Procedural Rules for the Resolution of Judicial Disputes Involving Local AuthoritiesCurrent Practices and Challenges in Implementation

Abstract

The judiciary is endowed with significant constitutionally guaranteed principles and safeguards, and it is regarded as the primary and effective means—if not the very cornerstone—of safeguarding rights and freedoms and curbing any abuse or misuse of power, whether by those in authority or by state institutions. And local authorities in the defense of their interests, through the application and management of their procedures, whether related to individual or collective rights, which requires establishing conditions for dialogue and amicable solutions, that is, through alternative dispute resolution mechanisms due to their positive outcomes, unlike judicial litigation, which is not brought against local authorities—whether in good or bad faith—as evidenced by the reports and periodic publications of the Ministry of the Interior on this matter; such litigation negatively affects all parties to the conflict through a waste of time and money. This is what requires the improvement and proper application of administrative procedures, particularly by local authorities in all their dealings with public-law entities, as well as the obligation to fulfill their obligations and to comply with judgments rendered against them.