Immigration; Spain Aliens' Bill provisions annulled
01 March 2003
The Supreme Court has invalidated 11 articles of the Regulation implementing the Aliens' Bill, because they affect fundamental rights which cannot be regulated by decree. These include the right to effective judicial protection for undocumented migrants detained within Spanish territory and the right to free movement for undocumented migrants who have authorisation to remain in Spain.
After the decision the government will have to free migrants who arrive in dinghies if it is unable to return them to their countries within a 72-hour deadline. It will also no longer be allowed to detain foreigners who are the object of return proceedings, rather than expulsion orders, in detention centres.
Furthermore, the government will have to review the thousands of work permit applications submitted through the Regimen General (General regime), that were rejected in 2002 due to the "inadequate proceedings" requirement that was part of the Regulation.
The government has already stated that it will not consider changing its immigration policy. In order to avoid the consequences of the decision it will amend the Aliens Bill, which will be its third amendment since the Partido Popular has been in power. The Aliens' Bill that is currently in force is also subject to an appeal before the Constitutional Court, which has not yet expressed a view on whether it is unconstitutional or not.