out by this at a penitentiary centre, consequent to a theft Moreover, the citizens who report their department and those which were to be imple- on the part of other prisoners in the same jail, concern regarding this situation also com- mented in the near future. An example was the precisely on the day when the Spanish Con- plain about the specially favourable treatment transfer of the General Register Office to a new sulate paid him his aid money, which was given to certain celebrities, such as foreign location, a building that is being rehabilitated apparently more than usual due to certain athletes or actors, who seem to be unaffected to that purpose in Madrid’s Plaza de Jacinto back payments that were made. by the delays at the General Register Office. Benavente; the expansion and modernisation The response sent by this Directorate Gen- Likewise, delays of nine to ten months of the current call centre; the improvement in eral explained that the transfer of the inter- can occur in the registration of minors, computer applications, and the increase in per- ested party to another prison was pending the adopted abroad, at the General Register sonnel. Moreover, it cited new computer con- authorisation on the part of the competent Office, after their parents have already suf- nections amongst all of the different register judge, so that he had yet to be relocated. fered through a long adoption process. offices, and an increase in the number of hours Asked about the frequency of visits by con- worked in order to cut delays, introducing, sular officials to Spanish prisoners, we were when the new Judicial Office starts operating, informed that these varied according to the expanded opening hours to the public, morning number of prisoners, the penitentiary centres and afternoon from Monday to Friday, and Sat- where they were jailed, and their locations, urday mornings. but that, in any case, the number of visits was Regarding legislative modifications, it higher than the minimum number fixed by the pointed out that, on 19 November 2005, the legislation in force. Boletín Oficial del Estado (Official Spanish Lastly, we were informed that the con- Gazette) published Law 24/2005 of 18 Novem- sulate was making all possible overtures with ber, on reforms for raising productivity, which the aim of speeding up the processing of his in its seventh additional disposition, modifies transfer, whose delay was imputable to the article 16 of the Register Office Law, permit- Venezuelan public administration. Therefore, ting, in those cases of international adoption the Ombudsman decided to ask for the collab- and, likewise, in those birth registrations that oration of the Ombudsman of the Bolivarian are a consequence of acquiring Spanish Republic of Venezuela so that, within the lim- nationality by citizens who were born in a for- its of his jurisdiction, he could intervene in eign country, that the register of birth be speeding up the process; moreover, whether The General Register Office’s new extended to the Register Office of the city he could provide any information regarding headquarters in Plaza de Benavente, Madrid. where the interested party is domiciled. the possibility of putting Spanish prisoners

40 The Ombudsman • Summary of the Report for 2005 JUSTICE AND DOMESTIC VIOLENCE together, based on the level of security they time it was holding nearly 3000, which is in If, from the information received, it can be required. itself an example of the deficiencies in space, deduced that a situation of poverty really The Venezuelan Ombudsman’s Office sent health conditions, and food that could exist at does exist, then the certificate is issued; if a summary of the actions that it had carried that prison. not, given that all of this documentation is out, which led us to conclude that the inter- In the Consulate there is one person who is placed at the disposition of the Moroccan ested party had been visited on several occa- solely and exclusively in charge of attending authorities for verification, it is not issued, sions, and even that it had been possible to to the prisoners, who are visited two or three because it would be contrary to the interests transfer him to the Victorino Santaella Hospi- times a week, actions complemented by those of other prisoners who could benefit from tal in Los Teques, were he received surgery for of the Order of the Daughters of Charity, who, this measure. The time necessary for gath- his bullet wound. After this operation, the besides visiting the prisoners regularly, ering together the necessary documents interested party was visited at the peniten- administer the money that their families send depends on each of the Spanish bodies tiary, and the civil servant from the Venezue- them and make purchases on their behalf. involved. lan Ombudsman’s Office was able to confirm In November 2005, the Consulate offered that he was in good physical condition. the prison director the possibility of sending doctors from the Spanish Hospital in Tangiers Serving Sentences in the Country of Origin to visit the Spanish prisoners should it Spanish Prisoners in Morocco become necessary, and the director sent this Given the efficacy of incorporating these offer on to the Directorate General of Peni- documents into the transfer request, it was The Association for the Defence of Interna- tentiary Administration. The Spanish requested that the Directorate General of tional Professional Drivers (ASOCHOFER) Embassy asked for the appropriate permit, Consular Affairs study the possibility of signing sent the Ombudsman’s Office a writ signed by but was only given oral authorisation on a case an additional protocol to be added to the a group of 39 Spaniards who were prisoners in by case basis, and so the request for a general agreement between Spain and Morocco for Tangiers which, as we could later confirm, authorisation was repeated. serving sentences in the country of origin, was published simultaneously in some news Regarding the certificate of poverty about with the ain of regulating this possibility, and media. which we had asked for information, we were in order to provide the certificate of poverty The letter described the treatment re- told that, in keeping with the content of the as part of meeting the documentary requi- ceived by these Spaniards, and the horri- bilateral agreement signed between Spain sites for achieving a transfer. ble conditions of the prison where they and Morocco for the transfer of condemned Besides all of the above, individualised were being kept. In light of its contents, the persons, one motive for refusing it could be information was received regarding the situ- Ombudsman considered it advisable to look that the amount of the fine imposed by the ation of each one of the prisoners, which was deeper into the problems it set forth, and prisoner’s sentence had yet to be paid in full, sent on to their families. therefore an interview was scheduled with rel- or the amount agreed upon after possible atives of these prisoners and the president of negotiations with the interested party’s legal ASOCHOFER. representatives. Spanish Prisoners in Other Countries During this interview, it was found that two This certificate is a document that the Con- of the Spanish prisoners were suffering from sulate has been providing in order to achieve Regarding the Spaniard who was con- severe health problems: one of them was seri- a cancellation of the monetary fines imposed demned to death in the Philippines, in a ously incontinent, and the other had suffered on Spaniards condemned in Morocco. The process plagued with irregularities, which two heart attacks and a stroke, so that both practice has been going on in keeping with we have already set forth in previous reports, needed constant attention. the analogous application of the stipulations we were able to find, as a result of the follow- Moreover, we found that the situation of of the Moroccan legal process, for which the up carried out by the bodies involved, that the imprisoned women was worse than that of competent Spanish legal authorities draw up the Philippine Supreme Court ratified the the men, because they needed psychological the appropriate dossiers. Specifically, it is sentence, so that the only possible option help, and one of them had tried to kill herself necessary to obtain a certificate from the was that of asking for presidential clemency. by taking pills. municipality where the prisoner was regis- The Ombudsman has asked to be informed of Lastly, we were informed that one of the tered as living, another from the tax authori- any eventuality in this regard1. main problems affecting Spanish prisoners in ties regarding income from the previous three The same situation repeated itself regard- Morocco is the delay, on the part of the Span- years, and lastly, one from the General Proper- ing the case of another Spaniard in a Boli- ish Consulate, in processing their poverty cer- ty Register and, if appropriate, a certificate or vian prison, accused of murdering a prose- tificate —a document that is essential for the simple note of the assessed value of registered cuting attorney. The corresponding trial has Moroccan Customs Department to cancel property. been delayed again and again; moreover, the their fine and authorise their return to Spain. Once the economic sanction was cancelled, prisoner has been beaten in prison, accord- For example, a Spaniard condemned to three the Consulate tried to go further, providing a ing to a report by Amnesty International. years in prison had been waiting for this cer- certificate issued by the Attorney General’s Finally, however, he has been released provi- tificate for two years. Office recognising the cancellation of this sen- sionally, and is under house arrest, after hav- This information was passed on to the tence, as part of the documentation for pro- ing been imprisoned for more than 18 Spanish Consulate in Tangiers, which issued cessing the transfer of these prisoners to months without trial. Likewise, the Ombuds- the required report, saying that, in the first Spain. This document is, in practice, substi- man has asked to be sent information regard- place, the Civilian Prison in Tangiers has a tuting for the document which would prove ing any new development in this particular capacity for 1500 prisoners, although at that that the sanction had been paid. case2.

(1) The President of the Philippines commuted the sentence of the prisoner in question from death to two consecutive life sentences in April 2006. The family continues to appeal the decision. (2) This prisoner was released, without charges, on 13 March 2006.

The Ombudsman • Summary of the Report for 2005 41 ECONOMIC ADMINISTRATION Different and Unequal Treatment in the Inheritance and Donations Tax

ifferences in the taxes for inheritance and donatio mortis causa involving spouses or parents and children in Spain’s autonomous Dregions having common legislation, and in the Basque Country and Navarre, were the reason underlying the opening of an ex-officio complaint, as well as several independent ones.

he following table summarises the different Spanish Self-governing Commu- Navarre, where such transmission are tax TInheritance and Donations Tax in the nities, excluding the Basque Country and free:

Self-governing Groups Family Principal Handicapped Limits Misc. Communities of relatives firm residence persons receiving rebates Andalusia...... 100% G. I and II 99,99% I and II 100% Yes EA Aragon...... 100% G. I 95% G. I and II 100% G. I 100% Yes F Asturias...... 99% G. I and II Hasta 99% Yes C Balearic Islands ...... 99% G. I 100% G. I and II -300,000 € Yes PL Canary Islands...... 99% G. I and II Up to 225,000 Yes A, C Cantabria ...... Hasta 50,000 € 98% G. I and II 99% G. I Up to 200,000 Yes E, S, PH, C Castilla-La Mancha...... 95% G. I and II Yes 20% G. II 3% 95% Yes EA Castilla y Leon...... -60,000 € G. I and II 99% G. I and II Up to 225,000 Yes E, PH, I Catalonia...... 95% 95% Up to 570,000 Yes E, PH, S, T, M, DPU Extremadura ...... -70,000 G. I 100% G. I and II 100% G. I and II Up to 180,000 Yes E, EA, PL Galicia...... -1,000,000 G. I Up to 216,400 Yes I, C La Rioja...... 99% G. I and II 99% G. I and II 95% G. I and II Yes EA Madrid...... 99% G. I 95% G. I and II 95% G. I and II Up to 153,000 Yes E, S, PH, I Murcia...... 99% G. I., 95% G. II 99% Yes Valencia ...... 99% G. I 95% G. I and II 99% Yes Ceuta and Melilla ...... 99% G. I and II 50% all groups 50% all groups 50% all groups Yes

There are four groups of relatives, cate- established in article 8.4 of Law 19/1991 of 6 Limits in Discounts or Rebates gorised by the proximity of their relation- June, on the Capital Gains Tax. The trans- ship to the decedent, for whom the law mission of a family firm enjoys a substantial Regarding limitations, all Spanish Com- stipulates different conditions applied in rebate, except for in Castilla-La Mancha, munities establish limitations or incompati- calculating the taxes owed. Castilla y Leon, Galicia, and Valencia, bilities with those recognised by the com- Group I encompasses descendents and although limitations are established aimed mon regulations in application of deductions adoptees under 21 years of age. Group II establishing a period of non-transferability. or rebates. includes descendents and adoptees over Regarding the principal residence, to be The last column of the table above lists 21, spouses, ascendants, and adoptive par- regarded as such it must have been the different concepts in the regulations which ents. Group III comprises relatives in the deceased’s principal residence, although in vary from one Community to another, abbre- second or third degree, and indirect ascen- many Communities, there is a requirement viated with letters. The key to these letters dants or descendants. Lastly, Group IV for it to have been the legatee’s, as well. is as follows: contains family members of the fourth The transfer of a principal residence also degree or higher, and non-family members, enjoys rebates, except for in Galicia, E. Equality between common-law couples for whom there is no rebate whatsoever. Castilla-La Mancha, Castilla y Leon, Mur- and married couples. Of the 15 Spanish communities for cia, and Valencia, although there are cer- A. Equality between pre-adopted or foster which data were collected, besides the tain requisites established for this. children and biological children. autonomous cities of Ceuta and Melilla, all As to handicapped persons, those having F. Specific fiduciary regulations under but Asturias, the Canary Islands, and Catalo- an officially certified handicap also enjoy a Aragonese civil law. nia raise the minimum amount exempt special tax deduction, as high as 100% in B. Coefficients. Article 22 of Law 29/1987 through deductions or rebates for those in Andalusia and Aragon, thus doing away of 18 December, regulating the Inheritance Groups I and II. with the tax for such persons. On the con- and Donations Tax, stipulates, within the Companies which are either individual trary, they have no special deduction what- chapter devoted to calculating taxes, a set of firms, professional practices, or shares in soever in Asturias, La Rioja, and Murcia. coefficients to be applied to the full quota in entities constituting the deceased’s main Other Self-governing Communities have order to obtain the final figure due for pay- source of income are considered family opted for establishing a certain tax-free ment. These coefficients are established firms, as long as they meet the requisites quantity. according to the pre-existing property of the

42 The Ombudsman • Summary of the Report for 2005 ECONOMIC ADMINISTRATION deceased, so that those legatees having prop- ascendants, with the latter bearing a higher autonomous cities, also regulates the erty with a higher value on the date of the tax burden than the former. norms for determining the habitual resi- deceased’s death will have to pay a tax rate Article 39 of the Spanish Constitution dence of persons, and establishes, in sec- that is 5%, 10%, or 20% higher, depending on establishes constitutional protection for the tion 4, the lack of efficacy of changing the group of relatives in which they are cate- family, understood as a unit, without estab- one’s tax domicile from one Self-governing gorised. Those Communities that have regu- lishing differences amongst children due to Community to another when the principal lated their own table of coefficients have their age or status. The difference is due, motive for such a modification is achieving established reductions or raises. clearly, to the presumption of having a cer- lower rates on those taxes which have P.L. Previsions of regulations contained in tain economic capacity after a certain age, been totally or partially devolved, such as new draft laws in the Balearic Islands, Cat- so that subsequently greater protection is the inheritance tax. alonia, and Extremadura. given to those descendents who, because of S. Specific reductions for quantities their young age, lack this economic capaci- received from life insurance. ty in order to liquidate the rights corre- Economic Privileges Associated P.H. Registered heritage properties, sponding to the property of their progeni- with Domicile recognised by the National or Autonomous tors. However, today’s social circumstances Administrations. make it impossible to appreciate differ- From the data studied, it can be con- E.A. Farmsteads. Communities in which ences in economic capacity between the cluded that the communities geographically land that is being farmed enjoys specific ages of 20 and 22 sufficient for maintaining close to one another which have their own deductions aimed at alleviating the tax bur- this distinction. In light of the aforesaid regional laws have regulated a tax system den of mortis causa acquisition of these constitutional precept, we see a singular that is more beneficial for their residents properties, bringing it in line with the bene- fact, which is that the same property can be with the aim of not allowing their wealth fits for family firms. subject to different taxes if there are two or to be dispersed outside the region, since I. Indemnities received from Public more inheriting descendants, and one of the depopulation of their towns would Administrations. them is under 21, which would exempt the also have an additional impact on the M. Mutual assistance cohabitation. Catalo- younger from paying inheritance taxes on resources of their municipal treasuries, as nia is the only Community in Spain which the same property in such Self-governing well as the own Self-governing Community. recognises the category of mutual assistance Communities as Aragon, Madrid or Valen- Although it is true that there are no cohabitation, defined as the cohabitation of cia, whereas a 22-year-old would have to physical barriers to the free circulation of two or more persons in the same principal pay. The term ‘exemption’ is used, practical- goods and persons within Spain’s borders, residence who, without constituting a family ly speaking and to simplify these conclu- and the choice of residence depends, unit, share common expenses and household sions, when comparing them to the special undoubtedly, on the individual citizen, the chores, whether distributed equally or systems in the Basque Country and Navarre, regulation of different inheritance tax sys- unequally, and independently of who gener- but such inheritances are, technically, sub- tems in different communities could ates income. Those in this category treated ject to taxation, even at a rate of 0%, which, involve discrimination, in violation of arti- like Group III family members. materially, is the same as exemption from cle 138.2 of the Spanish Constitution, Moreover, Law 29/1987 of 18 December payment. since it imposes economic privileges asso- on Inheritance and Donation Tax, stipu- Likewise, spouses would be subject to ciated with place of residence. lates generally, for the entire common ter- taxation in these same regions, and in some Moreover, the legislative technique ritory, deductions for transferring a family others, such as Andalusia, the Balearic employed does not seem to be the best firm, principal residence, cases of handi- Islands or Galicia, where family firms would adapted to rule of law; thus, many commu- capped persons, and inheritance of regis- also be subject to taxation under the system nities use their annual laws regarding tax- tered heritage property, so that the rebates established by Law 29/1987 of 18 December. es, administration, or social services to established for these concepts by the dif- This breakdown in the peculiarities of introduce modifications in the inheritance ferent Communities suppose an increase in how the same scenario can lead to different and donation tax for successive years, thus general tax benefits, except for in cases of tax rates, depending on where the deceased generating more uncertainty amongst citi- incompatibilities. In addition, Law 19/1995 was residing, and the prolix regulations in zens. of 4 July, on Modernization of Farmsteads, each Self-governing Community, represent This panorama of dispersion regarding stipulates a general rebate for the transfer an added difficulty for taxpayers who, in the differences in inheritance taxes, in the of such farms. their complaints to the Ombudsman, feel application of a tax which, to a certain discriminated against and confused by the extent, punishes savings, together with the legal dispersion existing all over Spain. legal concerns which have already been Taxation Inequality, According to Place Taxpayers need to have a clear idea, in expressed to the National Administration of Residence order to feel certain of their rights and, by —in the 2004 Report— leads the Ombuds- extension, the rule of law, that their place of man’s Office to once again recommend From the viewpoint of the right to material residence is irrelevant to the establishment that the Ministry of the Economy adopt an equality cited in article 9.2 of the Spanish of an applicable right, which in the present legislative initiative to modify the inheri- Constitution, it is surprising that there are case of inheritance and donation taxes, is tance and donations tax, setting up guide- differences between Groups I and I defined by determined by the deceased’s place of resi- lines to result in regulations for each Law 29/1987 of 18 December, regulating the dence. Spanish Community`, so that they may Inheritance and Donations Tax (in article Article 20 of Law 21/2001 of 27 Decem- wind up having more equal taxation, in 20.2a) and which, as we have seen, encom- ber, which regulates the taxation and order to avoid distorting the content of passes in Group I those descendents and administrative measures of the new system article 31 of the Spanish Constitution, so adoptees below 21 years of age, and in Group of financing of the Self-governing Commu- that the choice of residence may not be II other descendents, spouses, adoptees, and nity under the common system and the influenced by taxation.

The Ombudsman • Summary of the Report for 2005 43 ECONOMIC ADMINISTRATION

programme. This line of credit totals 100 million, and the maximum credit for each applicant is 1,000, except for families with three or more children, whose maximum is raised to 1,200. According to the Administration, special care has been taken to enable the retail sector to enjoy the benefits of this initiative. Thus, the Resolution of 8 August 2005 establishes, in section 4.2, that the beneficiaries of these loans can acquire the components of their ‘package’ in any store of their choosing, and that the credit companies are obliged to accept their applications as long as the applicants meet the solvency requisites established by the credit company itself. The desired effect is, therefore, that a public which would not usually go to such stores without this kind of preferential financing will indeed go there, consequently raising sales. The role of the credit companies The ‘Internet in the Classroom’ and ‘Connected Homes’ initiatives aim to promote families’ in the ‘Connected Homes’ initiative is not that participation in the educational process through computer. Photo: Red.es. of competitors in the retail personal computers market, but rather that of financial intermedi- aries collaboration with the State Administra- Internet in the Classroom Connected Homes tion in simplifying the processing and management of loans, publicising the initiative, and The promotion, on the part of the Admin- According to the Secretary of State for providing training venues and courses for these istration, of use of the Internet, applying the Telecommunications and the Information families. ‘Connected Homes’ plan integrated into the Society, the ‘Connected Homes’ initiative aims Citizens have also questioned the exclusion ‘Internet in the Classroom’ plan, have had a to promote the participation of families in the of the parents of children in private education- severely negative impact on companies educational process through new technologies, al centres, not supported by state funding, from in the retail personal computer business in and encompasses the launching of a preferen- the credits included in the ‘Connected Homes’ Spain, due to the fact that banks are allowed tial credit line for the acquisition by these fami- programme, part of the Avanza Plan, as well as to sell computers directly to their future lies of a ‘package’ that includes computer those of students over the age of 21 studying in users, financing them at a zero interest rate, equipment, a broadband Internet connection, private centres which are not part of the state applying a budget specifically earmarked for and training—all through zero-interest loans system, and so an investigation has been this purpose. through the credit companies selected for the launched in this area.

OMBUDSMAN PUBLICATIONS

Besides the recommendations and suggestions issued by the Ombudsman to the different public administrations between 2001 and 2004 (one volume per year), in 2005 the Ombudsman’s Office has published two special reports, on ‘Noise Pollution’ and ‘Legal Assistance to Foreign Nationals in Spain’, whose covers are shown below, as well as the 2004 Report and its parliamentary debates. These publications may be acquired at: c/ Zurbano 31, 28010 Madrid, or ordered on the Inter- net at: [email protected]

44 The Ombudsman • Summary of the Report for 2005 LAND MANAGEMENT Lack of Ecological Consciousness Contrasts with Growing Public Awareness About Natural Resources

Need for a Single Nationwide Housing Policy

he background to reflections on environmental issues is that of criticism of the still dominant conception of the economic system, T according to which the management of damaged resources does not form part of the internal costs of productive activity —a conception that, unfortunately, has yet to arouse an adequate response from the different administrations. Therefore, it is urgent for the different public spheres to engage in more reflection on how the destruction of natural resources, waste production, the rise in dis- satisfaction are effects linked to the productive process, whose absence contrasts with a growing awareness on the part of the citizenry regarding natural resources. Today, we know how to better appreciate the non-monetary value of, for example, forests and beaches, and to defend this value against the attacks from producers of other ‘goods’, which are bought and sold in the marketplace. This growing public awareness connects directly and basically with the right of access to environmental information, with the quality of being an interested party in a procedure, with the presenting of complaints, with the public action that certain laws recognise, and with the general prohibition of defencelessness. The assessment of environmental impact is an essential process in any public works project, which must be subjected to administrative control and public opinion.

ver the past 30 years, the major legisla- the Administration has approved uses, and biodiversity, as well as the maintenance of Otive developments in the field of envi- authorised the construction of infrastruc- the dynamic and structure of their ecosys- ronmental protection have come to cover tures, which are viewed as an opportunity tems, whereas the promotion of the study natural spaces, many of which, given the for regional economic development, with the and enjoyment of their natural and cultural extent of their natural value, have been offi- aim of enabling all of the municipalities resources, as well as the socioeconomic cially declared protected. involved to gain maximum profit from the development of the populations in their The declaration of a space as protected situation. environs, are presented as objectives com- can wind up becoming a threat rather than However, the conservation of natural plementary to the preceding ones. There- serving the aim of conserving its ecological assets, and the impact of the planned actions fore, it is urgent, in keeping with the regula- value, all under the aegis of a false idea of on them, appear as secondary considerations. tions in force, for the administrations having sustainable development. Herein lies a para- This order of priorities tends to be contrary jurisdiction over the management of pro- dox: a natural space can actually be better to the Natural Resources Zoning Plans tected natural spaces to incline towards the protected if it not officially declared protect- (known by their Spanish initials, PORN) for philosophy of conservationist tourism. ed. Natural Spaces, the law that regulates their This seems to be the situation reflected creation, and the autonomous laws for natur- by some of the investigations followed in al spaces. These regulations always pre- Lack of Organisation of Water 2005 regarding the management of several sent as their priority objective the conser- Administration natural parks (Dunas de Corrubedo Natural vation and protection of natural resources Park, Hoces del Río Riaza Natural Park, and within the protected spaces —flora, fauna, A similar attitude can be seen, as in pre- Cabo de Gata Natural Park). In these areas, landscape— and the preservation of their vious years, regarding the lack of diligence on the part of water administration authorities in the exercise of their power to impose sanctions in cases of illegal usage, contamination, or occupation of water resources in the public domain, which has continued to incite a considerable number of investigations by the Ombudsman’s Office, as well as many suggestions and reminders regarding the of unfulfilled legal obligations on the part of the organisations concerned. The Ombudsman’s Office has several investigations open —some of them have been open for years— regarding the water administration, in order to confirm whether sanctions are executed, if necessarily by force; whether conditions are returned to their former state, when necessary via the procedures of subsidiary execution; and whether indemnifications are demanded Cabo de Gata Natural Park in Nijar (Almería). Photo: Atan.org. for the damages caused.

The Ombudsman • Summary of the Report for 2005 45 LAND MANAGEMENT

the Wastes Law entered into effect—in other words, eight years ago. The Administration’s passiveness in this matter, moreover, implies blunting the law’s efficiency, given that one of the areas for waste management that it addresses—the pollution generated by the use of organic farm animal waste as fertiliser—has yet to be regulated, and not precisely due to reasons that may have made it advisable to delay this regulation of the law, but due to a persistent lack of consensus between the two ministries involved, and the lack of initiative and co-ordination on the part of the Technical Secretary General of the Prime Minister’s Office.

Opposition to the location of controlled landfills and recycling plants contrasts with citizens’ behaviour insofar as the dispersion of organic, gardening, and agricultural waste is concerned, as well as that of old furniture and construction materials, which are dumped without any control, fouling fresh water Authorities’ Resistance to Dealing with sources and even the sea, as here in Ávalos, La Gomera (Canary Islands). Photo: Atan. Noise Pollution

The problem of noise pollution, which is Irrigation Communities or housing developments, with the full knowl- unfortunately attaining an ever higher profile edge and consent of the administrations in our society and in the work of the Ombuds- In the realm of land development, the legal involved. In the case of irregular urban waste man’s Office, has led to the preparation and nature of irrigation communities, and their dumps, there are many town councils which, presentation in the Spanish Parliament of a status as public administrations, has pro- in spite of being conscious of their legal oblig- special report on Noise Pollution. Without voked certain legal controversies. It should be ations, do not regularise their situations, exhaustively summarising the contents of this pointed out that, in the opinion of the alleging economic and budget difficulties. report, we can highlight the general resis- Ombudsman, these irrigation communities, tance on the part of the administrations with regardless of their timeframe, have been con- jurisdiction over certain infrastructures (air- stituted as legal public associative entities, Eight Years’ Delay in Regulating Organic ports, highways, and railroads) to accept our and it is generally compulsory to constitute Animal Wastes proposal due, fundamentally, to two a priori them and be a member of them in order to assumptions, which are in our view incorrect, exploit these resources, under the tutelage of Moreover, there is cause for concern in the to whit: noise is an inevitable cost of progress; the Administration, but with an independent fact that this year, once again, there is a need noise is an option freely accepted by the citi- legal identity. to refer —as in the reports corresponding to zen who suffers from proximity to a noise 2002 and 2003— to the use of organic farm emission source. animal waste as fertiliser, which has yet to be In this regard there are various important Opposition to the Location of Landfills and the subject of the opportune and obligatory cases that were closed in 2005; others, equal- Recycling Plants regulation stipulated in the Wastes Law. ly important, remain open (e.g., noise pollu- The delay in the elaboration of these regu- tion around Madrid’s Barajas Airport, and A peculiar phenomenon is that of the pre- lations is excessive from any standpoint, since Barcelona’s Prat), although with the limits vention and management of waste, where cit- it should have been approved by the Govern- derived from the fact that they are also the izens’ concerns are centred more on the ment within the space of nine months after subject of legal actions. inconveniences generated by landfills or waste management plants, or even in the value-added activities carried out by private companies under the Wastes Law, than on the problems involved in their reduction or elimination. Neighbourhood opposition, sometimes unjustified, to waste management plants and installations, which can even stop their construction or delay the start of their operations, represents a problem that is difficult to solve, has surely not been channelled correctly through the use of planning and citizens’ participation mechanisms in decisions involving the location of such installations, and there is an apparent lack of clarity regarding the correct measures to be adopted. In other cases, there is a contrary phenomenon: the complaints focus —year after The new Terminal 4 of Barajas Airport has sparked complaints, both due to incidents involved in year— on denouncing the existence of uncon- its start-up phase, as to the noise pollution caused by the aeroplanes in the take-off and approach trolled dumping near towns, neighbourhoods, routes to its new runways, which are closer to housing developments.

46 The Ombudsman • Summary of the Report for 2005 LAND MANAGEMENT City Planning and Housing The Constitutional Right to Decent Housing

he Ombudsman’s Office has been able to promote zoning and housing that give prior- involving degraded and irrecoverable urban Tconfirm that the different Self-governing ity to these social rights, compared with a structures, for which the only viable solution Community legislatures have been passing protectionist conception of the right to land is that of designing a new neighbourhood, more or less proven measures for increasing ownership. The Ombudsman hopes that the one in consonance with the environmental the amount of housing at affordable prices law’s future final text, with the new ele- quality demands of our times, operations put in order to moderate the high prices of the ments that may be incorporated, will pro- into practice through the so-called Special free market. These measures are aimed at duce the desired effect and put a stop to Interior Reform Plans. lowering the prices of land, rental proper- speculation, providing greater transparency. On another plane, we find those city plan- ties, and condominiums, as well as control- ning techniques having the same objective, ling fraud in state housing. Moreover, they but common to any kind of land, and there- are based on the idea of putting empty hous- Subjectivity and Delays in City Planning fore, to any environment to be protected, ing on the market, and accentuating the and Development both urban and rural, whether with preven- importance of rehabilitation. tive aims or corrective, restorative ones. In sum, these measures are trying to guar- Moving on to another subject, and in Thus, for example, the technique of cata- antee that a city’s growth and development keeping with issues already mentioned in loguing singular elements which contribute do not occur at any cost, nor will they com- the 2004 Report, it must once again be high- undoubtedly to the preservation of a certain promise the wellbeing of future generations, lighted that Spanish city planning laws are image, a certain atmosphere, of the city and seeking alternative solutions to bring down increasingly committed, in many ways, to its surroundings, especially when such pro- the cost of land and housing; avoid specula- protecting the urban as well as the rural tection today affects the widest variety of tion with a scarce commodity like land; sim- environment; this is underscored by the fact elements, such as old palaces in city centres, plify public actions in the realm of city plan- that the most modern regional city planning private gardens, land next to lakes, theatres, ning and cut red tape; and favour the access laws are incorporating new techniques cinemas, etc. of all citizens to decent housing, without through a general rethinking of city plan- There are also preventative operative breaking down an urban model of social ning as a tool for creating a specific kind of techniques, both in urban and in rural set- cohabitation that is an important heritage cohabitation, presided over by such consti- tings, called ‘special plans for protecting for everyone. tutional values as those reflected in article environmental values’, which incorporate To attain these ends, the Ministry of 45 (right to adequate environmental condi- mechanisms of planning and zoning involv- Housing responded with the draft bill for the tions), 46 (protection of collective cultural ing natural spaces and resources. In such Law of Land and Assessment, and with the heritage, and 47 (right to decent and ade- cases, it is necessary to highlight that unfor- new 2005-2008 Housing Plan that was quate housing). tunately, there are few special protection passed in July 2005. Amongst the city planning techniques to plans of this type approved; moreover, their The general criteria inspiring this draft guarantee adequate environmental condi- approval process is excessively long. bill revolve around four basic aspects: tions are those with the purpose of preserv- Finally, considering sanctions under the greater transparency in order to achieve ing rural areas, especially measures consist- law, another technique aimed at environ- higher public participation; working towards ing of classifying land as buildable or not; mental protection is that of raising sanc- sustainable urban and rural development; i.e., the exercise of public authority in tions assigned to infractions affecting lands guarantees for a sufficient supply of land excluding, on principle, certain lots from the linked to the preservation of a better quality zoned for state housing; and new legal crite- city planning and construction process. In of life —land used for public services (e.g., ria for assessment in order to exclude spec- such cases, the Ombudsman’s Office advo- parks and green areas)— to which are ulative factors. cates the need for the public administra- joined the traditional rule that the action of Bearing in mind the functions assigned to tions to set forth well-reasoned, objective the Ombudsman by the Spanish Constitution arguments justifying the classification of and by General Act of Parliament 3/1981 of 6 land as buildable or not, reasoning which April, it is worth highlighting a very impor- becomes, if possible, even more relevant in tant contribution to the draft bill cited those action dictated within the exercise of above: the fact that, for the first time, a state discretional authority, as is undoubtedly the law on land zoning includes a section detail- case when city planning is involved. ing the rights and duties of the citizens, A second set of city planning techniques their legal status in city planning matters. is tied directly to the protection or improve- In sum, housing and all of its attendant ment of urban environments, headed by the installations and services should be treated traditional establishment, through the cor- as the citizens’ right, and therefore the pub- responding regional legislation, of ‘city plan- lic authorities have the duty to guarantee ning standards’: rezoning of previously their access to it. To such an end, state reg- established uses, to avoid that, due to the ulations use this right as a point of depar- saturation of certain uses, the result is envi- ture, and try to establishing the precise ronmentally intolerable in certain areas; or The deficit of public housing, and the existence technique for guaranteeing a supply ade- promoting integrated urban renewal opera- of empty housing units, contribute to land quate to their needs through systems able to tions, which constitute truly surgical actions speculation and higher prices.

The Ombudsman • Summary of the Report for 2005 47 LAND MANAGEMENT the Administration to proceed to the restora- guaranteed, and improvements made in the particular needs within a specific policy of tion of legal zoning and reparation of the practical application of the model and its their own, so that recognition of the right to altered physical characteristics is not subject adaptation to social demands. The second of economic assistance with state funds, and the to time limits in these cases. the reported normative initiatives to favour qualification of the housing involved, be deter- all citizens’ access to decent housing is the mined by the Autonomous Administrations, in new national housing plan for 2005-2008. accordance with their own set of regulations. Complaints Against ‘City Planning Agents’ As a result of this, in second place, the system of state housing which until now was in Referring to the execution of city planning, National and Self-governing Community effect continued to follow, basically, the 1978 for yet another year the high number of com- Jurisdictions in Promoting Public Housing model, now seems to be moving towards a new plaints presented by citizens in the Valencia scenario with an uncertain future —due both Region should be highlighted, from which it This model, however, is moving towards a to the occasional derogations which this mod- can be deduced that they reject the city plan- profound transformation which, unlike the el has been suffering, through substantial reg- ning techniques established in Valencian situation with city planning legislation, has ulatory changes such as the Urban Rentals Regional Law 6/1994, of 15 November, on Reg- yet to become settled. This can be considered Law of 1994, which significantly affected the ulating City Planning Activities, and especial- a transformation, firstly, because housing is system of subsidised rental housing; and to ly, its institution of a land development agent indeed an area over which, under article such developments as new city planning legis- agent. This figure continues to be the subject 143.1.3 of the Spanish Constitution, all of lation on the part of the Autonomous Adminis- of major internal tensions, being questioned Spain’s autonomous communities have trations, which has established and gener- on a jurisdictional and doctrinal basis, and assumed exclusive jurisdiction, which could alised the qualification of land earmarked for external ones, due to the possible application apparently keep the central government from state housing; and the communities own hous- of the doctrine established by the European creating or maintaining a system of regula- ing legislation, which have been, as noted Court of Justice in recent sentences referring tions for housing promotion, or regulating above, slowly generating their own models of to the fact that that city planning actions are the status of developments constructed as state housing, different from and with preva- subject to the norms of EU contract regula- state housing financed with national state lence over those of the central government; as tions. resources. This conclusion could be support- well as to the successive housing plans of the The Ombudsman’s Office has been able to ed by the Constitutional Tribunal’s sentences central government, which have been progres- confirm that in several of the complaints 13/1992 and 39/1992, ruling that the central sively adapting, when not altering outright, the received for this reason in 2005, the government’s capacity to spend its own system established in 1978. claimants were questioning, as one of resources does not involve a specific jurisdic- the arguments against this kind of land develop- tional right enabling it to regular legally an ment, precisely the adaptation of the figure of economic sector subsidised with such funds. Three Kinds of Tension Affecting State the land development agent, and its func- However, the same Tribunal’s sentence Housing tions, to national and EU regulations regard- 142/1988 confirmed the constitutionality of ing public contracting, and alleging, accord- national housing plans, considering that the The process sketched out above has led to ing to the jurisprudence of the European central government has, at least, two juris- the current situation, in which state housing Court of Justice, that the legal nature of the dictional entitlements to establish a system is subjected to at least three kinds of dialec- relationship between the land development for housing subsidised with state funds. In tical tension which are difficult to describe agent and the Administration is a public con- the first place, its jurisdiction over the bases concisely, and which have not been dealt tract involving the concession of a public ser- of economic co-ordination (art. 149.1.13 of with, and therefore not resolved, by the pub- vice and, therefore, subject to its norms. the Spanish Constitution); secondly, its juris- lic authorities: Other complaints revolve around the same diction over establishing the bases of credit 1º. The tension of a historical model, con- issues as in previous years, including dis- regulations (article 149.1.11 of the Spanish ceived as a development tool aimed at facili- agreement with the high cost of land devel- Constitution). To this, one would have to add tating disadvantaged families’ access to have opment fixed by the land development agent, the central government’s exclusive entitle- their own homes, which, although it is now in contrast with an insufficient valuation of ment to civil legislation, and to dictating the more than 25 years old, continues to persist the price of buildable land and existing build- bases for contractual obligations. to a great extent today, with the perception of ings, a circumstance which compels owners However, as has been suggested, this does the need for a new model which has yet to be to cede the right to build, given their inabili- not represent an obstacle to the Regional firmed up on a regulatory plane, but on which ty to make such payments in cash. The result Administrations’ being able to also carry out there is a consensus regarding the two is the perception of a certain state of defence- their own housing policies, using their own premises which should serve as its starting lessness, provoked by the non-existence of resources to complement these subsidies. And point: the need to extend housing policy to a effective competency (proposal for a single since, on the other hand, the Central Adminis- very wide range of people (not just the most programme), within the framework of an tration lacks the power to execute its own disadvantaged), given the generalised diffi- irresponsible laxity of municipal surveillance housing promotion policies, the application of culties of access to housing and, consequent- over the rights of those affected. nationwide plans can only be carried out by ly, the need for public action involving hous- However, it is only fair to underscore the the Self-governing Communities, as pointed ing issues to turn from purely promotional efforts carried out by the Department of out in the Exposition of Motives of Royal actions to a higher degree of administrative Land Management of the Valencia Region to Decree 1/2002, by which the recently conclud- involvement. incorporate into Regional Law 16/2005 of 20 ed National Plan of 2002-2005 was approved. 2º. The tension existing between the regula- December, on Valencia Land Development, In sum, it is up to the autonomous com- tory central system, whose virtuality in terms in effect since 1 February 2006, those modifi- munities to integrate regulated assistance of defining a legal system for state housing is cations aimed at solving the problems report- from the central government into their gen- that of a set of regulations supplementary to ed by citizens, so that their rights can be eral housing policies, adapting them to their those established to that effect by the

48 The Ombudsman • Summary of the Report for 2005 LAND MANAGEMENT

Autonomous Administrations, but which in opts for a lasting subjecting of state housing have been emerging on the regulatory front. terms of financing actions, has full jurisdic- to a statute of protection with a fixed price These include the national 2005-2008 Plan, the tion regardless of that corresponding to the for second or later transmissions of the Andalusia Law 13/2005 concerning state hous- Self-governing Communities; and the very properties, restricting the possibilities of ing and land, the new State Housing Regula- substantive system that they are increasingly sales of units intended for rental, or through tions approved in 2005 by the Community of approving as part of the exercising of their the creation of a Register for State Housing Madrid, or the draft for the new State Land Use exclusive jurisdictions, a system sometimes and public registers of those demanding and Valuation Law; all instruments which it is in disagreement with the aims of plans for such housing, which the Ombudsman’s to be hoped will prove efficacious in resolving financing state housing actions approved by the Office has suggested. the problems cited above, but which do not central government. seem to bring forth or reorient a new housing 3º. Lastly, the tension of an option that model able to overcome the tensions described could be called the most liberalising for the The Right to Housing, a Problem of the previously. housing system, to the extent to which: its State Housing today, unfortunately for Spanish links to a state housing system are modulated society, represents a problem of such magni- and reduced over time; the types of state In spite of all this, the experience accu- tude that it could be called a state prob- housing and the conditions of access are mul- mulated in recent years in dealing with com- lem—and it should be approached as such. tiplied, and the conditions regarding sales plaints, which invariable bring up the same This view does not mean that the Ombuds- price in second or later transmission are soft- problems, such as access to state housing man advocates a single housing policy which ened; housing is freed from a system protect- —whether built publicly or privately— and overlooks the model of competence we have ing it from the mechanisms of qualified the perception of overpricing on the part of just examined, but which does call for uni- financing, opening the door to raising rents private promoters, as well as the occasional fied action on the part of public authorities, with an impact on costs going from the owner lack of fulfilment of annual programmes subsequently implying co-ordinated action to the tenant; there is an alternative of involving state housing within each plan, on the part of the different public adminis- greater intervention which opts for linking delays in the execution of these actions, red trations in identifying the problems and con- housing to state protection during the entire tape out of touch with the situation and its sidering problem-solving mechanisms, and useful life of the property. specific needs, the contractions between regulatory, financial, and organisational This last philosophy seems to be behind national and autonomous housing regula- responses which they should bring about— the new 2005-2008 Plan which, although it tions and, lastly, the disconnection between problems whose characteristics have changed does not break—as indeed it could not— state housing systems and new social demands, in the last 30 years as much as Spanish society with the development of the preceding plan, all contrast with the new developments which itself.

Internet Access to the Ombudsman’s Office Our website http://www.defensordelpueblo.es/index.asp?destino=quejas internet.asp

Who Can Present a Complaint? legal, or on those for the execution of associated resolutions or actions. Any natural or legal person who expresses a legitimate interest, regardless of nationality, place of residence, gender, How to Follow Up on Your Complaint age, legal incapacity, internment in a penitentiary centre or prison, or any special relationship of subjection to or depen- The receipt of your complaint and other communication dence on an Administration or public authority. from the Ombudsman’s Office will be sent to the postal The complaint must be presented within a year, starting address that you provide on the complaint form. from the moment when the claimant becomes aware of the However, should you wish to have information regarding situation originating it, without any impact on the time limits the processing of your complaint, you may call (+34) 91 432 set by laws governing appeals, whether administrative or 79 00.

The Ombudsman • Summary of the Report for 2005 49 HEALTH AND SOCIAL POLICY Economic, Clinical, and Social Obstacles Block Universal Access to the Right to Healthcare Excessive Emphasis on Curative Care, Rather than Preventive and Palliative Care

he complaints presented to the Ombudsman during 2005 in the field of healthcare especially emphasise common structural fail- T ings in the public health system, which make it difficult, if not impossible, to effectively guarantee the right to health coverage in certain cases. In early 2005, the Prime Minister’s Office informed the Ombudsman that the Ministry of Health and Consumer Affairs and the Ministry of Social Affairs agreed that providing universal health care would not only involve major legal reforms, such as modifying the General Laws on Health and on Social Security, but that it would also have other repercussions —economic, social, and involving the health system itself— which should be carefully analysed from a perspective broader than the merely legal. Conse- quently, and in keeping with these criteria, what is holding back universal access to health care has more to do with opportunities than with legal impediments, involving the Spanish health system in an ongoing process which has sparked a considerable number of complaints to the Ombudsman in 2005.

Assisted Reproduction Techniques Care of Individuals with Brain Injury under the supervision of the Ombudsman’s Office, and which was presented, in December Many complaints have been presented Another special area was that of care for 2005, to Parliament’s Joint Committee for Rela- regarding the application of assisted human traumatic brain injury (TBI), which in recent tions with the Ombudsman. reproduction techniques, indicating that the years has been the source of a considerable With this report on TBI, the Ombudsman set Spanish public health system is not able to pro- number of complaints to the Ombudsman. To forth, for those public administrations with vide citizens, adequately and directly, with a be more specific, these complaints focus espe- jurisdiction in this area, a series of recommen- healthcare option that is included amongst cially on two aspects: first, the non-existence of dations in order to meet the social and health- those financed by the system. specific rehabilitation units or centres for the care needs of the affected persons, with an treatment of TBI and, secondly, the need for emphasis on efficiency, efficacy, and quality. public institutions having responsibilities in Fibromyalgia the management of social services to modify the precarious current situation and to move Waiting Lists Likewise, there has been a high number of forward with the creation and equipment of complaints on the part of persons suffering daycare centres and other social resources to Regarding waiting lists at National Health from fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syn- support these persons and their families, thus Service hospitals, it is noteworthy that, over drome, highlighting the fact that these are reducing the adverse impact of this condition the course of 2005, there has been a rise in the complex processes whose aetiology remains on their lives. number of the autonomous health services reg- unknown, which are highly variable and often The Ombudsman considers it advisable to ulating their maximum waiting times, so that, cause severe disability, but for which there are promote a global study on the epidemiological, at present, nearly all of these services have currently insufficient diagnostic criteria mak- social, and healthcare situation of TBI in established guarantees regarding access to ing it possible to provide an adequate health- Spain, a study which was carried out by the health care, in line with the recommendations care response. Spanish Federation for Brain Injury Care, formulated by the Ombudsman in the special study on waiting lists carried out with the National Health Service.

Thalidomide Victims

Thalidomide, a medication that came onto the European market in the late 1950s, produced dramatic side effects, leading to a number of deaths, whether from severe damage to vital organs or the significant suicide rate generated by the severe birth defects caused by this drug. Spain’s Thalidomide Victims Associ- ations asked the Ombudsman for help. The Ombudsman’s Office held interviews and meetings with healthcare professionals and with persons affected by thalidomide, making it possible to discover, in the most direct way, the real situation and problems faced by this collective, who should not only enjoy a set of rights common to all citizens, but who, moreover, should be the beneficiaries of extra public Disabled persons receiving job training. attention derived from the principles of social

50 The Ombudsman • Summary of the Report for 2005 HEALTH AND SOCIAL POLICY

Lack of Attention to their families, since they were considered Minors at risk. Consequently, the interested parties The Administra- asked the public authorities for protection of tions’ passivity in the minors to assume legal custody, or, if necessary, face of the demands tutelage of these minors, sending them to a and requests for the centre or residence adequate to their needs. protection of certain This request was turned down, in the inter- minors has also led to est of the minors, since there were no avail- intervention on the able resources adequate for treating the part of the Ombuds- problems that these minors presented. man’s Office. In certain The Ombudsman addressed the Valencian cases, relatives closest Department of Social Welfare, suggesting its to the nuclear family immediate attention to these specific cases, have denounced the and recommending a study on the feasibility lack of attention to of expanding and diversifying the means and minors. In these cases, resources necessary to provide adequate the Administration care of minors with behavioural disorders must carry out the who provoke severe alterations in family life, Thalidomide birth defects. most complete techni- and require specialised therapeutic assis- cal assessment possi- tance. ble in order to confirm In response to this recommendation, the and economic policies which public authorities the true situation, the parents’ capacity to assume Department in question reported that it was ought to follow. Given this scenario, the the duties of child custody, and the possible risk preparing a draft decree which would assign Ombudsman, as part of an investigation which factors to which these minors are exposed. specific jurisdictions to the Department of is still underway, stressed to the Ministry In two cases presented to Valencia’s Social Social Welfare, and which would expand and of Health and Consumer Affairs, the Ministry of Welfare Office, it became clear that even create new services of psychosocial support Labour, and the Ministry of Social Affairs the though the families had run through all of for children and adolescents with serious need to promote the appropriate legal reforms, the available household support resources, mental disorders, as well as a project regu- in order to establishment a network able to the situation of their children continued to lating the conditions and requisites for the respond to the serious situation in which worsen, which led the case workers most functioning of psychosocial support centres Thalidomide victims currently find themselves closely involved in these situations to for children and adolescents with severe in Spain. advise against keeping the minors with mental disorders. The Dependency Law and Care of the Elderly and Disabled

he situation of the elderly, and especially of presented, in which the interested parties is considered the 15 years immediately prior Tassistance to persons who cannot take care express their disagreement with the contri- to the date of retirement, which in many cas- of themselves, is a constant concern in our bution period used to determine the base es is prejudicial since, due to their employ- society. In its latest reports, the Ombudsman’s salary to calculate such pensions, since this ment circumstances, their highest base Office has stressed the need to endow dependent persons with a legal framework guaranteeing their wellbeing through a system of social services, attending to their specific problems involving health, housing, culture, and leisure, in keeping with the stipulations of article 50 of the Spanish Constitution. Last year’s report mentioned the presentation of the White Paper on Dependency, as a reference point in the design of the draft bill for care of dependent persons. As the present report was closing, the Bill on Personal Auton- omy and Dependency had yet to be presented to Parliament, although, in early 2006, the Government presented the draft bill.

Calculating Pensions

Regarding retirement pensions, a considerable number of complaints has been Daycare centre for Alzheimer patients. Photo: AZdem.

The Ombudsman • Summary of the Report for 2005 51 HEALTH AND SOCIAL POLICY salary corresponded to periods before the ties, formed a family unit to have access to of 11 November, regulating family Social last 15 years of work. This issue was one widows pensions. Security benefits, have encompassed some of the subjects included in the so-called of the proposals cited above. Toledo Pact, and included in the agreement Amongst the objectives achieved are the between the Government, employers associ- Widows Pensions right to reducing the workday for the care of a ations, and trade unions in 2001, concluding child under six years old, and there have fre- that it is necessary to delve deeper into the The regulation regarding pensions from quently been requests for expanding that cov- contribution criteria, so that greater propor- the Compulsory Old-Age and Disability erage to a higher age, as pointed out in anoth- tionality can be achieved between the Insurance (known by its Spanish initials, er section of the present report, with the amount of money a worker puts into the sys- SOVI) established a system of incompatibil- Directorate General for Labour mentioning tem and the pension received, thus leading ities with any other pension from the Social the possible expansion of the measures tend- to greater equity. Security System, a measure which had been ing to facilitate reduction of the workday in The Order of 13 February 1967, which declared constitutional by the Constitution- order to exercise legal guardianship, remitting establishes the norms for applying and al Tribunal. this to a future regulation in the Law of Equal- developing death and survivor benefits in However, the Ombudsman’s Office, con- ity between Men and Women, as well as a new the General Social Security System, estab- scious of how low those pensions are, and Law regarding the Compatibility of Family Life lished, in its article 21.1.d., the end of that their incompatibility would basically and Employment, reiterating that, in any case, orphans pensions in the event that orphans affect widowed pensioners, considered it such measures should be adopted within the with the maximum level of disability were to advisable, in a study on the issue of widows framework of a process of social dialogue. marry, which led the Ombudsman’s Office at pensions, to refer to the need of making The Ombudsman will follow up on these one point to urge that this article be modi- these SOVI pensions compatible with widows future regulations in which the Ministry of fied, based fundamentally on the economic pensions from the Social Security System. Labour and Social Affairs will adopt solu- and personal circumstances of those receiv- Such a regulatory modification has finally tion promoting the integration of women ing this pension. been favourably accepted, with the approval into the workplace, improving their work- Finally, Royal Decree 1335/2005 of 11 of Law 9/2005 of 6 June, which makes SOVI ing conditions and facilitating the compat- November, regulating family Social Security pensions compatible with widows pensions ibility of employment with family activities. benefits, introduced certain improvements from the Social Security System. into this area of coverage, doing away with the policy of cutting off orphans pensions in Rise in Complaints regarding Variety the situation cited above. Reconciling Family Life and Work Discount Shops

In recent years, there have been major Finally, in the area of consumer affa-irs, Lack of Regulation of ‘Common Law’ changes as more women are incorporated over the last few years, there has been a Partnerships into the labour market in Spain, which is marked increase in the complaints received approaching the female employment rates of by consumer advocacy groups, which seems The modifications in the concept of the the rest of the European Union, thus making to indicate higher public confidence in the family which have occurred in Spanish society it necessary to legislate policies aimed at legal mechanisms placed at citizens’ dispos- in recent years have led to a rise in so-called generating assistance so that family life can al for protecting their rights. common-law partnerships, due to which the be better reconciled with work. Noteworthy here is the ex-officio investiga- Ombudsman has repeatedly insisted upon the The Ombudsman’s Office, from its begin- tion recently initiated by the Ombudsman’s need to regulate them, basically insofar as nings, has stressed the need to modify and Office as a consequence of the appearance in they affect access to widows pensions, and has expand maternity benefits; in this regard, dif- different media, during the 2005 Christmas provided information regarding those actions ferent proposals aimed at the Administration season, of reports that many toys were not to citizens who have presented complaints to could be cited, such as the expansion of multi- being subject to the legally established securi- the Ombudsman’s Office regarding the lack of ple-birth benefits to cases of adoption, recog- ty regulations, especially those that could be regulation of these partnerships. nition of maternity benefits in the case of tem- acquired in the variety discount shops known The fifty-fourth additional provision of porarily fostering children, and modifying the in Spain as todo a cien. Therefore, the Nation- Law 30/2005 of 29 December, regarding the regulations for maternity leave in the event of al Consumer Institute was asked for informa- 2006 Budget, stipulated that the Govern- premature birth, all of which have been tion regarding the measures adopted to date ment would present to Parliament, after detailed in previous reports to Parliament. or which are to be adopted with the aim assessing and analysing, in a dialogue with Law 39/1999 of 5 November, promoting of providing greater security in the acquisi- social agents, a bill making it possible for the compatibility of employment and family tion of toys. This investigation was currently those persons who, without matrimonial life for workers, and Royal Decree 1335/2005 underway at the close of the present report.

How to Contact the Ombudsman Internet: visit our website, www.defensordelpueblo.es Post: c/ Zurbano, 42, 28010 Madrid, SPAIN E-mail: [email protected] Telephone: (+34) 900 10 10 25, (+34) 91 308 11 58

52 The Ombudsman • Summary of the Report for 2005 IMMIGRATION AND FOREIGN AFFAIRS Ombudsman’s Recommendations on Immigrant Legalization Process Accepted

hroughout the greater part of the year to which the present report refers, the processing of different complaints and ex-officio T investigations related to residency and immigration issues has coexisted with the final phase of preparing a special report on ‘Legal Assistance to Foreign Nationals in Spain’1. A high number of complaints has indicated that the process for issuing an entry visa on the part of consular offices is extremely long, and sometimes, due to these delays, foreign nationals’ residency authorisations can go out of force, since they are not legally allowed to stay outside of Spain for longer than six months. This excessive red tape has compelled the Ombudsman’s Office to carry out actions aimed at the swift resolution of the individual cases called to its attention. Massive Assaults on the Border Fences in Ceuta and Melilla

After the massive assaults on the security who were wounded in the course of their Ombudsman’s investigation, the project of fence separating Melilla from Morocco, a attempts at irregular entry. installing a third obstacle was also analysed; team from the Ombudsman’s Office, headed The Ombudsman’s Office continues to fol- this so-called ‘three-dimensional rope obsta- by the First Deputy María Luisa Cava de low the internal investigation opened by the cle’ was designed to make access to the fence Llano, visited the Autonomous City on 10 Civil Guard in relation to the images shown more difficult, and more information regard- and 11 October 2005. on a television broadcast in which it could ing its definitive installation was requested On 22 November 2005, the First Deputy be seen how a person, who appeared to be a of the Secretary of State for Security. appeared before the Joint Committee for civil guardsman, giving a hard kick to a Sub- The team sent to attend to these immi- Relations with the Ombudsman to report on Saharan man who had been cast to the grants, working under the aegis of the Short- the team’s conclusions. The present Annual ground by another guardsman. Moreover, a Stay Centre for Immigrants (CETI), deserves Report offers a summary of these conclu- writ was sent to the Attorney General to high praise, especially because it played a key sions, beginning with an analysis of the caus- know whether he had opened any judicial role in keeping the situation under control es due to which, over the course of 2005, the proceeding related to this event. and maintaining social harmony. pressures on the Spanish enclaves of Melilla Special attention was given to the fact and Ceuta have been worsening. that along several points of the fence, coils of The border area is on Spanish territory, barbed concertina wire were laid out. The Return of 73 Immigrants to Morocco and there is no regulation, in the law gov- installation of these elements was cause for erning foreign nationals’ access to Spanish grave concern, since they represent a seri- In the course of the visit made to the soil, permitting exceptions to the full appli- ous risk to human life and safety. Finally, Provincial Police Station of Melilla, the team cation of Spanish law on any portion of the concertina wire was taken away. In the proceeded to analyse the documents regarding national territory. Given this starting point, the report analyses which legal term could be applicable to those persons who are intercepted whilst trying to accede to Span- ish territory in an irregular fashion. That term is return, which should be carried out in accordance with the guarantees and formalities established by law. Not to act in this way leaves those persons who could ask for protection without any option whatsoever of requesting this right. To avoid such problems, the Secretary of State for Security has been sent a reminder of these legal duties. The team was able to confirm the lack of clear criteria for the adequate use of these means of contention, so it is necessary to design an intervention protocol adapted to the structure of the border area, and the conditions under which these actions should be carried out. The Secretary of State for Security was also informed of the need, on the part of the Administration, to investigate The First Deputy Ombudsman, María Luisa Cava de Llano, looks at the concertina wire along the accusations of disproportionate violence Melilla fence, during her visit on 10 and 11 October, after the massive assaults by Sub-Saharans trying to get into Spain. She is accompanied, on her right, by her Office Chief, Carmen Comas and of summary returns, without any proce- Mata Mira, and on her right, by the Head of Immigration and Foreign Affairs, Bartolomé José dures being followed, and even of persons Martínez.

(1) See the website, www.defensordelpueblo.es

The Ombudsman • Summary of the Report for 2005 53 IMMIGRATION AND FOREIGN AFFAIRS the processes involving the foreign nationals who were finally readmitted by Morocco on 6 October 2005. Although Melilla’s Provincial Aliens and Documentation Brigade resolved to follow due process in the return of these interested parties, these persons entered Spanish territory without being intercepted by the security forces, and then went immediately, by themselves, to the police station and, after two days remaining in Spain and moving about freely, they returned to the police station— under which these circumstances, the proper procedure would have been to initiate an expulsion procedure, rather than a return, although the latter is what was done. As a result, a reminder of their legal duties was sent to the Government Delegation in Melilla. The procedure chosen and the processing followed in these returns was excessively short and, moreover, it did not attend to the principle of granting a hearing, it was closed, and Llanos Pelados Juvenile Detention Centre, Fuerteventura. lacking in real legal guarantees. Under these circumstances, it is not feasible that anyone having protection needs would have been able to expound them. governmental authorities were immediately the Fuerteventura Island Administration, Part of the responsibility for this situation asked to initiate repatriation procedures, included closing down the installations of lies in how legal assistance was provided by without even considering the possibility that it the Los Llanos Pelados CAME, transferring professionals from the Melilla Bar Association. could be in the minors’ best interest to remain these minors to a more appropriate centre. Consequently, in early 2006 a recommenda- in Spain. tion was sent to that Association for it to adopt A joint investigation was also carried out the necessary measures in order to substan- with the Department of Family and Social Visits to Internment Centres for Foreign tially improve the legal assistance provided in Affairs of the Community of Madrid, and with nationals return procedures, as well as to establish a sys- the Central Government Delegation, which tem able to ensure the availability of a suffi- concluded with two recommendations, in the During 2005, consultants from the cient number of lawyers in case of a legal sense that if a minor who was going to be repa- Ombudsman’s Office visited five internment emergency. triated was under some medical treatment, a centres for foreign nationals (known by On another subject, the Ombudsman’s medical report should be requested to deter- their Spanish initials, CIE) in Fuerteventu- Office received a significant number of peti- mine whether the repatriation should be post- ra, Grand Canary, Tenerife, Barcelona, and tions asking it to initiative actions to prevent poned or, if appropriate, put off indefinitely, as Madrid, in order to confirm the conditions of the Moroccan authorities from sending aliens well as the treatment to be followed. their installations, verify whether they were in an irregular situation to desert areas or con- functioning correctly, and to guarantee due flict zones. The Ombudsman informed these respect for the foreign nationals’ recognised petitioners that it was not possible to do any- Situation in Juvenile Detention Centres in rights. thing in relation to this matter, since the the Canaries Especially noteworthy is the fact that, giv- events were occurring outside of Spanish ter- en the upcoming transfer of the Barcelona ritory, and under the authority of Moroccan During 2005, teams from the Ombudsman’s CIE to new installations, it was recommend- officials. However, the Joint Committee for Office visited four detention centres for unac- ed that the installations visited be kept at a Relations with the Ombudsman was asked to companied alien minors (known by their low level of occupation, given their clear include, in border control co-operation agree- Spanish initials, CAME) in the Canary Islands. shortcomings. Indeed, the Ombudsman ments, assessable clauses regarding effective The Los Llanos Pelados centre, the only one on hopes that the new centre shall serve to cor- guarantees for the respect of migrants’ human Fuerteventura Island; La Isleta, on Grand rect the many shortcomings found at the rights. Canary; and the Geneto and El Portezuelo cen- CIE known as La Verneda. tres, on Tenerife. The full report details the Regarding the Madrid CIE, an investiga- conclusions from each of these visits, which tion is still in course regarding the lack of Repatriation of Unaccompanied Minors have been sent to all of the administrative bod- security from which the centre suffers, and ies having jurisdiction in issues involving due to which only the first floor can be used. The Ombudsman has contacted the compe- minors in the Canary Islands, as well as—in tent bodies involved in family reunification the case of certain specific problems—the regarding the need to carry out a detailed Attorney General and the Central Government Protecting Undocumented Battered analysis of each minor’s situation before mak- Subdelegation. Immigrant Women ing the decision to return them to their coun- It should be highlighted here that the tries. However, it became clear that, in most recommendations made to the Depart- In the past, an ex-officio investigation was cases, once minors had been placed under the ment of Employment and Social Affairs of launched regarding the difficulties of jurisdiction of the protection services, the the Canary Islands Administration, and to women foreign nationals living in Spain

54 The Ombudsman • Summary of the Report for 2005 IMMIGRATION AND FOREIGN AFFAIRS

collaborated with Spanish authorities in As can be seen from an investigation car- prosecuting organised crime rings, but had ried out with the Consulate-General of Spain not been issued a residency authorisation in Shanghai, this office required those —which prevented her from getting a job in requesting a visa to present the original docu- order to live— and without having received ment offering them work. At first, the Direc- any help in returning to her country. The torate General for Consular Affairs and Assis- interested party said that, given the lack of tance recognised that the regulations did not assistance and the fact that she could not require the presentation of such a document, work legally, she had no other choice but to and that it was not necessary to provide it. resort to prostitution, which was, precisely, However, it was found that this practice has how she came to be exploited by the crime not ceased, and it was justified as a means to ring that she reported to the police. prevent possible fraud. A recommendation The Ombudsman considered that the situa- was made to the Consular Administration ask- tion of these persons deserves specialised ing it to case and desist in the practice of attention, and therefore sent the Directorate requiring visa applicants who had received General for Immigration a recommendation working papers to present the corresponding that help, especially social, psychological, and job offer. The recommendation has been medical, be offered to those persons who found accepted. themselves in such a situation when it was An Iraqi citizen with legal residency in clear that they lacked their own resources or Spain complained to the Ombudsman’s Office had no access to other family or social support. that he had the appropriate residence authorisation for reuniting his family, in this case his wife and two sons, but when his wife went Urgent Improvements in Consular to the Consular Office of Spain in Damascus Spanish Consulate in Bogota. Assistance (Syria) to ask for the corresponding visas, she was not allowed to present the request, The need for our consular system to under- because she could not accredit legal resi- irregularly should they need to report domes- go substantial improvements, to the benefit of dence in that country. The interested party tic violence or other crimes of which they are the citizens and the functioning of the entire maintained that his family was in Syria given victims, due to fear of being the object of an public services network, continues to be a pri- the situation in their country of origin. The expulsion order. In 2005, the Secretary of ority. Ombudsman took into consideration that land State for Security, following the Ombudsman’s Regarding service over the telephone or travel between Damascus and Baghdad was guidelines, issued Instruction 14/2005 of 29 information services, the most overloaded long and complicated for anyone, and espe- July, ‘regarding actions in police installations consulates generally present deficient func- cially for a woman travelling with two young involving aliens who are victims of domestic tioning. In this regard, noteworthy examples minors. Consequently, an urgent suggestion or gender violence, and in an irregular admin- include the consular offices in Lagos, Islam- was sent to the Directorate General for Con- istrative situation’. However, it should be abad, Quito, Bogota, and Havana. sular Affairs and Assistance so that she would pointed out that the procedure established is As to the function and service to the pub- be allowed to present her applications at highly complex, nor is it in keeping with the lic at the Consulate-General of Spain in Spain’s consular offices in Damascus. The norm’s protective nature since, in a best-case Havana, different investigations were car- suggestion was accepted. scenario, the sanction would end with the ried out, referring, among other issues, to imposition of a fine on the woman involved. the need to wait all night at the visa desk. Along these same lines, the Ombudsman Part of the problem lies in the actions of Consular Functions Subcontracted maintains his criteria regarding the need to the private individuals holding places on the to Private Companies avoid emitting expulsion orders under the queue, with the aim of receiving an economic Aliens Law to those foreign nationals in an benefit, who are known as coleros (Spanish Another investigation that should be noted irregular situation who go to a police station for ‘queuers’). The actions initiated with the here in relation to the measures adopted by to report having been the victim of a crime. Cuban Ministry of the Interior in order The Directorate General for the Police con- to address this situation have had no results to sidered that it was not feasible to accept this date. However, the Administration reported proposal from the Ombudsman’s Office. that it has increased telephone service, and Therefore, the issue has been appealed to the the hired more staff for this consular office Secretaries of State for Security and for Immi- in order to try to improve these deficiencies gration and Emigration, in order for them to as much as possible. examine the existing channels for meeting The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has made the criteria defended by the Ombudsman. manifest that the difficult situation in which the Consulate-General of Spain in Havana needs to act on a daily basis is cause for con- Assistance for Those Denouncing cern, which is worsened by the fact that the Organised Crime special characteristics of Cuba limit to a large extent any attempt to improve consular ser- It is equally important to mention the vices. The Administration has announced an investigation carried out due to the complaint increase in staff and expansion of the installa- Long queues persist at the offices opened for presented by a Bielorussian citizen who had tions. legalising immigrants.

The Ombudsman • Summary of the Report for 2005 55 IMMIGRATION AND FOREIGN AFFAIRS the Embassy of Spain in Islamabad for pro- information, it could be deducted that the Expulsions during the Legalisation cessing and issuing visas for family reunifi- problem lies in the fact that more than 70% Process cation. When the interested parties went of the total of appointments was concen- to the Embassy to process their corre- trated in a small group of people. After During the special legalisation process, sponding visas, they were informed in writ- the Ombudsman’s intervention, the Sub- complaints were received from different ing that the Embassy could not process Secretariat of the Ministry of Public places around the country, presented by for- their request in the near future, and Administration introduced modifications eign nationals who were trying to be includ- offered the following alternatives: contin- in the computer system which kept it from ed in the legalisation process, and who ue in their present situation and wait accumulating appointments. However, it seemed to meet its requirements, but in indefinitely; pay the amount of 15,000 should be pointed out that the problems spite of they had been detained or issued an rupees for the Embassy to process their for obtaining an appointment over the expulsion order due to being in Spain irreg- request more quickly, with the help of out- Internet have persisted. ularly, during the days before the process side collaborators; or, finally, cancel their Another group of investigations is related began, or even while it was going on. Many of application. to the general delays detected in the ordi- these persons were carrying out the necessary From the official information received, nary functioning of some offices for pro- paperwork to obtain the documents to it can be seen that Embassy personnel con- cessing foreign nationals’ papers. These include in their regularisation applications, sidered the documentation issued by the were nearly always related to lack of mate- and saw their intentions frustrated by being local authorities to be unreliable and that rials, computers, and personnel; this was imprisoned and, in most cases, expelled. the process of confirming their authentici- sometimes in addition to lack of adequate Moreover, the Ombudsman’s Office is still ty with these authorities is extremely long, installations, resulting in citizens finding receiving complaints with a certain frequen- and not always having any results. There- themselves forced to wait for long periods cy indicating that, in order to accept appli- fore, they had opted for offering a system outdoors, even in rough weather; in delays cations for residence and work permits, for- enabling a single local consulting firm in the processing of their documents; or in mulated as part of the special legalisation to make the opportune verifications on their receiving inadequate treatment. process, a report from the home government the Embassy’s behalf. The Ombudsman was requested regarding the foreign nation- expanded this investigation in order to al who aimed to be legalised under the clarify how this local collaborator operat- The Census Requirement for Residency process. An unfavourable report usually ed, how it was selected, and the controls meant that the corresponding application established over it, as well as the kind of The Ombudsman’s Office has carried was rejected. The Ombudsman’s criteria is actions that the Embassy carried out in the out many actions related to the process of that the simple existence of an unfavourable event that the visa applicant chose not to legalising those aliens who were in an government report cannot constitute the opt for this verification system. irregular situation, as long as they could direct cause of refusing a work and resi- prove that they had been residing in Spain dence permit as part of the aforesaid legali- since before 7 August 2004, and that they sation process, unless its contents refer to Destruction of Documentary Evidence had a job contract. The issue generating circumstances incompatible with the appli- the most complaints was regarding the cant’s remaining in Spain. The Ombudsman still has open an inves- demand that they present a certificate of tigation regarding the practice followed by being on their municipal census, as the the Central Government Subdelegation sole method of proving their continued Standardised Criteria for Family in Barcelona, during the process of legalis- residence in Spain. Reunification ing established immigrants, of destroying In March 2005, the Ombudsman sent a those resolutions conceding residency recommendation to the Secretary of State The legislation on aliens limits the right which could not be delivered by certified for Immigration and Emigration, urging to family reunification to those foreign mail, as well as the postage slips docu- that it accept, for this special legalisation nationals residing legally in Spain and menting the attempts to do so. The deci- process, other means of indubitable proof whose applicants accredit, among other cir- sion is even more serious given the fact than a certificate of being on the munici- cumstances, that they have the necessary that the documentation destroyed could pal census in order to accredit residence means to attend to the needs of their family have probatory value. The competent bod- in Spain. after reunification, as well as to having suffi- ies have been informed of these At first, the Administration reject the cient housing for them. However, there is a antecedents, with the aim of taking appro- Ombudsman’s proposed criteria. However, lack of general instructions regarding the priate actions to clarify who was responsi- the Ombudsman issued another writ, economic quantities which can be demand- ble. insisting on the need to expand the types ed in such cases, and standards for mini- of proof for accrediting residence in mum housing requirements, which has led Spain, given that many immigrants who to a disparity in the criteria used by different Problems with Appointments were living in Spain, and could accredit government delegations and subdelegations, for Immigrant Regulation this, were not registered on their munici- which have fixed parameters whose differences pal census, for different reasons. Finally, are sometimes not very reasonable. The The deficiencies seen in the system for the Administration accepted the Ombuds- non-existence of general instructions giving out appointments have spread to man’s views and mitigated the effects of regarding this matter generates a situation other computerised media, as is the case the restriction of means of proving resi- of legal insecurity which could lead to arbi- of the Internet-based system set up by dence, accepting the concept of census trary decisions. the Ministry of Public Administration for the registration by omission, an idea already Consequently, a recommendation was province of Barcelona. Once the Ombuds- included in the norms regulating census sent to the Directorate General for Immigra- man’s Office received the requested rolls. tion, urging the Administration to proceed to

56 The Ombudsman • Summary of the Report for 2005 IMMIGRATION AND FOREIGN AFFAIRS the promulgation of the Ministerial Order only that, in exceptional cases, the authori- the events of 28 December 2004 in Ceuta. stipulated in the Alien Regulations which ties in charge of conceding residence cards After examining police fingerprint files, it would determine the economic requisites may request reports from the authorities was proved that a number of persons who for such situations. Moreover, it mentions from the applicant’s State of origin, or other were in Ceuta had been summarily expelled, the advisability of completing these instruc- States, regarding a possible legal record. The pending the processing of an asylum request, tions with some indications regarding what Commissioner-General for Aliens and Docu- without any procedure whatsoever. The is considered appropriate family housing. In mentation was reminded of this, in order to Directorate-General of Interior Policy made it the response received, the cited ministerial cease and desist in this practice. possible for some of these persons to return, department showed itself favourable to after they were located on Moroccan soil. accepting this recommendation. For its part, the Central Government Del- However, the Secretary of State for Immi- Fewer Applicants for Asylum egation in Ceuta denied these events, and gration and Emigration did not accept the indicated that on this date persons who had recommendation from the Ombudsman’s The downward trend in the number of just entered Spain had been detained, and Office that, for family reunification purpos- persons requesting asylum in Spain is placed in the hands of the Moroccan author- es, unmarried couples who could accredit a caused by a variety of factors: the spreading ities, in application of a readmission agree- stable relationship be treated as if they were of false stereotypes on the part of mafias or ment between the two countries signed on married. human traffickers, the lack of adequate 13 February 1992. The Ombudsman’s Office legal orientation once they arrive on Span- finds such explanations inadmissible; firstly, ish soil, or the realisation that the procedure because it does not recognise a scenario Exemption of EU Workers from the Penal could delay the applicant’s possibility of which has already been proved by other Certificate entering Spanish territory, even in an irreg- means and, moreover, because it tries to ular situation. Especially relevant is the defend the idea that the readmission agree- Complaints received at the Ombudsman’s requirement in such cases of a visa from the ment with Morocco makes it possible to Office indicated that family members of for- nationals of countries who previously did not immediately return, without any kind of foreign nationals from EU countries who had need to have visas to come to Spain. mal process, an individual who is already on requested residence cards, without having Amongst the actions carried out within Spanish soil and has been caught by surprise previously obtained a visa, were required to the realm of protecting the right to asylum, in the vicinity of the border. Therefore, the present a certificate of their penal record. a highlight is the investigation of the Central Delegation was asked to open an inside This requirement was not stipulated in Royal Government Delegation in Ceuta and Direc- investigation in order to determine who was Decree 178/2003 of 14 February, which indicates torate-General of the Police, launched after responsible.

Emigration and Assistance to Spanish Nationals Abroad

his section covers those actions bar-coded pass- T carried out in relation to the prob- port with a digital lems faced by Spanish nationals photograph. abroad, whether in stable situations or Should the per- on a short-term basis. son not have this Beginning with the fact that the col- kind of passport, lective of Spanish emigrants comprises an entry visa 1,487,817 persons, according to offi- must be request- cial statistics from 2004, the Ombuds- ed before the trip. man’s Office follows with great interest Spain has been the evolution of this group’s presence issuing such pass- in different geographic areas, since ports since 2003, this also has an impact on the demand although prob- for services from the Spanish Adminis- lems have been tration. found in most Since 26 October 2005, the United States consulates for the has required that everyone who wants issue of this kind to enter that country must do so with a of document. Spanish emigrants, in Argentina.

The Ombudsman • Summary of the Report for 2005 57 IMMIGRATION AND FOREIGN AFFAIRS

been especially those emigrants who returned to Spain significant. A sub- before 1 January 2004. stantial part of the responsibility for these delays Pensions for ‘Civil War Children’ corresponds to Spain’s offices Law 3/2005 recognises the right to eco- abroad, since it nomic assistance for those of Spanish ori- appears that at gin who, as minors, were taken abroad times quite a few between 18 July 1936 and 31 December months are nec- 1939, as a consequence of the Spanish Civ- essary for the il War, and who spent most of their lives applications to outside of Spanish territory. The Spanish move from the Administration had already adopted differ- centres where ent measures in favour of specific collec- they are received tives within this larger group, known as the —generally hon- niños de la guerra (Civil War children), orary vice-con- although this norm has a more general sulates— to the scope. Labour Affairs The economic aid specified by the new Office at the law is a measure which aims to compensate Embassy, and for the hardships of those citizens whose from thence to personal and professional prospects were Queues in front of the Consulate of Spain in Buenos Aires to apply for a the central ser- cut off as a consequence of that conflict. visa. Photo: La Region de Orense newspaper. vices in Spain. The Ombudsman’s Office is very pleased The Ombuds- at the promulgation of this law. However, man has request- after it entered into effect, many com- ed that the plaints have been received from citizens The Consular Administration has Directorate General for Emigration speed —all of them children during the Spanish reported that it aims to progressively up the resolution of those applications for Civil War— who relate their harsh per- install the means enabling consulates to which long delays have been observed, tak- sonal experiences, and vindicating the issue digital passports, as is already ing into account that the applicants for extension of the law’s coverage to their done, for example, at the Spanish Con- these pensions and forms of assistance are own situations. In all of these cases, the sulate in Zurich. The Ombudsman’s in precarious situations and, moreover, are Ombudsman’s Office has informed the Office will follow up on the process of elderly persons, so that they are often in an interested parties that the determination installing this new technology. Moreover, especially vulnerable position. of which de facto situations could give it has indicated to the Administration In 2005, the actions involving the someone the right to these benefits corre- that, as long as the current situation goes Directorate General for Emigration have sponds to the Legislature. on, it must allow Spanish nationals continued regarding the serious lack of abroad to renew their passports in a con- protection suffered by the collective of sular district different from that corre- emigrants over 65 years of age who Service and Treatment at Consular sponding to their place of residence, if return to Spain and who, in spite of lack- Offices necessary. ing in economic means, cannot have a non-contributive pension, nor an old-age Having investigated the complaints by assistance pension. citizens referring to possible rude treat- Delays in Processing Pensions The Administration has regulated this ment on the part of consular civil ser- issue via a Royal Decree of 30 December vants or employees, it is frequently found Amongst the functions of Spain’s offices 2005, in keeping with the Ombudsman’s that there is a lack of probatory ele- abroad is serving Spanish emigrants who could indications, since in its third additional ments, and the differences in the ver- have the right to an assistance pension. Recog- provision, it eliminates the requirement sions of the parties constitutes an obsta- nition of these pensions and forms of assis- that emigrants older than 65 who return cle to determining responsibility on the tance is granted by Central Government ser- to Spain must have been beneficiaries of part of the personnel involved. vices, under the Directorate-General for an old-age assistance pension in their All of Spain’s offices abroad should Emigration. However, the work of the consular country of residence for two years in have an emergency service, on duty 24 offices is essential, since they receive the appli- order to receive such a pension back in hours a day, able to deal quickly and cations and serve as efficient sources of infor- Spain, as long as they accredit fulfilling effectively with any possible serious inci- mation so that the eventual beneficiaries of the remaining requisites stipulated in dent which could befall Spanish nationals these programmes are able to present their the General Law for Social Security to when they are abroad. After the Ombuds- applications properly, thus avoiding bureau- have the right to a non-contributive pen- man’s intervention, general instructions cratic delays and repetition. sion, with the exception of the residence were given that, outside of office hours, Delays in processing applications for assis- period. However, it should be pointed out all consulates had to connect their tele- tance pensions from Spanish nationals living that the new norm is being applied with phones to an automatic answering ser- in Argentina, the country with the largest limited retroactive effect, since it leaves vice, providing a telephone number for number of Spaniards residing abroad, have outside the scope of this coverage all emergency situations.

58 The Ombudsman • Summary of the Report for 2005 EDUCATION AND CULTURE AREA For an Educational System Not Subject to Electoral Swings

hroughout 2005, the Spanish educational system has been, once again, waiting for normative reforms and modifications, when the Timplantation of reforms stipulated in previous norms had yet to be fully implemented. Once again, in the present Annual Report, the Ombudsman’s Office calls upon decision-makers in the realm of education to endow our system with the stability necessary for its future development, and achieve results adequate to the needs of our society. Above and beyond political and ideological discrepancies it is necessary for all sides —indeed, it should be demanded of them, in the Ombudsman’s opinion— to reach basic agreements on educational issues, making it possible to build a solid, stable structure, one not subject to electoral swings, upon which to base a system in which the educational administration, teachers, and other educational professionals can work towards long-term goals.

Violence in the Schools from at least 300 schools around the coun- The equipping and maintenance of edu- try which provide compulsory secondary cational installations often demands com- In December 2005, the Ombudsman education. If there are no unexpected dif- plex administrative paperwork, involving signed an agreement with the Spanish ficulties or delays, the results of this new the participation of different authorities Committee of the United Nations Chil- study should be published at the end of or administrations, which explains, but dren’s Fund (UNICEF) to carry out a 2006. does not justify, why necessary actions like national study on the serious problem of Regarding the complaints processed these can be delayed for so long, with the violence in the schools. This investigation over the course of 2005 in the realm of obvious negative impact that this situation not only aims to discover the current state education below the university level, it can have on the quality of the educational of this problem, but also to determine its can be said that the complaints regarding services that citizens receive. evolution since the Ombudsman’s Office school installations have dropped, both first published the results of its previous those referring to deficiencies and failure study (1999-2000), and to compile specific to meet the minimum requirements of Lack of Spaces in Preschool data on the effectiveness of the measures already existing installations, and those and interventions of all kinds put into referring to the lack of installations in cer- As to enrolment in the schools, the most effect to date in an attempt to stem this tain areas or for certain educational lev- frequent complaints involve the problem phenomenon. els. One year is not enough as a deadline of concentrating immigrant children, or The fieldwork is being conducted over within which to respond to the deficien- those with special educational needs, in the course of the first half of 2006, and cies and needs reported by the education- certain schools, as well as the lack of includes, amongst other tasks, a poll of al community, and recognised by the com- places for preschool students, especially students, teachers, and administrators petent authorities. those who are three years old. These deficiencies occur in specific geographic areas, particularly in densely populated urban centres with a high proportion of immigrants, or those with urban development plans or programmes —circumstances which often go hand in hand. Regarding the concentration of immigrant students, the Ombudsman’s Office has been recommending, although without much success, that measures be adopted tending to favour, and even under certain circumstances, to impose, the balanced redistribution of these students, not only amongst the public schools, but also between public schools and private schools receiving state subsidies. Also regarding these immigrant students, as well as those who for other reasons require specific educational support, the Ombudsman has recommended specifically that the Communi- ty of Madrid suppress the quantitative limits on the number of special education teachers for those centres where there is a Signing of the agreement with UNICEF on school violence. The President of UNICEF Spain, high number of these kinds of students, in Consuelo Crespo, signs, with Ombudsman Enrique Múgica, an agreement for conducting a new order to provide them with enough of study on violence in the schools, updating the one already carried out by the Ombudsman’s Office in 2000. To their right is the Second Deputy Ombudsman, Manuel Aguilar, whose department will these kinds of teachers to meet their spe- co-ordinate the new report. cific needs.

The Ombudsman • Summary of the Report for 2005 59 EDUCATION AND CULTURE AREA

Regarding the lack of spaces for preschool Education and Science has informed the students, and especially for those in the Ombudsman that it is working on a project three-year-old bracket, progress has been which would include making the former considerable, although there are still some diploma as a Technician Specialised in shortages, particularly in areas with intense Nuclear Medicine, granted as part of an urban development, where the educational official training programme, the equiva- previsions and planning seem to have been lent to the current diploma as a Higher insufficient to provide an adequate res- Technician in Image Diagnosis, thus meet- ponse to perfectly foreseeable educational ing the demands of the interested parties needs. having Nuclear Medicine diplomas.

Student Admissions Special Education

Regarding student admissions, prob- Regarding special education, the com- lems are still seen regarding the accredi- plaints received continue to stress the tation of family income, although this has lack of personnel and resources, or been solved to a certain extent by the fact the inadequacy of the installations due that the educational authorities can get to the characteristics of the students information directly from the tax authori- being taught at such centres. There has The salary differences between Spanish Self- ties; however, this solution can be prob- been a notable rise in the number of com- governing Communities, and the lack of lematical due to the time-lag between the plaints regarding delays in the substitu- equivalency of their healthcare diplomas with income tax declaration taken into consid- tion of teaching and non-teaching person- those of the rest of Europe, are a source of discouragement to health professionals. eration and the academic year in which nel, or even refusals to do so, when for the student requests a space, if the fami- temporary or permanent reasons they go ly’s income has varied considerably during on leave in the ordinary centres with places that time. for special education students, or in spe- persist in certain areas, especially the There has also been a considerable cialised education centres. It is clear that Health Sciences, where these is apparent- delay in the regulation of student admis- these students require ongoing, intensive ly still a gap between the supply of and sions to schools depending on the Spanish support on the part of the educational demand for places. Administration abroad, whose normative authorities, and that no measures or Given that the media have been bring- development has been pending since 1993, resources should be stinted in providing them ing out news reports over the past year and more than a decade has been insuffi- with the educational support that they need. regarding the shortage of health profes- cient to carry this out. Other issues mentioned in the present sionals in some parts of Spain’s health sys- Also worthy of mention is the Ombuds- report, and regarding which the Ombuds- tem, it would seem necessary to adopt man’s radical disagreement with the crite- man’s Office has taken action over the measures able to correct the aforesaid ria maintained by some municipalities course of 2005, include, among others, supply gap, especially in those areas of whose schools, in determining admissions, those regarding the problem of obtaining knowledge and those professions for which give extra consideration to students whose the diplomas corresponding to post-com- the Spanish university system is not pro- families accredit paying higher rent or pulsory studies on the part of foreign stu- viding sufficient graduates. having higher mortgages. Given that the dents in an irregular situation, a problem capacity to go into debt or pay rent tends resolved by the approval of Royal Decree to be directly linked to one’s economic 2393/2004, as well as the access of foreign Co-ordination of Registration capacity, it is more than questionable students to grants and assistance for Times whether such criteria should favour the acquiring textbooks. Lastly, noteworthy admission of students to educational cen- actions still underway aimed at eliminat- tres which are, to a certain extent, main- ing the restrictions on access to the open Moving on to another subject, it has tained with public funding. certification exams given at certain offi- been seen how, as a consequence of the cial language schools, and regarding some current pre-registration system, different of the languages taught there. universities’ registration times often over- Image Diagnosis Technicians lap, so that it is impossible for students to wait and see the results of all of their As to issues involving academic accred- Shortage of Health Professionals admission applications to different univer- itation, the present report can highlight sities before the registration deadline in two of them. The first, now being resolved Regarding university education, and one or more of them, which sometimes satisfactorily, involves the academic and specifically issues involving access to a compels students to pay the registration professional status conceded to the former student’s first choice of degree programme, fee at a university where they have been diploma of Technician Specialised in the drop in the number of students and accepted, before they know whether or not Nuclear Medicine, who until now were the greater availability of places, as well as they were admitted to another university considered the equivalent of Higher Tech- the implantation of a single, nationwide which was their first option. Therefore, nicians in Radiotherapy, which excluded district, has brought about a significantly these registration periods should be co- them from professional activity and jobs lower number of complaints in this area, ordinated, along with their corresponding involving image diagnosis. After the perti- as has been the case for the past several procedures, in order to avoid such pro- nent steps were taken, the Ministry of years. However, these difficulties seem to blems.

60 The Ombudsman • Summary of the Report for 2005 EDUCATION AND CULTURE AREA

Delays in Certifying Foreign raise an average of 5% the maximum volume of complaints, compared with oth- Diplomas income allowed in order to have access to er years. Very probably, this is related to such grants or assistance. Moreover, the the political debate which arose regard- amount of grants and assistance has risen ing the reform of Catalonia’s Statute of Regarding the certification of foreign approximately 4%. In spite of this, stu- Autonomy, since a large part of the com- diplomas, which continues to generate com- dents still encounter many difficulties in plaints received in 2005 relate to this plaints due to processing delays, a welcome financing their post-compulsory studies in community. The Ombudsman’s Office, in development is the new procedure estab- the academic centre of their choice, the present Annual Report, asks that the lished by Royal Decree 285/2004 of 20 Feb- because neither the number of grants exercising of linguistic rights reflect ruary, which provides a more consistent and awarded nor their quantity enables stu- the framework of freedom and respect simplified process, but which did not enter dents to finance the cost of their study designed in the Spanish Constitution, into effect until September 2005. There- fees, travel, and room and board. without impositions or impediments, so fore, it would be difficult for the Ombuds- The present report specially emphasises that the free use of the language of one’s man, in the present report, to present an the rigorous criteria imposed by the Adminis- choice may involve personal and social objective assessment of the benefits which tration in selecting those students to receive enrichment, rather than becoming a fac- could foreseeably arise from this norm, and grants which in some or another promote stu- tor contributing to discord or discrimina- the impact it could have on the situation of dent mobility, both around Spain and abroad. tion. bureaucratic collapse which was reported The amount of this assistance, received from Regarding the communications media in 2004, according to the data provided by the Seneca and Erasmus programmes, is and broadcasting, many complaints are still the Ministry of Education and Science at insufficient, and the rigorous income restric- being received, particularly regarding tele- that time. tions placed on candidates for mobility grants vision programming, with only a very slight Nursing. Another welcome development is excessive. All of this makes it difficult to ful- improvement being noticeable after the is the publication and entering into effect of fil the purpose of these grants, which is none Agreement Promoting Self-Regulation Royal Decree 450/2005, regarding nursing other than to promote the mobility of Spanish Regarding Television Content and Children, specialities, which puts into practice a students amongst different academic centres. signed in December 2003, between the Gov- recommendation sent by Ombudsman to the ernment and representatives of the nation- Ministry of Education and Science in March al television stations. There is much yet to 2000, that Royal Decree 992/1987 of 3 July, Co-Official Languages be done, although we find ourselves in a regulating certification for a Specialist waiting period during the design of regulat- Nurse diploma, be substituted for another ing projects, aimed at reforming the model adapted to the requirements established by Regarding co-official languages, there of public television and the current control European Union regulations. has been a notable increase in the usual system. Assistant Health Technicians. A more difficult situation is that of those having a diploma as an Assistant Health Technician (known by its Spanish initials, ATS) in obtaining equivalency with those having a Nursing diploma, once they were declared homologous by Royal Decree 111/1980, under the condition that, within five years, these degree-holders complete an equivalency course specially designed for this purpose. This deadline has been extended, and finally, a period was established between 1 January 2000 and 30 December 2008; however, at the end of 2005, the necessary actions had yet to be initiated by the National Open University (UNED), the academic body placed in charge of beginning, in the short term, to give the aforesaid equivalency course. Psychologists. Over the course of 2005, problems have also persisted for those psychologists who aspire to obtain a diploma as Specialist in Clinical Psychology. There are many applications to be processed, and even more since the deadline was extended for those who met the necessary requirements to apply for this specialised diploma. Regarding study grants and assistance, another favourable development The Second Deputy Ombudsman, Manuel Aguilar Belda, fourth from the left, at the 2nd National was the 12.8% increase in funding for this Childhood, Television, and Education Forum, held at RTVE, Spanish National Television. To the left of purpose, which has made it possible to the Second Deputy is Pedro Núñez Morgades, the Ombudsman for Minors of the Community of Madrid.

The Ombudsman • Summary of the Report for 2005 61 REPORT Institutional Relations

(cont. from p. 5)

Relations with Autonomous Ombudsmen 20th Ombudsmen’s Co-ordination discussion on ‘Urban Gangs and Violence’, Seminar which included the participation of the Included below are only the most relevant Ombudsman of Spain and the Ombudsman meetings during 2005 with Autonomous The 20th Ombudsmen’s Co-ordination of the Valencia Region, Bernardo del Rosal. ombudsmen. As usual, a lengthy list of the Seminar was held from 16-19 October in Each one of these conferences was mod- many contacts with different Autonomous Alicante, organised by the Ombudsman erated by one of the autonomous ombuds- institutions has been omitted. of the Valencia Region. men, with the participation of experts on Meeting with the Canary Islands Ombuds- The Seminar was inaugurated by the each issue, as well as the speakers. man, Manuel Alcaide Alonso (Ombudsman’s Deputy Governor and Secretary of the The workshops prior to this seminar Office, 25 January), Valencia Region, Víctor Campos Guinot, were held in the offices of the Ombudsmen Participation of the First Deputy in and closed by the President of the Valencian of Andalusia, the Canary Islands, and the 2nd Seminar on Statutory Reform, Regional Legislature, Julio de España Aragon, and dealt with ‘New Technological Social Rights, and Ombudsmen, organ- Moya. The keynote theme was ‘Public and Media Realities’ (Seville), ‘Justice ised by the Andalusian Ombudsman, with Administrations’ Response to Different Administration and Minors’ (Santa Cruz de the conference ‘Statutory Configuration of Phenomena and Problems Affecting Child- Tenerife), and ‘New Challenges for the Autonomous Ombudsmen through the hood and Youth’. Health of Young People (Zaragoza). Experiences of these Institutions in the Amongst the conferences and debates, The conclusions of these workshops, as Defence of their Rights’ (Baeza, Jaen, 5 resulting in conclusions which are includ- well as those of the 20th Co-ordination Smi- and 6 May). ed in the full version of the present report, nar, may be found in the complete version of Participation of the First Deputy in the highlights included ‘Criminal Content on the present report, on the Ombudsman of 2nd Seminar for the 20th Anniversary of the Internet’, ‘Justice Administration and Spain’s website: www.defensordelpueblo.es the Catalan Ombudsman Law, orga- Minors’, ‘New Challenges for Young Peo- nised by the Catalan Ombudsman, with ple’s Health’, ‘Juvenile Violence and the conference ‘The Ombudsman as Com- Today’s Society’, ‘School and Family Vio- Meetings Regarding Complaints missioner in Defence of Rights: Controlling lence’, ‘Analysis of Protection systems for the Administration and Other Functions’ Minors and Violence Prevention’, ‘Young The complete version of the present (Barcelona, 29 September). People and Gender Violence’, and a panel report includes a detailed list of the meetings and audiences involving the Ombuds- man or his Deputies held at the Ombuds- man’s Office with individual petitioners or representatives of collective complaints who wanted to convey their viewpoints on the issues involved to the Ombudsman’s Office. Highlights among these meetings, due to their public impact, were: — With the Mayor of Salamanca, Julián Lanzarote Sastre, regarding the complaint presented due to the return to Catalonia documents in the General Archive of the Spanish Civil War, located in Salamanca (20 January). — With representatives of an association of those affected by the works on the Permanent Circus (1 February). — With two neighbourhood organisations from Madrid and Madrid City Coun- cilman Pedro Sánchez (2 February). — Interview with representatives from the Spanish Heart Association, regarding the needs of their patients (3 February). — Interview with the representative The Ombudsman and autonomous commissioners who attended in Alicante, from 16-19 October, of the Nuevo Baztán and Villar del the 20th Ombudsmen’s Co-ordination Seminar, organised by the Ombudsman of the Valencia Region, during which, amongst other issues, urban gangs and violence and the Law of Minors Olmo Neighbourhood Associations (3 were discussed. February).

62 The Ombudsman • Summary of the Report for 2005 REPORT

— Meeting with the Mayor of Rota (e.g., in the workplace, economic, and cul- — Visit to the Autonomous City of (Cádiz), Lorenzo Sánchez Alonso, accom- tural) (26 May). Melilla to investigate the actions taken panied by his Economic Affairs Delegate, — Meeting with neighbourhood repre- in the face of the irregular entry of for- Juan Antonio Liaño Pasos, to deal with the sentatives from the Carmelo District in eign nationals, carried out by the First issue of tax compensation, the impossi- Barcelona, who explained the wide vari- Deputy, accompanied by her Office Chief bility to carry it out on the part of said ety of problems affecting its residents and the consultant responsible for Immi- Municipality (9 February). due to the collapse of a number of blocks gration and Foreign Affairs, during 10 — Meeting with residents of the town of flats and shops (30 May). and 11 October. of Almadén (Ciudad Real), regarding the — Meeting with members of Interna- — Meeting with representatives of a Almadén Mine’s failure to fulfil its com- tional Adoption Agencies, regarding the neighbourhood association in Vicálvaro mitment to allow them to use an empty functioning of these agencies (1 June). (13 October). field. — With two family members of mili- — Visit by the First Deputy to Spanish — Meeting with the Socialist Spokesman tary men stationed in Iraq (20 June). prisoners jailed in Asunción (Paraguay) of the Madrid Regional Assembly, Rafael — Interview with Javier Conde, Direc- in November. Simancas Simancas, and the PSOE tor of Mobility for the City of Madrid, — Meeting with the President of the (Socialist Workers’ Party of Spain) accompanied by the Deputy Director of the Spanish Confederation of Groups for Municipal Groups from the Cities of Administrative Department, Álvaro de la Families and Persons with Mental Illness Pozuelo de Alarcón, Las Rozas de Madrid, Vega Marcos, regarding a complaint pre- (14 December). Boadilla del Monte, Brunete, Tres Cantos, sented to the Ombudsman’s Office. — Interview with the Director of the Villanueva del Pardillo and Majadahonda Received by the First Deputy on 13 July. La Merced House for Minor Refugees (24 February). — Meeting with a member of the Joint and Immigrants and Unaccompanied — Meeting with interim public school Committee for Relations with the Juveniles, Pablo Pérez Pérez (15 Decem- teachers from the Basque Country Ombudsman, the President of the Cata- ber). regarding their job stability (28 March). lan Spelology Federation, and two citi- — Meeting with representatives of a — Working meeting with the Fire Chief zens from Catalonia interested in a par- celiac disease association from Catalo- of the Community of Madrid, Javier don petition. Received by the Ombudsman nia (27 December). Sanz; the Head of the Madrid Regional and his Office Chief at the Institution’s Firemen’s Health Service, Sebastián headquarters, 14 July. Cartón; and two representatives of the — Meeting with a Socialist City Coun- International Activities Firemen’s Local of the Comisiones Obr- cilwoman from Madrid, Carmen Sánchez eras trade union (12 April). Carazo, and another citizen, to discuss During 2005, the Ombudsman’s Office — Meeting with the Mayor of San the Municipal Administration’s policies has continued to intensify its activities Lorenzo del Escorial (Madrid), José regarding disables persons (22 July). on the international scene. The main Luis Fernández Quejo del Pozo (10 May). — Meeting with the Mayor of Bollullos objective of these efforts is to support — Meeting with the Councillor for Par del Condado (Huelva), Juan Carlos the initiatives aimed at improving the Health of the Extremadura Autonomous Sánchez Álvarez, interested in the par- promotion and defence of rights and Administration, Guillermo Fernández don petition for a resident of this town freedoms in other countries, mainly Vara (17 May). (26 July). through fomenting the creation and — Meeting with a cultural collective — Interview with neighbourhood rep- strengthening of defence institutions. from Aragon, which was presenting a resentatives from Barxeta regarding In this area, noteworthy in 2005 was complaint regarding the use of the Cata- high-tension wires (20 September). the designation of the Ombudsman as the lan language in Aragon, the preservation — Meeting with residents affected by President of the Ibero-American Federa- of its cultural identity, and the problems the public works in Eugenia de Montijo tion of Ombudsmen (known by its Span- arising due to the use of said language Park, Madrid (29 September). ish initials, FIO). This designation was

At the 10th FIO Congress, held in Asunción (Paraguay), from 14-17 November 2005, the Ombudsman of Spain, Enrique Múgica, was elected President of the organisation for a two-year term. (Left) Mr Múgica appears in the middle of this ‘family photo’ of Latin American ombudsmen. (Right) Some of the speakers and attendees during one of the congress’s sessions.

The Ombudsman • Summary of the Report for 2005 63 REPORT made in November, in the city of Asun- — At the OSCE Conference on Anti- — Attendance at the ceremony for the ción (Paraguay), for a two-year term. Semitism and Other Forms of Intoler- 2005 Samuel Toledano Award. rd This 10th FIO Congress had as its keynote ance. Moderated the 3 Plenary Session, theme ‘International Systems for Promoting devoted to ‘Reponses Against Anti-Semitic and Protecting Human Rights’, and included and Hate Crimes: The Role of Govern- Co-operation a conference by the Ombudsman, Enrique ments, Institutions, Legislation, Mecha- Múgica, representing the European region, nisms for Applying the Law, and Civil Soci- — Meeting with the Portuguese on ‘Experiences and Actions of European ety’ (Cordoba Convention Centre, 8-9 Ombudsman’s Deputies, José Luis Pereira Institutions regarding Childhood Protection June). Coutinho and Antonio Manuel Macedo de Issues’. Likewise, the Ombudsman attended — Attendance at the 5th Seminar for Almeida. the General Assembly of the FIO, held in Ombudsmen of the European Union, — Visit from Uruguayan prosecutors Asunción (Paraguay), 14-17 November. organised by the European Ombudsman on an internship at the Ministry of Jus- At this Congress, the ‘Asunción Decla- and the Ombudsman of the Netherlands tice’s Centre for Judicial Studies. ration’ was approved, the text of which (The Hague, Netherlands, 12-14 Septem- — Meeting with the Human Rights may be found in the complete edition of ber). Commissioner of the Council of Europe, the present report on the Ombudsman’s Álvaro Gil-Robles. website: www.defensordelpueblo.es — Meeting with a delegation from the Visits and Official Acts Swedish Ombudsman, presided over by First Deputy Cecilia Nordenfelt. Participation in Other International — Meeting with the President of the — Master Class, ‘The Relationship Events Inter-American Court of Human Rights, between the Ombudsman and Parlia- Sergio García Ramírez. ment and Local Administrations’, invit- — The Ombudsman participated in — Visit of the Ambassador of the ed by the University of Chile Law School. other international events. For example, Kingdom of Morocco in Spain, Omar Azz- — Visit from the Ombudsman of the those held to mark the 50th Anniversary iman. Republic of Chile to support efforts in of the Danish Ombudsman, in Copen- — Meeting in Chile with the President favour of creating the figure of an hagen (Denmark), from 30 March to 2 of the Constitutional Tribunal, Juan Ombudsman. Meeting with the President April Colombo; with the Minister of Justice, of the Chilean Congress, Gabriel Ascen- — During the 16th period of sessions of Luis Bates; with the Secretary-General to cio; with the Human Rights, Nationality the Annual Meeting of the International the President, Eduardo Dockendorff; and Citizenship Committee; and with the Committee for Co-ordination of National and with Magistrates from the Supreme President of the Citizens’ Defence Com- Institutions, 61st period of Sessions of Court. mittee, Francisco Fernández Fredes. the Human Rights Committee, held in the — Meeting with the Presidential Com- — Meeting with the Municipal Palace of Nations, Geneva (Switzerland), missioner for Human Rights of Guatemala, Ombudsman of Cali (Colombia), Adolfo from 13-15 April. Frank la Rue, and with the Deputy Minis- Leon López Giraldo. — At the 5th Meeting of the Board of ter for Foreign Relations, Marta Alto- — Meeting with groups from the trade Directors of the Special Fund for laguirre. unions UGT, CCOO and USO,` which, Ombudsmen and National Human Rights — Presentation of the conference on together with a delegation of Colombian Institutions in Latin America and the ‘Security in Europe and Human Rights’, union leaders, discussed problems Caribbean, also held on 15 April in Gene- by the Human Rights Commissioner of involving the deterioration of human va. the Council of Europe, Álvaro Gil-Robles. rights and the rights of trade unions in — At the 2nd Luso-Brazilian Ombuds- — Meeting with the National Ombuds- Colombia. men’s Colloquium, organised by the man for the Public Defender’s Office, — Meeting with the Director-General Ombudsman of Portugal, with the confer- Rodrigo Quintana Meléndez; the Region- of the Association for the Prevention of ence ‘The Ombudsman, a State Institu- al Ombudsman for the Metropolitan Torture, regarding the presentation of a tion’, Lisbon (Portugal), 31 May. Region, Eduardo Sepúlveda; the Office preventive protocol for internment cen- Chief for the National tres. Ombudsman, Gonzalo — Meeting with the Ombudsman of Berrio; and the Head of Sindh, Karachi (Pakistan) to exchange International Co-opera- viewpoints on the functioning of both tion, Alejandro Salinas. institutions. — Visit of the Swedish — Meeting with a committee of Euro- Ambassador, Anders pean congressmen on a fact-finding trip Rönquist. regarding the application of the Law — Meeting with Car- Regulating Land Development Activities los Genatios, Professor in the Valencia Region. at the Central University — Meeting with Spain’s Representa- of Venezuela and former tive for the UN High Commission; the Minister of Science and Assistant Director of the UNHCR’s Euro- Technology. pean Bureau, Oluseyi Bajulaiye; and — Meeting in Jerusalem with Deborah Elizondo. between the Ombudsman — Meeting with the Ombudsman of Delegation from the South Korean Ombudsman, visiting the and his Israeli counterpart, the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela Spanish Ombudsman’s Office, to observe how it works. Micha Lindens Trauss. and President of the FIO, Germán

64 The Ombudsman • Summary of the Report for 2005 REPORT

Mundaraín, and his Director of Foreign — Attendance at a public audience — Meeting with participants in the Affairs, Raizabel Díaz. on the European Union’s Agency for Third Course for Parliamentary Legal — Meeting with the National Commis- Fundamental Rights. Advisors from Latin America and the sioner for Human Rights of Honduras — Working meeting with members of European Union. and President of the Central American the association Human Rights Watch — Meeting at the Spanish Interna- Council of Human Rights Commission- to analyse the report on ‘Anti-Terror- tional Co-operation Agency regarding ers, Ramón Custodio. ist Measures in Spain’. its support from the Regional Pro- — Meeting with a delegation from the — Visit by a member of the Interna- gramme for Ombudsmen in Latin Ameri- Republic of Serbia, headed by the Minis- tional and Ibero-American Foundation ca promoted by the CICODE, and to dis- ter of State Administrations and Local for Public Policies and Administra- cuss 2006 programming in Latin Self-Government, Zoran Loncar Tema. tions (FIIAPP), Miguel Utray, to pre- America. — Meeting with the Ombudsman of sent the EUROsocial Project. — Attendance at the 7th Latin Ameri- the City of Buenos Aires, Alicia Beatriz — Meeting with the Portuguese can Conference of Ministers and High Pierini, accompanied by the Argentine Ombudsman, Henrique Nascimento Officials for Childhood and Adoles- Ambassador, Carlos Bettini. Rodrigues, and the Andorran Ombuds- cence. — Meeting with the former Minister man, Pere Canturri Muntaya. — Attendance seminar held regard- of Science and Technology of Venezuela, — Interview with a former prisoner ing the possible creation of an Ombuds- Carlos Genatios. from the Perito Moreno Prison in man’s Office in Uruguay. — Visit of students from different Public Quito (Ecuador), presenting a report — Meeting with the Director-General Administrations from South American on the penitentiary situation in that of the WTO Office in Spain, Juan Felipe Countries, through the INAP Centre for country. Hunt Ortiz, and the Director of the Local and Territorial Studies. — Meeting with Antonio Alonso Regional Programme for the Americas, — Visit of a delegation from the Marcos, from Helsinki España, to pre- Martha Pacheco. South Korean Ombudsman. sent a project on human rights educa- — Meeting with a group of experts — Meeting with the European Com- tion for primary and secondary from the European Commission Against mittee for the Prevention of Torture. schools in the Community of Madrid. Racism and Intolerance (ECRI).

Technical Co-operation and Promotion

hrough these initiatives, the Ombudsman’s Office aims to raise its profile in order to bring its institutional programmes closer to T the citizenry.

Co-operation Activities

— International Seminar on Islamist Ter- rorism, organised by the Community of Madrid and the Justice in the World Foundation, of the International Magistrates Union. Participation in the panel discussion, ‘Public Institutions and Administrations Face Islamist Terrorism’. — Participation in a panel debate on ‘Remembering the Holocaust: Homage to the Victims and Reflection’, organised by Diálogo Europeo. — Participation in the 5th Seminar for the Project ‘Schools Promoting a Culture of Peace: 2001-2010 Plan’, with the conference ‘People’s Rights and Peace’. — Meeting with the Deputy Director- General of Personnel Inspection and Secu- rity Services of the Ministry of the Interi- or, Maximiliano García Cantos. — Attendance, as witnesses, at the event during which César Egido Serrano, King Juan Carlos of Spain gives the Human Rights award bearing his name to the founder of of the Gestión Mecenazgo Foundation, Pastoral da Criança, Zilda Arns Neuman, in the Assembly Hall at Alcalá de Henares University. donated the royalties from his book Photo: Dalda

The Ombudsman • Summary of the Report for 2005 65 REPORT

Euzkadi: El Crimen y las Sombras (The — Participation in the 2nd Magistrates organised by the Co-ordinated Confederation Basque Country: Crime and Shadows), to Meeting organised by the Professional for the Disabled of the Valencia Region. the Victims of Terrorism Foundation. Association of Magistrates, with the con- — Meeting with the Rector of Alcalá — Participation in the session com- ference ‘The Image of Judges’. University, Virgilio Zapatero. memorating the centennial of the Sabadell — Workshop with the Foundation for — Attendance at the presentation of the Bar Association, with the conference ‘The International Relations and Foreign Dia- Madrid Plan for Social and Intercultural Evolution of Our Democratic State and Law logue, participating in the panel discussion Co-existence at the Círculo de Bellas since the Approval of the Constitution’. ‘Migratory Pressure and the Border Situa- Artes, Madrid. — Under the auspices of the Israel-Latin tion in Ceuta and Melilla: Proposals for — Conference at the 6th Course for Pro- America Cultural Institute and the Israel- Action from Spain and the European Union’. motion to the Category ofPrincipal Com- Spain Friendship Association, conference at — Participation in the 3rd Congress on missioner of the National Police Corps, the Truman Institute for the Advancement Violence Against Women, organised by the ‘Police Activity as Assessed by the Ombuds- of Peace, with the title ‘Identities and Cul- Province of Madrid, with the conference man’s Office’, held at the Promotion Centre tural Frontiers in Spain’. ‘The Need to Grant Integrated Treatment to of the Training Division of the Directorate- — Workshops on ‘Humanitarian Action the Phenomenon of Gender Violence (Gen- General of the Police. and Social Exclusion in Developed Coun- eral Act of Parliament 1/2004, on Measures tries’, organised by the Department of Pub- for Integrated Protection Against Gender lic Health, History of Science and Gynaecol- Violence)’. Promotion and Public Awareness ogy of Miguel Hernández University, Elche, — Attendance at the events of the Euro- and sponsored by the Ombudsman. pean Year of the Citizen, held at the Min- — Meeting with schoolchildren at the — Meeting with the Dignity and Justice istry of Education and Science. Nuevo Equipo School in Madrid, to mark Cul- Association. — Conference at the Master’s in Needs ture Day, devoted to Peace and Non-Violence. — Meeting with the president and other and Rights of Children and Adolescents, at — Presentation of the book La destruc- members of the Independent Foundation. Autónoma University, Madrid. ción de los judíos europeos (The Destruc- — Meeting with the Union of Associa- — Attendance at the closing ceremonies tion of European Jewry), by Raúl Hilberg, tions Assisting Drug Addicts (UNAD). of the 1st Conference on the Protection of at the Círculo de Bellas Artes, Madrid. — Meeting with the Head of Campaigns Minors: Fostering Programmes, organised — Participation in the 1st Immigration and Research of the Spanish Section of by the Department of the Family and Social Seminar: Facing the Challenge of the 21st Amnesty International, Giulia Tamayo, Affairs of the Community of Madrid. Century, organised by the Ubeda-Baeza with an Investigator from the International — Meeting with the President of Academy of Commissioned and Non-Com- Secretariat, Roberto Stefani, and the Co- UNICEF and Director of Social Mobilisa- missioned Officer of the Civil Guard, with ordinator for Refugee Teams, Icíar Ruiz tion and Education for the development of the conference ‘The Ombudsman’s Role Jiménez. this organisation. Regarding the Phenomenon of Immigration’. — Meeting of the jury awarding the — Participation in the panel discussion on — Attendance at the 2nd Young Family ‘2005 Ombudsman’s Drawing Prize’, for ‘Institutional Defence of Disabled Persons’, Investigators Awards, organised by the primary and secondary school students, for the promotion of human rights. — Working meeting with the President of the General Council of Spanish Lawyers, Carlos Carnicer. — Visit from Elena Zarraluqui, member of the Family Lawyers’ Association. — Inauguration of the 12th Meeting of the Spanish Association of Family Lawyers. — Working meeting with the Secretary- General of the Spanish Coalition Against Racism and Xenophobia (CECRA). — Participation in the Seminar on Legal Protection for the Handicapped, organised by the Government of La Rioja, with the conference ‘Towards Social Integration of Disabled Persons: Their Protection in the Legal System’. — Participation in the Seminar on Tax Law and the Taxpayers’ Ombudsman in Spain, organised by the Office of the Tax- payers’ Ombudsman of the City of Madrid, with the conference ‘The Ombudsman’s Defence of Taxpayer Rights and Guaran- tees’. — Attendance at the conference given Even held in the Hall of Columns of the Spanish Parliament for awarding the prizes to by the Secretary-General of the Polisario schoolchildren in a drawing contest on the theme of human rights organised by the Ombudsman, Front, Mohammed Abdelaziz. with the attendance of the Speaker of the Congress, Manuel Marín. Photo: Povedano.

66 The Ombudsman • Summary of the Report for 2005 REPORT

Acción Familiar Foundation and the Eco- o Ejecutantes (SGAE) intellectual proper- — Conference marking Constitution nomic and Social Council of Madrid. ty rights managers, and the University of Day, organised by the Province of Bur- — Attendance at the audience with HM Alcalá, and the conference ‘Intellectual gos, titled ‘Constitutional Rights and the King, conceded to the Managing Property and Human Rights’. As part of this Democratic Consolidation’. Committee, the Jury, and the winner of same event, the Ombudsman was given the — Day for Schoolchildren to Read the the 19 Edition of the Juan Lladó Award title of honorary member of the University 2005 Declaration of Human Rights, organ- for Supporting Culture and Research. Arts Faculty. ised by the NGO Globalisation of Human — Presentation of the book El geno- — Inauguration of the symposium ‘Age Rights, carried out in the Hall of Columns cidio de Guatemala a la luz de la sociología Discrimination, a Question of Human of the Spanish, and giving out the prizes militar. Rights: From Words to Actions’, organ- for the ‘2005 Ombudsman’s Contest’. (The Guatemalan Genocide in Light of ised by the Confederation of Organisa- — At the awards ceremony for the ‘Pre- Military Sociology), by Prudencio García, tions for the Elderly, at the Madrid Exhi- visión Sanitaria Nacional’ Prizes for Pro- organised by Casa de América, the SEPHA bition and Convention Centre. fessionals, giving a conference on ‘The publishing company, and the Foro Milicia y — Conference on ‘Human Rights and Importance of Professional Organisations in Democracia Association. Social Progress’, organised by the Admi- the Defence of Citizens’ Fundamental — Course organised by the Francisco ral Alvarez Ossorio Chair at the Marín Rights’, at the Madrid Medical Association. Largo Caballero Foundation, as part of the Naval Academy (Pontevedra). — Attendance at the presentation of the Complutense University Summer School, — Speech at the Congress on ‘Civil General Council of Lawyers’ campaign ‘Spain in the Memory of Three Generation: Servants, at the Service of the Citizens’, ‘Know the Constitution: It’s Your Right’. From Hope to Reparation’, held in El Esco- organised by the Community of Madrid — Participation in the 2nd National rial (Madrid), participating with the confer- (Office of the Governor), titled ‘Citizens’ Forum on ‘Childhood, Television, and Edu- ence ‘Memory and Political Transition’. Complaints Regarding the Functioning of cation’, in the Spanish National Broadcast- — Participation in the opening of the Services and Public Employees’, at the ing Service auditorium. European Conference on Healthcare Qual- Canal de Isabel II Foundation. — Attendance at the Seminar on ‘Vio- ity, organised by the European Institute of — Participation in the 1st International lence and Childhood’, organised by UNICEF Health and Social Welfare at the Madrid Congress of the Centre for Studying at the Spanish Parliament. Convention Centre. Spain’s Transition to Democracy, ‘The End — Conference at the National Public — Inaugural lecture of the 2005-2006 of Franco’s Regime and the Roots of the Administration Institute for Municipal course series, organised by the La Political Transition’, giving a conference at Secretaries. Opinión-El Correo de Zamora Club, with the sixth session, ‘The Protagonists Speak’, — Participation in the 2nd Quality Semi- the conference ‘Constitutional Rights: Cul- at San Pablo-CEU University. nar at the Logroño Social Services Centre, mination of the Desire for Freedom’. — Reading of Article 54 of the Span- with the conference ‘Quality Management in — Inauguration of the Seminar ‘Proper- ish Constitution, as part of the com- Social Services’. ty, Knowledge, and Intellectual Rights’, memorations marking its 27th Anniver- — Attendance at the 12th Meeting of the organised by the performing rights organisa- sary, organised by the City of Madrid. Spanish Association of Family Lawyers. tion Sociedad de Gestión de Artistas, Intér- pretes o Ejecutantes, and the University of Alcalá. — Participation in the 14th Integration Seminar / 2nd Hispano-Portuguese Seminar on Cerebral Paralysis, organised by the University of Extremadura, with the conference, ‘School Peer Violence: Report by the Ombudsman’. — Speech at the opening of the Seminar of the European Project ‘Justice, Rights, and Inclusion for Persons with Intellectual Dis- abilities’, organised by the University of Ali- cante, FEAPS, and Inclusion Europe, titled ‘Access to Justice for Persons with a Disability’. — Attendance at the awards ceremony for the 11th Pelayo Award for Prestigious Jurists, organised by the Pelayo Insurance Company, at the Casino de Madrid. — Breakfast conference at the Ritz Hotel, Madrid, organised by the Foro de la Nueva Sociead, Tribuna de Nueva Economía, devoted to social issues, titled ‘Defence of Constiuttional Rights and Con- trol fo the Administration’. — Participation in the inauguration of the Seminar ‘Property, Knowledge, and The Ombudsman, Enrique Múgica, gives his acceptance speech after being awarded the first José Intellectual Rights’, organised by the María Llanos Award for Human Rights Defence and Education, during a ceremony held on 29 September at the José María de Llanos Foundation, in Pozo del Tío Raimundo, which was Sociedad de Gestión de Artistas Intérpretes presided over by First Deputy Prime Minister María Teresa Fernández de la Vega.

The Ombudsman • Summary of the Report for 2005 67 REPORT

Criança, the organisation given the 1st King of Spain Human Rights Award.

Courses

— Seminar on ‘Economic, Social, and Cul- tural Rights Protection’, sponsored by the Ombudsman, as part of the Menéndez Pelayo International University’s Summer School, at Magdalena Palace in Santander, from 29 August to 2 September. — Seminar on ‘Human Rights in Europe from the Ombudsman’s Perspective’, organised by the University of Ibiza and Formentera Summer School, and sponsored by the Ombudsman, in collaboration with the University of the Balearic Islands and the Ibiza and Formentera Islands Administration, conducted in Ibiza, from The Ombudsman, Enrique Múgica, during hte course that he gave in the summer of 2005 at 5-9 September. Menéndez Pelayo International University, in Santander

— Participation in the 10th International — Visit to students at the INAP Local Agreements Family Education Conference, organised and Territorial Studies Centre. by the Department of Education, Interna- — Attendance at the awards ceremony — These form part of the ordinary activi- tional Association for Training and Research for the 2nd Telemadrid Solidarity Prize, ty of the year covered by the present report, in Family Education, of the University of Las honouring Santiago Mero López. although their development over time may be Palmas de Gran Canaria, with the confer- — Attendance at the ceremony com- longer. ence ‘Intra-Family Violence from the memorating the 25th Anniversary of the — Co-operation agreement between Miguel Ombudsman’s Perspective’. Constitutional Tribunal. Hernández University of Elche and the — Interview with the President of the — Inauguration of the Castilla-La Man- Ombudsman, for organising workshops on Stop Accidents Association. cha Ombudsman’s Office. ‘Humanitarian Action and Social Exclusion in — Inauguration of the Seminar on Law — Participation in the lecture series Developed Countries’. Signed in Madrid, on 11 and Children’s Rights, organised by the commemorating the 20th Anniversary of May. University of Alcalá. the Ombudsman of Catalonia Law, with — Co-operation agreement between the — Classes at the 2nd Master’s in Human the conference ‘The Ombudsman as Human Ombudsman’s Office, the Balearic Islands Rights Protection at the University of Alcalá, Rights Commissioner: Controlling the Government, the Ibiza and Formentera on ‘The Ombudsman of Spain’ and ‘Human Administration and Other Functions’. Islands Administration, and the University of Rights and Development Before the 21st Century’. — Awards ceremony for the 1st José the Balearic Islands, to organise the sixth María de Llanos Award for Human Rights edition of the University of Ibiza and For- Defence, given to Enrique Múgica-Herzog, mentera Summer School in 2005, signed in Visits, tributes, and official events and for Education given to Father Roberto Ibiza on 24 June, and an Addenda to this Guevara Rubio. agreement, also signed in Ibiza, on 5 Septem- The following are some of the special — Attendance at the ceremony com- ber. meetings and events in which the Ombuds- memorating the 25th Anniversary of the — Co-operation agreement between the man participated, or which he attended. General Council of the Judiciary. Ombudsman’s Office and Menéndez Pelayo — King of Spain Human Rights Award — Attendance at the 30th Anniversary International University, for the organisation ceremony (first edition), with the award of the Proclamation of HM the King. of a meeting on ‘The Protection of Economic, going to Pastoral de Criança, from Brazil, — Attendance at the awards ceremony Social, and Cultural Rights’, signed in presided over by TM the King and Queen. for the ‘Previsión Sanitaria Nacional’ Madrid on 26 August. — Event marking the Day of Remem- Prizes for University Professionals. — Signing of a co-operation agreement brance of the Holocaust and Prevention of — Attendance at the presentation of book between the Ombudsman’s Office and the Crimes against Humanity, organised by Comentarios a la Constitución Europea Spanish National Research Council-Doñana the Spanish Parliament. (Comments on the European Constitution), Biological Research Station, signed in — Participation in the panel discussion directed by the Chair in Constitutional Law Madrid, on 4 November. ‘Legal Advances for Freedom’, as part of the Enrique Álvarez Conde. — Third Co-operative Protocol append- homage to Gregorio Ordóñez, ‘1995-2005: — Attendance at the ceremony awarding ed to the Co-operation Agreement between Gregorio Ordóñez, Ten Years of Fighting Fear’. the San Raimundo de Peñafort Medal to the Spanish Committee of the United — Visit to the 2005-2005 class at the the drafters of the Insolvency Act report. Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and Legal Practice School of the Biscay Bar — Research visit to the town of Curitiba the Ombudsman’s Office, signed in Madrid Association. (Brazil), at the invitation of the Pastoral da on 1 December.

Printed by: Cyan, S.A – Depósito Legal: M-xxxxx-2006

68 The Ombudsman • Summary of the Report for 2005