Cantabria appoints new secretary of the Consumer Arbitration Board

The Ministry of Industry, Employment, Innovation and Trade of the Government of Cantabria has dismissed India Calandra Reula as secretary of the Consumer Arbitration Board of Cantabria and has appointed Rocío Arce Martín, head of the Planning and Arbitration Section of the Consumer Service of the Directorate General for Trade and Consumption, in her place. The resolution, signed on September 3, 2026, by Minister Eduardo Arasti Barca, is published in the Official Gazette of Cantabria number 177, dated September 14, 2026, with reference CVE-2026-7123.

Regulatory Framework

Consumer Arbitration Boards are the administrative management bodies for institutional consumer arbitration and provide technical, administrative, and secretarial services to both the parties and the arbitrators, according to the functions listed in Article 6 of Royal Decree 713/2024, of July 23, which approves the regulation governing the Consumer Arbitration System.

Article 5 establishes that appointments for the presidency and secretariat, whether permanent or substitute, must be held by personnel in the service of public administrations and be designated by the administration to which the Board is attached, published in the official gazette of its territorial scope. In the event of vacancy, absence, illness, abstention, or recusal, the permanent holders shall be replaced by those designated as substitutes.

Background of the Dismissal

The previous secretary, India Calandra Reula, had been appointed by resolution of the minister on October 18, 2024, published in the BOC no. 208, of October 25, 2024, while she held the leadership of the Planning and Arbitration Section of the Directorate General for Trade and Consumption.

On August 3, 2026, Rocío Arce Martín took office as head of that same section, with the functions of the Secretariat of the Consumer Arbitration Board among the duties of the position. Furthermore, as a result of civil service staffing processes, Leticia Isla Feliz and Ana Rivero Mediavilla ceased to be officials of the Directorate General for Trade and Consumption, which prompted the update of the list of substitutes.

Appointments and Substitutes

The resolution, issued in accordance with Law 5/2018, of November 22, on the Legal Regime of the Government, the Administration, and the Institutional Public Sector of Cantabria, agrees:

• Remove India Calandra Reula as secretary of the Consumer Arbitration Board.
• Appoint Rocío Arce Martín, head of the Regulation and Arbitration Section of the Consumer Service of the Directorate General for Trade and Consumption, as secretary.
• Appoint, in this order, the officials of the Directorate General for Trade and Consumption M.ª Paz Anillo Casado and Raúl Gómez Martínez as alternates.
• Notify the interested parties, the General Secretariat for Industry, Employment, Innovation and Trade, and the Directorate General for the Civil Service of the resolution.
• Order the publication in the Official Gazette of Cantabria.

Relevance

The Consumer Arbitration Board of Cantabria is the key body for the extrajudicial resolution of conflicts between consumers and companies, a mechanism that avoids judicial proceedings and is particularly relevant for regional trade, whose adherence to the arbitration system is also linked to incentives in public aid for the sector. The renewal of its secretariat and alternates ensures the continuity and correct functioning of this essential service for the protection of Cantabrian consumers.

Source: Official Gazette of Cantabria, no. 177, September 14, 2026, section 2.1 (Appointments, cessations and other situations), pp. 45755-45756 (official reference: CVE-2026-7123).