Governing Council: Esther Donoso, new member of the Port Authority

The Governing Council of the Autonomous City of Melilla has appointed Esther Donoso García Sacristán as a member of the Board of Directors of the Melilla Port Authority representing the Autonomous City, nullifying her previous appointment as an alternate member. The agreement is published in the Official Gazette of the Autonomous City of Melilla (BOME) number 6429, dated November 6, 2026, with reference BOME-A-2026-1223 on page 5397.

The governing body adopted the decision in an ordinary resolution session held on October 30, 2026, as recorded in the agreement registered under number 2026000881, dated November 2, 2026, under the ninth item of the agenda. The published text is dated November 2, 2026, and was forwarded for publication on November 4 by the secretary of the Governing Council, María José Gómez Ruiz, in accordance with Decree number 0103, dated June 2, 2025.

From alternate member to full member

The agreement consists of three sections. The first expressly revokes the Governing Council agreement number 2025000085, dated February 17, 2025, which had appointed Esther Donoso García Sacristán as an alternate member of the Board of Directors of the Melilla Port Authority representing the Autonomous City.

The second section appoints her as a member—without the status of alternate—of the same body, also representing the Autonomous City of Melilla. The publication does not include a curriculum vitae or biographical data of the appointee, nor does it set a date for taking office.

Legal framework and competence

The proposal originates from the Presidency of the City and is based on the Recast Text of the State Ports and Merchant Marine Law, approved by Royal Legislative Decree 2/2011, of September 5:

• Paragraphs 1 and 2 of Article 30, which attribute to the autonomous cities the appointment of members to the boards of directors of the port authorities.
• Article 19 of Law 40/2015, of October 1, on the Legal Regime of the Public Sector.
• Articles 16.1 and 17.1 of Organic Law 2/1995, of the Statute of Autonomy of Melilla.
• Article 16.1.17 of the Government and Administration Regulations of the City, published in the extraordinary BOME number 2, of January 30, 2017.

The text recalls that the Governing Council is the body that “has been assuming the appointment” of these members. The composition of the port authority board has been the subject of administrative litigation: in August 2026, the BOME published the resolution of a review procedure for null acts promoted by the trade union organization UGT-Melilla regarding the appointment of union members.

Notifications and appeals

The third section of the agreement orders the notification of the appointment to the following recipients:

• Each member of the Board of Directors.
• The president of the Board of Directors of the Melilla Port Authority.
• The president of the public entity Puertos del Estado.
• Publication in the Official Gazette of the Autonomous City of Melilla.

Against the agreement, which exhausts the administrative route, an optional appeal for reversal may be filed before the Governing Council itself within one month from its publication or notification, or a contentious-administrative appeal may be filed before the competent jurisdiction within two months. The resolution invokes Article 123 of Law 39/2015, of October 1, and Article 93 of the Regulations of the Government and Administration of the Autonomous City of Melilla.

The Board of Directors of the port authority is the body that governs the infrastructure and directs the activity of the port, a determining enclave for the supply and foreign trade of Melilla. With this agreement, the local Government replaces a substitute designation with a full membership, reinforcing the direct representation of the Autonomous City in a body that decides on fees, concessions, and port services.

Source: BOME, number 6429, November 6, 2026, Governing Council, page 5397 (official reference: BOME-A-2026-1223).