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Administrative Litigation

Licences refused, fines imposed, works ordered stopped. The administration acts first and explains later — appealing is a procedure with rules, and we know them.

Administrative litigation lawyers in Fuerteventura — appeals against public decisions

The practice

The administration can be wrong — and the law knows it

Town halls, the Cabildo and the island's public bodies decide every day over licences, sanctions, planning and subsidies. Their decisions arrive presumed valid and immediately enforceable — but presumed is not the same as untouchable. Competence, procedure, motivation and proportionality all have to hold, and remarkably often one of them does not.

What makes this practice unforgiving is the calendar: one month for the ordinary appeal, two for court, one year for damage claims. So we triage fast — we request the administrative file, find where the decision is weakest, and climb the ladder in order: written appeal first, courtroom when the administration insists on being wrong.

What can be appealed

Six decisions we fight

Presumed valid does not mean correct. These are the files that cross this desk every week — usually with most of their deadline already spent.

01The sanctionFrom traffic to tourism inspections: fault, proportionality and procedure all have to hold together. Often they do not — and the fine falls with them.
02The refused licenceOpening, works, occupation: a refusal must be motivated on the rules, not on habit. And when the administration simply never answers, silence itself has legal meaning.
03The urbanism orderStop-work orders, demolition threats, legalisation files. On this island, planning law is where businesses live or die — deadlines here are not a formality.
04The clawbackA subsidy granted, spent, and reclaimed years later. Justification files can be defended — far better before the demand than after it.
05The tenderExcluded from public procurement, or beaten by a bid that should not have won. The special appeal runs on days, not months.
06The damagePublic works that ruined a season, closures, decisions that cost you money. The administration answers for the harm it causes — through a claim with its own procedure and a one-year clock.

The route

The appeal ladder

STEP 01

The decision

Bring it dated. From notification, the clocks run: one month for the ordinary appeal, two for court.

STEP 02

The file

We request the expediente and read what the administration actually did. Most wins are found in there.

STEP 03

The written appeal

Cheap, fast, and it keeps every later door open. Suspension is requested with it when enforcement would hurt.

STEP 04

The courtroom

Judicial review before the contencioso courts — with costs pursued when the administration made us go there.

Administrative Litigation questions

Before you ask

Is it worth appealing a fine?

Weigh it against everything the fine carries — points, records, repeat-offence escalations, licence consequences. Many sanctions fall on procedure alone, and the review costs far less than living with the precedent.

Does appealing stop the payment?

A sanction cannot be enforced while an ordinary appeal keeps it from being final. Other decisions remain enforceable unless suspension is granted — which is why we request it in the same filing, with the argument ready.

The administration never answered me. Now what?

Silence has legal value: after the legal period it counts as a refusal — or in some procedures as a yes. Either way it opens the door to appeal, and we make the administration retract or explain itself.

Public works or a public decision cost my business money. Can I claim?

Public bodies answer for the harm they cause. The patrimonial claim has its own procedure, its own evidence burden and a one-year deadline from the damage — document early, claim once, claim well.

Which deadlines am I facing?

As a rule of thumb: one month for the ordinary appeal, two months for court, one year for damage claims — and mere days in procurement. Whatever your case, the answer starts with the date on the notification.

One month. That's the usual window to appeal.

Send us the decision the day it arrives — a lawyer tells you whether it can be fought and how, within one business day.

Prefer to call?

Caleta de FusteMon–Fri 9:00–16:00 (+34) 928 547 756
Costa CalmaMon–Fri 9:00–16:00 (+34) 928 547 125

Have the decision reviewed

Tell us what was decided and when it was notified — a lawyer replies within one business day.

Appointment request

Pick the office, day and time that suit you — and bring the notification.