Spanish Administrative Act Enforcement: Principles & Tools

1. Who Enforces Administrative Acts?

The enforcement of administrative acts corresponds to:

• The Administration in any case
• The courts, if entry into the domicile of the affected party is required
• The Administration as a rule, with exceptions from Article 95 LRJPAC
• All are correct

Explanation

Enforcement is, as a rule, carried out by the Administration itself, a manifestation of the so-called executive self-protection (autotutela ejecutiva). This is established in Article 95 of Law 30/1992 (LRJPAC - Law on the Legal Regime of Public Administrations and Common Administrative Procedure). Exceptions include:

• Suspension of the effectiveness of the act in question.
• When the Spanish Constitution or other laws require judicial intervention (e.g., for entry into a private domicile), as specified in Article 96.3 of Law 30/1992.

2. Choosing Enforcement Means: Guiding Principle

In cases where more than one means of enforcement might be used, the choice between them:

• Can be made freely
• The least restrictive of individual freedom must be chosen
• Various means of enforcement can be used simultaneously for one act
• Is decided by Administrative courts based on case circumstances

Explanation

The means of enforcement, which involve intervention or limitations on individual freedom, are subject to the principle of proportionality. This is expressed by adhering to the principle of choosing the measure least restrictive of individual freedom, as stated in Article 96.1 of Law 30/1992.

3. Available Tools for Administrative Enforcement

The tools the administration can use to enforce its actions are:

• Subsidiary execution, compulsion on assets, and fines on property.
• Compulsion on persons, general enforcement, eviction, and constraint on capital.
• Subsidiary execution, compulsion on persons, arrest, and eviction.
• Constraint on assets, subsidiary execution, coercive fine, and compulsion on persons

Explanation

Article 96 of Law 30/1992 exhaustively lists the four instruments the Administration may use for the enforcement of its acts:

• Apremio sobre el patrimonio (Constraint on assets) - Article 97 of Law 30/1992
• Ejecución subsidiaria (Subsidiary execution) - Article 98 of Law 30/1992
• Multa coercitiva (Coercive fine) - Article 99 of Law 30/1992
• Compulsión sobre las personas (Compulsion on persons) - Article 100 of Law 30/1992

4. Compulsion on Persons: Key Conditions

Regarding compulsion on persons, the correct statement is:

• It involves the direct application of force on the obligated person.
• It can only be used if a rule with the force of law authorizes it.
• It should only be for highly personal obligations of not doing or enduring.
• All statements are correct

Explanation

Compulsion on persons involves the direct application of physical force on the obligated individual.

It should only be used for highly personal obligations of not doing or enduring.

If they were highly personal obligations to do, non-compliance would not lead to the use of force on persons, but rather to compensation for damages incurred.

Article 100.1 of Law 30/1992 authorizes compulsion on persons only if:

• A rule with the force of law so authorizes.
• There is due respect for human dignity and the rights recognized in the Constitution.