Castro del Río approves remote attendance at the Plenary session due to pregnancy or serious illness

The City Council of Castro del Río has finalized the amendment to its Regulations on the Regime of Plenary Sessions, which allows members of the Corporation to attend sessions remotely due to pregnancy, maternity, paternity, or serious illness. The full text is published in the Official Gazette of the Province of Córdoba on September 22, 2026, in section VI, Local Administration, with the official reference BOP-A-2026-3147. The regulation is definitively approved as no claims were submitted during the public exhibition period.

From initial approval to final publication

The plenary agreement for initial approval was adopted on July 31, 2026, and has been automatically elevated to definitive status, in compliance with the provisions of article 70.2 of Law 7/1985, of April 2, regulating the Bases of the Local Regime. The announcement was electronically signed in Castro del Río on September 16, 2026, by the Mayor-President, Julio José Criado Gámiz, and is accompanied by the Secure Verification Code 4BB0 D0EF ADD6 1DE0 1157.

The amendment incorporates three new articles, located between the current article 17 (Requests and questions) and article 18 (Ordinary Sessions): articles 17 bis, 17 ter, and 17 quater.

Scope: from the Plenary to all collegiate bodies

Article 17 bis establishes the scope of application for the new provisions on remote attendance and holding of sessions. The following are covered:

• The Plenary of the Corporation.
• The Local Government Board.
• The Information Commissions.
• The Contracting Board.
• Any other municipal collegiate bodies, whether mandatory or voluntary.

The assessment of the cause and the remote summons shall correspond, in each case, to whoever holds the Presidency of the body in question.

Personal causes, technical guarantees, and quorum calculation

Article 17 ter regulates individual remote attendance for personal causes. Members who find themselves in any of these situations may apply:

• Leave due to risk during pregnancy.
• Maternity or paternity leave.
• Serious and prolonged illness that justifiably prevents personal attendance.
• Absence from the municipal district for exceptional and temporary work reasons, which are unavoidable and reliably justified.
• Any other circumstance assessed by the Mayor’s Office that is sufficiently accredited.

Absence for work reasons requires four cumulative conditions: that the activity be unrelated to the status of member of the Corporation and cannot be rescheduled; that verifiable documentary justification be provided (employer’s certificate, contract, official summons, or travel documentation); that it does not coincide with vacations, leave, or rest days; and that the impossibility of in-person attendance be justified.

The technical system must guarantee the identity of the participant, real-time bidirectional communication, and the public or secret nature of the session, recording the medium used in the minutes. For the purposes of quorum and majorities, those attending remotely shall be considered present.

Sessions entirely remote due to collective risk

Article 17 quater enables the Plenary and other collegiate bodies to be constituted, hold sessions, and adopt agreements entirely remotely in situations of serious collective risk, including severe weather conditions, health emergencies, or analogous contingencies. The session shall require that participants be located in Spanish territory with accredited identity, real-time communication, and means to preserve the public or secret nature. Videoconferences, audioconferences, or other equivalent technological systems are permitted.

Impact and means of appeal

The regulation consolidates electronic voting in the municipal life of Castro del Río and extends its application beyond the Plenary, with strict conditions to prevent the remote work option from being used as a disguised form of leave. Against the resolution, which exhausts the administrative route, a motion for reconsideration may be filed before the same body within one month, in accordance with Law 39/2015, or a contentious-administrative appeal within two months, according to article 46 of Law 29/1998, of July 13.

Source: Official Gazette of the Province of Córdoba, September 22, 2026, section VI - Local Administration (official reference: BOP-A-2026-3147).