Cuatrecasas has advised Plenergy Grupo on obtaining a recent ruling from the Plenary Third Section of the Judicial Review Chamber of the Supreme Court. The ruling recognizes the possibility of challenging the responses issued by the Directorate-General for Roads of the Ministry of Transport and Sustainable Mobility to the so-called “preliminary feasibility consultations” before the Administrative Court.
Article 70.9 of the General Road Regulations contemplates the possibility of submitting this type of consultation so that the Administration can assess the legal and technical feasibility of granting the sectoral authorization necessary for the installation of a road access to a gas station from the public road domain, even before formally submitting the corresponding application.
The ruling (No. 377/2026, issued on March 25, 2026) has established doctrine on the interpretation of the content and scope of the well-known Article 70.9 of the General Road Regulations. It concludes that these responses are subject to challenge independently due to their binding nature and, consequently, because they condition the subsequent administrative decision regarding the granting of the authorization.
Thus, the ruling endorses the argument defended in this respect by Cuatrecasas and modulates the contrary position maintained until now by different High Courts of Justice (particularly, that of Madrid). That contrary position primarily excluded the possibility of challenging this type of response in court, arguing that they did not meet the essential requirements to be considered as administrative acts susceptible to challenge in court. This has, until now, prevented the analysis of the legality of the content of the responses.
The Cuatrecasas advisory team on this matter was made up of Julio Brasa and Alberto Cortegoso (Public Law), and Elicia Rodríguez (Appeals in Cassation and Other Special Appeals).
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