The judicialization of public decisions: The case of the moratorium on tourism accommodation in the Canary Islands

Abstract

The judicialization of public policies basically implies a judicial reaction when the agents who have been “wronged” by their design and implementation consider that their rights are not effectively guaranteed by the executive or legislative power. Its introduction into the cycle of public policies means that the judiciary acquires considerable capacity for interference and has a significant impact on the reformulation of these policies. The main objective of this research is to analyze the judicialization of tourism policies. To do this, it is based on an empirical study conducted according to the case study methodology on the judicialization of the tourism moratorium implemented in the Canary Islands (Spain). Among the results obtained, we can highlight that judicialization involves the use of legal mechanisms by the parties “harmed” by the hard law on which public tourism policies are usually based. It also occurs when there are failures in the process of formulating such public policies. In the same way, it constitutes an exercise of intrusion by the courts of justice in an area reserved for the executive and legislative powers, with the consequent tension between politics and justice; this means that the leading role shifts from the legislative to the judicial power and there is a loss of centrality of the legislative authority whose exercise and power are limited and regulated.