Law 107-13 applies to every body of the centralized public administration, to autonomous bodies and to local government entities, including bodies of the Legislative and Judicial branches when they perform activities of an administrative nature.

For the purposes of the law, “persons” comprises natural and legal persons, and an “administrative act” is any unilateral declaration of will, judgment or knowledge made in the exercise of the administrative function that produces direct, individual and immediate legal effects on third parties. Administrative acts and procedures covered include permits, licenses, authorizations, concessions, prohibitions, decisions on administrative recourses and the imposition of administrative sanctions.

II. Persons’ Rights

Law 107-13 recognizes a general right to good administration, protected through a catalog of subjective rights, including:

• The right to effective protection (tutela administrativa efectiva) from the administration.
• The right to a reasoned (motivated) administrative act.
• The right to an administrative resolution within a reasonable time.
• The right to a fair administrative resolution.
• The right to submit written petitions and to receive a timely and effective answer.
• The right of access to public services in conditions of quality, among other rights established by the law.

The duty to give reasons and the reasonable-time guarantee are the two rights most frequently invoked in practice against regulators; their breach supports both annulment and damages claims.

III. Administrative Recourses

Under Law 107-13, the acts subject to challenge are those that end a procedure, prevent its continuation, cause defenselessness, injure subjective rights or produce irreparable harm.

Administrative recourses (reconsideration and hierarchical) are optional: the affected person may pursue them before the body that issued the act or go directly to the contentious-administrative courts. If the judicial route is chosen, the administrative route is extinguished; if the administrative route is chosen first, the person may abandon it at any stage and proceed to court.

Because recourses are optional, timing strategy matters — filing a recourse suspends nothing by default, and the judicial clock runs from notification; parties should decide the route early with an eye on the 30-day deadline described below.

IV. Time Limit for Recourses before the Contentious-Administrative Courts

Under Law 13-07, the term for filing a contentious-administrative recourse before the Superior Administrative Court (TSA) is thirty (30) days from notification of the act, from its official publication, or from the expiration of the applicable term in cases of administrative silence.

V. Precautionary Measures

To secure the effectiveness of a future judgment, an interested party may request precautionary (interim) measures at any time in the contentious-administrative process. The request is processed separately and does not prejudge the merits of the main case.

VI. Liability of Public Entities and their Officials

The right to good administration includes the right to compensation for damages suffered in a person’s assets or rights as a consequence of unlawful administrative action or omission.

Compensation claims may be brought by any person, by public servants and by other public entities, provided a real and effective damage — patrimonial, physical or moral, including consequential damages and lost profits — is proven by the claimant.

The limitation period for claims against the public administration is two (2) years from the administrative action giving rise to the damage.

In tax matters, the interplay between the Tax Code (Law 11-92) as lex specialis and the general administrative regime of Laws 107-13 and 13-07 determines the available recourse routes; since Law 30-26 eliminated the pay-first (solve et repete) requirement, taxpayers may challenge assessments before the TSA without prior payment (see Tax Law, section I).

This publication is provided for informational purposes only and not as legal advice. Any transaction related to any of the described aspects shall require advice and be specifically consulted with the Firm in advance. © Arthur & Castillo. All Rights Reserved. Next