Your appeal was dismissed: taking the case to court
Last updated 2026-09-01 · Reviewed by Jaime Piñeira Pardo, registered with the ICAM bar, no. 138826
The short answer
Once the administrative route is exhausted, you have two months from the day after notification of the express decision to bring a contencioso-administrativo claim, under article 46.1 LJCA. Where the dismissal came by silence, that same article sets six months from the day the deemed act arises. You no longer ask the administration again: you sue before a court.
You challenged, before the same council, the decision refusing your licence and imposing a 6,000 euro penalty. Five months later the answer arrives: appeal dismissed, two pages repeating the same arguments and answering none of your submissions. At the foot there is a warning almost nobody reads carefully: a contencioso-administrativo claim may be brought against this decision within two months. That is where the argument with the administration ends and litigation begins, before a court that is not the author of the act.
The case, in five lines
- What is brought
- A contencioso-administrativo claim against the decision that ends the administrative route, seeking its annulment and, where appropriate, recognition of the individual legal position you were denied.
- Before which court
- The Contencioso-Administrativo section of the Tribunal de Instancia (the first-instance court), the Tribunal Superior de Justicia, the Audiencia Nacional or the Tribunal Supremo, depending on which authority issued the act.
- Deadline
- Two months from the day after notification of the express act that ends the administrative route, and six months from the day the deemed act arises where there was none, under article 46.1 LJCA. If you used the reposición appeal, article 46.4 LJCA counts from notification of its decision or from the day it must be taken as impliedly dismissed.
- Who can bring it
- Anyone holding a right or a legitimate interest affected by the act. Usually its addressee, but also a third party harmed by the decision, such as the neighbour or the competitor who sees authorised what was refused to them.
- Financial risk
- The case may end with an award of costs against you and requires funds on account, plus representation and defence from the first document. Bringing the claim does not by itself stop the act: unless an interim measure is sought and granted, the administration may enforce it while the case runs.
Not every act reaches the courts, and article 25 says which ones do
Article 25.1 LJCA admits the claim against general provisions and against express and deemed acts of the administration that end the administrative route, whether they are final or actos de trámite, the interim acts of the procedure. The latter qualify only where they decide the substance directly or indirectly, make it impossible to continue, cause a denial of defence or produce irreparable harm to rights or legitimate interests. That filter is the first thing checked.
Paragraph 2 of the same article widens the door: a claim is also admissible against the inaction of the administration and against its physical actions amounting to vía de hecho, action without legal cover, on the terms the Act itself lays down. So where the problem is not a decision but prolonged silence or an operation with no legal basis, the matter still has a judicial route even though there is no document to challenge.
The two months run from the next day, and silence changes the clock
Article 46.1 LJCA sets two months counted from the day after publication of the challenged provision or after notification or publication of the act ending the administrative route, where that act is express. Where it is not, the period is six months, counted for the applicant and any other interested parties from the day after the deemed act arises under the specific rules governing it.
The difference between the two situations is not academic. An express act read carelessly consumes the shorter period with nobody warning you, and the date that counts is the one on the delivery record of the notification, not the register stamp nor the day you happened to open it. The first thing done when a case comes in is to reconstruct that date from the document that proves it.
The reposición appeal is optional, but once used its decision governs
Article 46.4 LJCA provides that time for bringing the contencioso-administrativo claim runs from the day after notification of the express decision on the optional reposición appeal, or from the day on which that appeal must be taken as impliedly dismissed. Whoever went to the administration first loses nothing, but is tied to the dates of that second decision, which are the ones that open and close the judicial window.
That is why a late answer is dangerous. When the administration replies months after the deadline it had to decide, two possible dates coexist, the one of silence and the one of the late decision, and choosing wrongly turns a winnable matter into a claim rejected as out of time. That calculation is made before a single line on the merits is written, and it is recorded in the case file.
The claim does not repeat the appeal: it fixes what is being asked for
The document that opens the case does little more than that. The piece that decides the matter is the statement of claim, drafted after the full administrative file arrives, with the reports and background the authority had never shown you. Many arguments that looked solid collapse once the file is read, and better ones appear: that is why the claim is not written before the file is in hand.
What is claimed matters as much as the grounds relied on. Asking for the decision to be annulled, which sends the matter back to the starting point, is not the same as also asking that the licence, the post or the refund with interest be recognised as yours. The second closes the circle and prevents the authority from refusing the same thing again with different reasoning.
Bringing the claim stops nothing: suspension is asked for separately
Article 129.1 LJCA allows interested parties to apply at any stage of the case for whatever measures secure the effectiveness of the judgment. Where a general provision is challenged and suspension of the contested rules is sought, paragraph 2 requires the application to be made in the document opening the case or in the statement of claim, and not later. That detail is easily lost.
The substantive test is in article 130.1 LJCA: after a reasoned weighing of all the competing interests, an interim measure may be granted only where enforcing the act or applying the provision could deprive the claim of its legitimate purpose. Paragraph 2 allows it to be refused where serious disturbance to the general interest or to a third party could follow. The argument is built on facts, not on formulas.
How we run the case, step by step
- 1
Confirm the act ends the administrative route and fix the exact date
The decision, its appeal footer and the delivery record of the notification are read. With that date the deadline in article 46 LJCA is calculated and it is decided whether the matter enters as an express act, as silence or as action without legal cover.
- 2
File the claim within the deadline
The opening document is filed, identifying the challenged act, and the court is asked to call for the administrative file. If the matter cannot wait, the interim measures branch under article 129 LJCA is opened in that same document.
- 3
Study the complete file before drafting the claim
Once the file arrives, reports, proposals and internal communications are reviewed. The real grounds come from there: lack of reasoning, misuse of power, facts that were never proved, or a precedent of the same authority in an identical case.
- 4
Statement of claim with the full remedy and evidence proposed
The claim is drafted seeking annulment and recognition of the legal position that corresponds, with the documents and, where needed, the expert evidence contradicting the technical report on which the authority based its decision.
- 5
Evidence, closing submissions and judgment
The admitted evidence is taken and closing submissions are made or a hearing is held, depending on the route. The judgment may annul the act, recognise the right and award costs against the administration where the claims succeed.
- 6
Enforce the judgment if the authority does not comply
Once the judgment is final, compliance is monitored. If the authority does not carry it out or carries it out badly, enforcement is sought before the same court, which can order the responsible body to act and adopt the measures needed.
The evidence that decides the case
- The delivery record of the notification, carrying the date that opens the period in article 46 LJCA and the appeal footer the authority included.
- The complete administrative file called for by the court, including the internal reports and draft decisions that were never handed to you.
- The technical or legal report the act relies on, so that its factual premises are attacked and not only its conclusion.
- Earlier decisions of the same authority in identical situations, showing a change of approach that was never explained.
- The expert report quantifying the harm and supporting the interim measure application under article 130 LJCA.
- The reposición appeal as filed and its decision, or the absence of one, which fixes the count under article 46.4 LJCA.
What closes the door
- Letting the two months run while new letters are sent to the authority. No later letter reopens the period in article 46.1 LJCA once it has expired.
- Appealing again within the administration against an act that already exhausted that route, and discovering the mistake when the judicial period has already run out.
- Challenging an intermediate act that does not fit the situations in article 25.1 LJCA, with the claim rejected and the useful time to attack the right one lost.
- Asking only for annulment. The authority can later issue another act refusing the same thing with better reasoning, and everything starts over.
- Not asking for suspension and letting the act be enforced. By the time judgment arrives the premises are closed or the works are already built.
The law that applies
- Art. 25.1 LJCA. Admits the claim against general provisions and against express and deemed acts ending the administrative route, whether final or interim, where the interim ones decide the substance, prevent the procedure continuing, deny defence or cause irreparable harm. BOE-A-1998-16718
- Art. 25.2 LJCA. Declares admissible the claim against the inaction of the administration and against its physical actions amounting to action without legal cover, on the terms set out in the Act itself. BOE-A-1998-16718
- Art. 46.1 LJCA. Sets two months from the day after publication or notification of the express act ending the administrative route, and six months from the day the deemed act arises where there is no express decision. BOE-A-1998-16718
- Art. 46.4 LJCA. Counts the period from the day after notification of the express decision on the optional reposición appeal, or from the day it must be taken as impliedly dismissed. BOE-A-1998-16718
- Art. 129 LJCA. Allows measures securing the effectiveness of the judgment to be sought at any stage, and requires suspension of a general provision to be applied for in the opening document or in the statement of claim. BOE-A-1998-16718
- Art. 130 LJCA. Allows an interim measure only, after a reasoned weighing of all competing interests, where enforcement could deprive the claim of its legitimate purpose, and allows refusal if serious disturbance to the general interest or a third party would follow. BOE-A-1998-16718
Each article checked against the consolidated text published in the BOE (the Spanish official gazette).
Frequently asked questions
If the authority never answered me, how long do I have?
Article 46.1 LJCA provides that, where the act is not express, the period is six months counted from the day after the deemed act arises under the specific rules governing it. It is unwise to leave it to the last minute: if the authority then issues a late express decision, a second date appears and the calculation becomes harder. The specific case is studied before choosing.
Should I have used the reposición appeal first?
Article 46.4 LJCA calls it the optional reposición appeal, so it is a choice and not a requirement where the act already exhausts the administrative route. If you did use it, the judicial period runs from notification of its decision or from the day it must be taken as dismissed. If you did not, it runs from notification of the act that exhausted the route.
Can I challenge an act that does not yet decide anything?
Only in the situations listed in article 25.1 LJCA. An interim act is challengeable where it decides the substance directly or indirectly, makes it impossible to continue the procedure, denies the right of defence or causes irreparable harm to rights or legitimate interests. Outside those situations you must wait for the final decision and then raise the earlier defect.
Can they charge or enforce against me while the case runs?
Yes, unless the court grants an interim measure. Article 130.1 LJCA makes it conditional on enforcement of the act being capable of depriving the claim of its legitimate purpose, weighing all competing interests in a reasoned way, and paragraph 2 allows refusal if serious disturbance to the general interest or a third party would follow. That is why it is sought early and with evidence of the harm.
What happens if I lose the case?
The act stands and the court may order you to pay the costs of the case, on top of what you have already paid on account. If you obtained an interim measure that is later lifted, the authority may claim the damage the suspension caused it. That balance is explained to you before the claim is filed, not after judgment.
This guide explains how the action works in general. It does not replace the study of your own case: deadlines depend on when things happened and on what you have done since.