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The battle to obtain protective equipment against the coronavirus through the courts has suffered an almost definitive defeat on Monday. The National Court has rejected, contrary to what three police unions claimed, ordering the Interior Ministry to deliver Individual Protective Equipment (PPE) and tests to detect the disease.

The decision has been adopted by the Social Chamber , which according to what the Supreme Court had ruled on Monday was the competent authority to agree or not on precautionary measures that affected the entire national territory. The Supreme Court's double refusal (the Social Chamber, formerly, that of Contentious ) had previously been joined by that of a Superior Court of Justice ( Canary Islands ) and, now, that of the National Court. In contrast, the numerous favorable resolutions to impose the precautionary measures had been adopted by Social Courts with more limited powers.

The three orders issued by the Court base their refusal on the enormous difficulty in obtaining the claimed material and the priority that it has been agreed to give to health workers, with a higher risk of contagion. Of course, the rejection of the briefs presented by the Spanish Police Confederation (CEP), the Unified Police Union (SUP) and the Federal Police Union (UFP) underline the "essential and valuable service" that the agents are providing to citizens "in a particularly difficult situation".

The unions had called for the measures to be taken urgently without even hearing Interior's allegations. The Chamber, however, requested the opinion of the Administration and received a brief from the State Attorney on behalf of the Ministry opposing the precautionary measures.

The resolutions of the Social Chamber review all the actions taken by the Interior and the General Directorate of the Police as a result of the declaration of the state of alarm and their "enormous effort" to collect protective material for the agents. He also recalls that the Ministry of Health agreed that the supply of PPE to health centers is considered a priority and that it considered the police as low risk personnel.

The Chamber explains that the shortage of protective equipment for all groups at risk of contagion is "an absolutely notorious fact", so that the eventual estimation of the request for precautionary measures "would not have the immediate utility" that the law. "It would lack executive status as it becomes an obligation to make it impossible to comply with at the moment," the magistrates affirm.

The Hearing considers that the lack of equipment "is a very serious problem that at the moment goes far beyond the Administration in demand and even the country" and adds that "it has been established that the General Directorate of Public Health, Quality and Innovation of the Ministry of Health considers that health centers have a need for priority and / or preferential supply of PPE. " "The succession of actions of the Ministry of the Interior to try to obtain means for the members of the National Police Corps has also been proven, without this procedural channel being the ideal one to reproach the circumstances of scarcity and request the appropriate responsibilities."

"For this reason, we can say - continues the Chamber - that precautionary measures such as those requested would contribute nothing in this scenario, because the Ministry has already ordered the delivery of equipment and compliance with preventive regulations, and does not cease its actions to try get the necessary means and make the delivery effective. "

Unions were also calling for Interior to be ordered an individualized assessment of the risks that personal agents assume during the pandemic due to personal circumstances. The Court considers that before resolving this point through the courts, the unions should have addressed a request to Interior. Furthermore, the execution of that request would take a long time, which makes no sense when what is being resolved now is only urgent precautionary measures.

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