Legal proceedings delay Malaga's decision on its Low Emission Zone

The city council's legal services have requested clarification of the ruling from the High Court of Justice of Andalucía (TSJA). The court has not yet responded to this request, which may take the form of a ruling or an order.

This comes just before August, which, as is well known, is a month of rest of legal proceedings.

Once it receives a response, no earlier than September, the city council will decide whether to proceed with the appeal. This, in turn, will take at least six months to a year to be resolved, in line with the courts' usual timeframes for this type of case.

To understand the current status of the proceedings, it is worth bearing in mind that a clarification of a ruling is a legal procedure which allows judges, at the request of one of the parties, to correct phrases that may be misleading and typographical errors in figures or names.

This, however, does no change the main decision of the court. Therefore, it does not address the substance of the case.

However, requesting a clarification does suspend the legal time limit for lodging further appeals. In short, as well as clarifying certain points, it allows the city council to gain time.

An appeal in cassation against a ruling by the TSJA must first be lodged with the same chamber that delivered the judgment. The Spanish Supreme Court will ultimately decide the appeal because the issues raised by the judgment, namely the alleged unequal treatment of residents within Malaga province, concern both Spanish and EU law, rather than Andalusian legislation alone.

The city council's legal department has 30 working days to lodge the appeal.

As SUR previously reported, the court upheld an administrative appeal brought by Vox and ruled that Malaga's ZBE by-law discriminates between residents of Malaga city, who may continue driving within the zone regardless of their vehicles' environmental label, and residents of the rest of the province, who already face a ban on entering the zone if they drive vehicles without an environmental label (generally the oldest and most polluting vehicles).

From November, the restrictions will also apply to vehicles carrying a category B environmental label, the lowest classification that will still be permitted until then.

The legal battle over the controversial municipal by-law has left thousands of drivers across Malaga uncertain about what will happen to their vehicles once the courts deliver a final ruling.

For now, the transport department continues to enforce the existing rules and issue fines. It also intends to press ahead with its implementation timetable, which gradually tightens restrictions on the types of vehicles allowed to enter the zone.

The number of fines for entering the Low Emission Zone has risen sharply since the council began enforcement six months ago. The council has now issued 35,257 penalty notices. Fear of fines has reduced traffic within the central zone by 25,000 vehicles a day, according to the council's own traffic counts.

Since 30 November last year, the council has fined drivers of cars and motorcycles without an environmental label if they pay their vehicle tax (IVTM) outside Malaga city. It is precisely this distinction between local and non-local vehicles that has created the current legal dispute.

In its ruling, the TSJA warned the council that it cannot fine vehicles registered outside the city while exempting those registered within it because doing so breaches the principles of equality, free competition and freedom of movement.

Following the ruling, both Vox, which brought the administrative appeal, and Con Málaga have tabled motions calling on the council to stop issuing fines immediately. They have stated that continuing enforcement harms the public interest, unfairly affects drivers who receive penalties and exposes the council itself to a wave of legal challenges and growing legal uncertainty.

The fine stands at 200 euros, reduced to 100 if paid promptly, and does not carry penalty points on the driving licence.

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