Royal Decree declaring a State of Alarm. Coronavirus.

Royal Decree declaring a State of Alarm. Coronavirus.

Royal Decree 463/2020 of 14 March, declaring the state of alarm for the management of the public health crisis caused by COVID-19. It was published at around 11:30 p.m., following the public appearances given throughout the afternoon by the Prime Minister and several regional presidents.

As the Royal Decree itself states in Article 1, it is enacted to declare the state of alarm provided for in the Spanish Constitution and in Organic Law 4/1981, “in order to address the public health emergency caused by the COVID-19 coronavirus”. This text, with the force of law, goes on to state that its duration will be 15 calendar days, extendable, as indicated by the Constitution subject to approval by Parliament, and it will apply throughout Spanish territory. This text entered into force at the very moment of its publication in the Official State Gazette.

Competent Ministries.

It then declares the Government competent for everything related to the newly declared state of alarm and, specifically, for the special functions set out in this text: the Minister of Defence, Ms Margarita Robles; the Minister of the Interior, Mr Fernando Grande-Marlaska; the Minister of Transport, Mobility and Urban Agenda, Mr José Luis Ábalos; and the Minister of Health, Mr Salvador Illa. The latter will be subsidiarily competent for any matter that does not fall within the remit of the previous ministries. The aforementioned ministers “are empowered to issue the orders, resolutions, provisions and interpretative instructions which, within the specific sphere of their action, are necessary to guarantee the provision of all services, ordinary or extraordinary, for the protection of persons, property and places”. They may carry out these actions ex officio or at the request of regional and local authorities, who must justify their request.

The National Security Council, provided for in the First Additional Provision of National Security Law 36/2015, is activated as of this moment, and its function is to advise the executive in states of alarm and exception.

Police and Military Forces: Action.

Under this Royal Decree, the State Security Forces and Corps, as well as the Armed Forces, Civil Protection and private security forces, assume a special duty of cooperation pursuant to Article 5. First, all regional and local police forces are placed “under the direct orders of the Ministry of the Interior”, which may require special services from these forces, either due to their nature or their duration differing from the usual. Law enforcement officers may carry out checks on persons, vehicles and other property in order to prevent prohibited services from being provided. Civil protection services fall under the functional authority of the Ministry of the Interior, which may also issue orders, resolutions, instructions and other similar binding instruments for private security services. Article 5 concludes by stating that, if necessary to ensure compliance with the measures set out in the Royal Decree, the Government may require the intervention of the Armed Forces.

During the current state of alarm, each Administration will continue to carry out the activities for which Spanish law ordinarily empowers it, but must provide its services in accordance with the measures and direct orders issued by the competent authority.

Restricted freedom of movement

The right to free movement is limited; Article 7 prohibits all movement of persons, except for those it lists, which are transcribed below:

a) Purchase of food, pharmaceutical products and basic necessities.

b) Attendance at healthcare centres, services and establishments.

c) Travel to the workplace to carry out work, professional or business activity.

d) Return to the usual place of residence.

e) Assistance and care for the elderly, minors, dependants, persons with disabilities or particularly vulnerable persons.

f) Travel to financial and insurance institutions.

g) Due to force majeure or a situation of necessity.

Finally, this closed list includes any other journey of a similar nature, which must be made individually unless accompanying a person with a disability or for another justified reason.

With regard to vehicle traffic, vehicles may only travel on public roads when heading to carry out any of the journeys described above or to refuel; in all cases, they must comply with the recommendations and measures agreed by the authorities, as is also the case for pedestrians. It should be noted that the Ministry of the Interior may close roads to ensure traffic flow or public health. If this occurs, authorities at all territorial levels will disseminate the relevant information.

Requisitions and personal services.

Article 8 addresses the possibility of carrying out temporary requisitions of “all types of goods necessary to fulfil the purposes provided for in this royal decree”. Likewise, the State Administration may do so ex officio or at the request of other territorial administrations. It also provides for the possibility of imposing, on the same terms as for requisition, compulsory personal services to ensure fulfilment of the purposes of this Royal Decree.

COVID-19 Containment Measures

The following articles, from 9 to 12, set out COVID-19 containment measures in the different areas of action.

In the education and training sector, all in-person teaching activity is suspended at all levels of education, from early childhood to university, in both public and private centres.

In relation to the activity of commercial, hospitality and leisure establishments in general, their closure is decreed, and only retail shops selling food products, beverages and basic necessities, pharmacies and medical establishments, opticians and orthopaedic products, hygiene products, hairdressers, newspapers and stationery, automotive fuel, tobacconists, technology and telecommunications equipment, pet food, dry cleaners and laundries may remain open; e-commerce, telephone sales or sales by post will be permitted.

If customers enter any of these establishments, they must follow the authorities’ recommendations, remain there for as little time as possible, and keep the recommended 1.5 m distance from other customers and workers. Likewise, museums, libraries, archives and other cultural centres will remain closed, and street parties, parades and similar popular festivities will be cancelled.

Attendance is permitted, as stated in Article 11, at places of worship and at civil and religious ceremonies, including funerals; however, such attendance will be subject to the organisation of those services and ceremonies in a way that allows attendees to maintain distance from one another, in order to prevent contagion.

One of the most significant areas is the strengthening of the public health system, because although the regional administrations, currently competent in healthcare matters, may continue to manage their services, all authorities and healthcare personnel will be placed under the direct orders of the Ministry of Health. These measures are intended to ensure the optimal distribution of technical and human resources throughout Spanish territory. In this regard, military healthcare centres and personnel will collaborate to support the national health system. The Ministry of Health, for the aforementioned purpose, may exercise whatever powers it deems necessary with respect to private healthcare centres and personnel.

The Ministry of Health itself will be responsible for ensuring the supply of the goods and services needed to maintain public health; to guarantee this, it may temporarily take over industries and regulate the production and distribution of medicines to prevent shortages in healthcare centres and pharmacies. It may also carry out requisitions and require the personal services necessary to ensure these purposes.

With regard to transport, the Minister of Transport, Mobility and Urban Agenda may, ex officio or at the request of other territorial administrations, issue such measures as he deems appropriate to establish conditions that allow essential transport to be maintained safely for persons and property. In road, maritime, rail and other transport, services not subject to a public contract will be reduced by at least 50%, without prejudice to further orders that may lower this percentage. Those that do depend on public contracts will likewise reduce their service offering by half, except for suburban rail services, which will maintain their service as normal. The only exception to this is transport services connecting the mainland with non-mainland territories.

Article 16 deals with regulating customs; the customs transit of goods is not closed, and the competent authorities are merely instructed to adopt the necessary measures to ensure it continues normally, prioritising basic necessities.

Likewise, the supply of electricity, gas, fuels and other petroleum-derived products is guaranteed, as the competent authorities will take measures to ensure it in accordance with Article 7 of the Electricity Sector Law and Articles 49 and 101 of the Hydrocarbons Sector Law. In addition to the above, the Royal Decree provides special protection to infrastructures legally considered critical, and to those which, without having obtained this classification, are considered necessary by the authorities.

The media, both public and private, are obliged to publish the messages that the competent authorities instruct them to disseminate.

The last of the articles of the Royal Decree refers to Organic Law 4/1981 of 1 June, which regulates states of alarm, exception and siege. Likewise, this law refers to the rest of the legal system to determine the sanctions under the laws of each sector. In summary, sanctions are provided for in the Citizen Security Law, the General Health Law, the National Civil Protection System Law and, of course, the Criminal Code. Without making an exhaustive list, these laws provide for sanctions ranging from those considered minor, with a fine of €100, for example for removing fences and other protective elements, to those considered very serious, which may reach €600,000, punishing repeated failure to comply with instructions given by the authority or reckless conduct against public health.

All administrative and judicial deadlines are suspended, given the impossibility of carrying out actions subject to those deadlines. In criminal matters, court duty services continue, as do habeas corpus proceedings, the issuance of comprehensive protection orders, proceedings involving detainees or remand prisoners, and proceedings involving minors. In the remaining jurisdictions, all activity is suspended except that arising from proceedings for the protection of fundamental rights, the protection of minors, and the adoption of measures for the non-voluntary institutionalisation of persons due to psychological problems. All administrative deadlines in each and every public administration are also suspended, except those intrinsically linked to the management of the state of alarm; these deadlines will resume at the end of the state of alarm or its extensions, continuing from the last day that had been counted. Likewise, limitation and expiry periods are suspended on the same terms.

Finally, it should be noted that this same Royal Decree states that the Government ratifies all actions taken by the regional and local administrations and is empowered to issue new measures that expand those already provided for in the regulation.

The draft Organic Law amending the Criminal Code for the protection of the sexual freedom of citizens, which was approved last Tuesday, March 3, 2020, and remains non-public at this date, is currently being referred to consultative bodies.

According to information provided by the Minister of Equality, Ms. Montero, the objective is to reform the current Criminal Code to provide victims of sexual abuse offenses with greater legal protection; a modification that arises in response to the public discontent generated by rulings such as the “La Manada” or “Arandina” cases.

Furthermore, as stated by the Minister of Equality, the aim is to ensure the correct adaptation of Spanish substantive criminal law to the commitments adopted by the Kingdom of Spain upon signing the Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence, better known as the Istanbul Convention.

Author: Francisco Javier Paredes.

IN DIEM Lawyers: Málaga, Seville, Madrid, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Almería, Huelva…

Our objective is to provide our clients with the highest level of satisfaction in defending their interests, which includes everything related to the State of Alarm due to Coronavirus, from mobility penalties, mortgage moratoriums, ERTEs, dismissals, etc. For this reason, our team is second to none. IN DIEM Lawyers currently has offices in Málaga, Seville, Madrid, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Huelva… We are at your disposal for whatever you may need. You can reach us via the IN DIEM Lawyers phone number (+34) 901 900 071. In urgent cases, you can reach us at the IN DIEM 24-hour Emergency Lawyers phone number: (+34) 610 667 452.

Would you like to know more about us…? We leave you this brief introductory video:

You will find us in Seville, Madrid, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Malaga, Tomares, Coria del Rio, Dos Hermanas, Mairena del Alcor, Estepona, Marbella, Mairena del Aljarafe… it will be a pleasure to assist you!