Administrative Act Enforcement: Procedures and Regulations

Posted on Feb 12, 2025 in Law

2. Enforcement of Administrative Acts: Budgets, Implementation, and Coercion

Administrative acts are presumed valid and effective. Some acts empower the administration to compel compliance, even against the recipient. For the administration to forcibly execute its acts, the following conditions must be met:

  1. An administrative act proceeding must exist.
  2. This act cannot be legally suspended.
  3. Prior warning is necessary before execution.
  4. The appropriate means of execution must be chosen. There are four procedures, each applicable to specific events. In cases with multiple options (art. 92 LP), the least restrictive of individual freedom must be selected.
  5. If entering the address of the executed is necessary, judicial authorization from the administrative litigation courts is required.

Enforcement is detailed in articles 93 to 100 of the Act, outlining four enforcement procedures:

1. Apremio on Capital

For events with economic content, this procedure, outlined in the GTL, involves a new warning after the voluntary payment period, along with a corresponding charge. If this is not addressed, a formal certification is issued, and the individual’s assets are seized to cover the debt. This procedure can be halted if the individual pays, provides an endorsement or guarantee of payment, or presents proof of error.

2. Subsidiary Execution

This is appropriate when the act establishes an obligation to do something that is not very personal; it requires a subject, but not because of their specific qualities. It is a general obligation that anyone can fulfill. In this case, if the individual fails, the Administration can:

  • Perform the action directly.
  • Hire a third party.

Both options generate costs and damages. The initial obligation transforms into an obligation to pay, which, if breached, could lead to asset seizure.

3. Coercive Fines

These are impositions of fines, sums of money that an individual agrees to pay, potentially in multiple installments, to ensure the principal obligation is met. These are not sanctions per se and must be authorized by law. Such fines can be imposed for:

  • Very personal obligations to do where direct compulsion on people is not applicable.
  • Obligations where the Administration deems direct compulsion inappropriate.
  • Acts whose execution might require instructing another person (repetitive and unnecessary).

4. Compulsion on People

This is used for very personal obligations not to do or endure, only if authorized by law. A specific case is administrative eviction, where the government evicts people from public property when they lack legal title. Example: People forcibly expropriated who refuse to leave.