Constitutional Court rules against transferring management of local secretaries and treasurers to Basque Country

The Constitutional Court has annulled the transfer of the management of local officials with national authorization to the Basque Country, which included local secretaries and treasurers. This decision was made in response to a provision in the General State Budget Law of 2022 that was declared unconstitutional. The magistrates of the court ruled in favor of the appeal of unconstitutionality brought forward by the PP, with the exception of Judge María Luis Balaguer who has not yet revealed their dissenting vote.

The provision in question granted the Basque Country powers over the selection, approval of public employment offers, appointment of personnel, and assignment of administrative duties for officials of the Local administration with national authorization. Despite a new wording of the provision, the Court of Guarantees still found it unconstitutional as it exceeded the scope of a budget law and violated constitutional articles related to the legislative powers of the Cortes Generales and the control of Government expenses.

The ruling emphasized that the provision did not directly impact economic matters and was more focused on public functions rather than financial implications. The PP’s appeal also raised concerns about the violation of constitutional rights related to the delegation of powers to autonomous regions, but the Court did not address these issues as they were deemed unnecessary after the main appeal was upheld.