The reassignment of powers of the Civil Guard in the areas affected by DANA has provoked protests from the agents assigned there, who describe the process as “opaque and hasty.” They consider that the transfer of powers to the National Police is “unnecessary” and lacks “a solid legal basis”. For this reason, the JUCIL association has filed a contentious-administrative appeal against the Ministry of the Interior, which directs Fernando Grande-Marlaska, and has requested the adoption of precautionary measures to suspend the Interior decision until the appeal is resolved in the courts.
A judicial action that aims to recover the powers of the civil guards and, therefore, annul the decision adopted by the Interior. Specifically, his writing refers to the towns of La Torre, Horno Acedo, Sedaví, Benetússer, Alfafar (including the MN4 shopping center) and Massanassa. Because, in his opinion, this modification “not only lacks justification, but is contrary to the law for formal reasons.”
“It is unnecessary and unjustified to relieve our colleagues in these functions, especially when they were fully operational and prepared to face the security needs after DANA,” says Agustín Leal, Secretary of Communication of JUCIL. Likewise, it emphasizes that the decision adopted by Marlaska lacks a “solid legal basis and ignores both the powers of the civil guards and the principles of transparency and legality.” Not to mention that the agents They found out about this reassignment of powers “through a press release” of the ministry.
An “opaque” process without legal basis
Needless to say, as the association points out, the Armed Institute had the necessary human resources to cover the needs of the affected localities, since it also had a large number of volunteer troops. For this reason, they do not understand the attitude of the ministry and They charge against an “opaque and hasty” reassignment processsince there is no evidence of a formal agreement nor of its due communication through official means, as required by administrative legislation.”
In this sense, JUCIL insists that, according to current regulations, the Civil Guard must be in charge of these areas, as it is not a provincial capital and given that the Corps has the necessary human resources to adequately cover these localities. “We cannot allow decisions of this magnitude to be made without legal basis and without formal communication. Safety and respect for regulations must prevail over any other consideration, especially in times of emergency like the current one,” says the association’s communications secretary.
For all these reasons, they request the adoption of precautionary measures that suspend the decision of the Marlaska ministry until the appeal is resolved in the courts. According to Leal, “there is no justification either in terms of operation or personnel for this reassignment and it is essential that The historical and legal powers of the Civil Guard are respected in its territorial scope.” And at this point, it makes it clear that “They do not know what criteria and what reports may existif applicable, to justify this measure”, but they must be contributed to the procedure.
Impact on the territorial structure
The association wanted to emphasize how this type of decision impacts the structure of the Civil Guard. Thus, they explain that, by removing the civil guards from their duties in these localities, territorial deployments are altered and the organization of the Corps in the province is difficult. Likewise, remember that its members have covered these areas continuously and with great effort during the emergency caused by DANA.
In conclusion, this association trusts that the National Court will admit the appeal and suspend the effectiveness of the decision until it is definitively resolved, thus allowing the Civil Guard agents to continue performing their functions in the affected localities in the best conditions and with full institutional support. The request for a precautionary suspension has been requested in a way that does not affect the work carried out in the area. And the best way to achieve this, in his opinion, is through replacement of National Police personnel with that of the Civil Guardwithin a maximum but reasonable period.