Recurrent: Basque Nationalist Party (PNV)

Resolution appealed: R CTBG 1007/2025

In exercise of the right of access to public information, the Citizen Impulse Association requested from the MINISTRY OF FINANCE the administrative files relating to the applications for restitution or compensation of three properties located in France, which the Basque Nationalist Party (PNV) presented to the AGE under the ninth additional provision of Law 20/2022, of 19 October, on Democratic Memory.

The Ministry, after dealing with allegations against the PNV, as the third party affected, issued a decision in which it agreed to refuse to deal with the application on the grounds that the case provided for in article 18.1.e) LTAIBG was applicable, because of the abusive nature of the application.

The Council considers the complaint by pointing out that the Ministry has not justified the application of the cause of inadmissibility in its resolution, since it limits itself to stating that the intended access could involve a risk for third parties insofar as it has the following characteristics:patent purpose and claims to obtain information to assert it in other offices or public or private institutions and even in jurisdictional headquarters». This manifest and obvious purpose of prejudicing is considered unproven, the existence of any judicial procedure relating to the files requested is not known, nor has it been justified that the claimant entity has such an intention —and, even if it were, the use of public information for presentation in jurisdictional headquarters is in no way incompatible with the purpose of the LTAIBG. This Council considers that the applicant entity has justified the existence of a purpose consistent with the purpose of transparency of the LTAIBG, with reference to the "Use and destination of what belongs to the common treasury».

The same conclusion is reached in the resolution regarding the invocation by the PNV that opposed the delivery of the information of the limits provided for in letters e) and g) of article 14.1 LTAIBG, since no justification has been provided, beyond its mere citation, so it is not possible to control either its veracity or its proportionality, reiterating that the interpretation of the limits must be strictly, if not restrictive, and its application must be justified and proportionate, taking into account the specific circumstances of the case, as required by article 14.2 LTAIBG and the jurisprudence of the Supreme Court.

Likewise, the PNV justifies its opposition to granting access to the information requested in the concurrence of the limit provided by Article 14.1.k) LATIBG (because confidential information relating to private entities is included in the files requested), together with the provisions of Article 15.3 LTAIBG (due to the existence of personal data susceptible to protection).

The resolution states that it is not possible to deny or limit the information requested based on the presence of personal data in the file, given that they correspond to deceased persons and that the information is public knowledge, since it has been disclosed in the media. The anonymization of this data, where appropriate, cannot be considered as reprocessing under the terms of art. 18.1.c) LTAIBG.

With regard to the right of confidentiality of legal entities, it is considered that the public interest prevails in the access to the information requested on the right to confidentiality of these entities.

It concludes by estimating the claim and urging the requested entity to provide the requested information to the requesting entity, excluding, where appropriate, the documents corresponding to possible procedural actions that may be included in the requested files.