The legal battle over the installation in the port of Ceuta of a camp to rehouse more than 1,700 irregular migrants who arrived in the autonomous city during the mass entry on July 30 and 31 has not been closed. The National Court has admitted the appeal filed by the Unified Police Union (SUP) against the decision of the Ministry of Transport to cede the grounds of the facility to accommodate some of the foreigners who had been living in shacks on the beaches of El Trampolín and Benítez for 50 days. The union considers that the procedure followed does not guarantee the safety of the officers guarding it, the migrants themselves, and the rest of the staff assigned to the camp.
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The court ruling, dated last Friday and which is appealable, does not constitute a ruling on the merits of the case, but it does judicialize the choice of the port as the place to install the camp and forces Transport to defend its actions before the courts. As a first measure, the National Court gives “a non-extendable period of 20 days” to Óscar Puente’s department to deliver the complete file. Given the possibility that there may be “documents declared confidential by the Administration” in this file, the court asks the ministry not to include them among those sent to the National Court, but to send “a descriptive index” of them and that these remain “at the full disposal” of the judges. The ruling also asks Puente’s department if it is aware of the existence of other contentious-administrative appeals against the decision to install tents in the port for the reception of irregular migrants, in order to, in that case, proceed to accumulate them all in a single procedure.
The SUP, through a press release, has applauded the court decision and demanded, now that the camp is operational, “to know and oversee the risk assessments, protocols, personnel, and means planned to guarantee the safety of the police officers assigned to a particularly sensitive environment such as the Port of Ceuta. Our duty as a union is not to wait for an incident to regret it, but to anticipate the risk and protect our colleagues,” the statement adds.
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The police union appealed last Tuesday before the Contentious-Administrative Chamber of the National Court the resolution of the Ministry of Transport of September 5 that authorized the temporary use of the port grounds to install tents and rest areas, infirmary and dispensary, social care and intervention zones, health services, offices for staff, and a security booth. The authorization extended until next December 31, although leaving open a possible extension. The SUP argued that the authorization had not been notified or published in the Official State Gazette (BOE), and justified its opposition on the grounds that accommodating such a large number of people in what is a critical facility posed a risk. The union emphasized that its request to halt the camp was not “in any way against humanitarian care” for the migrants.
The National Court initially agreed to halt the work until it resolved the ultra-urgent precautionary measure ―so the court does not have to hear the parties before resolving―, which caused enormous discomfort in the Government. However, on Thursday the court finally rejected the SUP’s claim and allowed the temporary use of the camp. The next day, about 1,700 migrants were transferred there. However, the admission of the appeal known this Saturday confirms that the judicial route regarding the installation of the camp is not closed, although since it is processed through the so-called ordinary procedure ―in writing and with longer processing times― its resolution will be delayed for months. Meanwhile, the camp can continue operating.
