The High Court of Cantabria summons interested parties in the ASCEL appeal

The Administrative Litigation Chamber of the High Court of Justice of Cantabria is processing ordinary procedure 287/2026, initiated at the request of the Association for the Conservation of the Iberian Wolf (ASCEL) against the presumed dismissal, by administrative silence, of the request for information submitted by the entity on September 1, 2025. The Official Gazette of Cantabria No. 201, dated October 20, 2026, publishes the summons for potential interested parties to appear and present themselves as defendants within nine days (page 53871, official reference CVE-2026-8110).

The announcement is issued by the Ministry of Rural Development, Livestock, Fisheries and Food, through the Directorate General of Forests and Biodiversity, and is dated in Santander on October 13, 2026. It is signed by the Director General of Forests and Biodiversity, Ángel Luis Serdio Cosío.

The official text does not detail the specific content of the requested information nor identify the body to which the petition was addressed: it limits itself to establishing the object of the litigation—the absence of an express response to a request registered on September 1, 2025—and ordering the summoning of third parties to the procedure.

An appeal against administrative silence

The litigation is directed against the presumed dismissal of a request for information. That is, the appeal does not challenge an express resolution denying the data, but rather the lack of a response within the legal timeframe, a scenario that administrative legislation equates to a denial and which entitles the applicant to seek judicial recourse.

The announcement is based on Article 49 of the Law of Administrative Litigation Jurisdiction, a provision that requires the summoning of those who may have a legitimate interest in the matter to appear before the judicial body. Publication in the official gazette thus replaces individual notification when the affected parties are not identified in advance.

The procedure is registered under number 287/2026 and is being heard before the Administrative Litigation Chamber based in Santander, the same body that reviews the actions of the Cantabrian regional administration.

Nine days to appear as a defendant

The summons sets specific conditions and consequences for interested parties:

• Deadline: nine days to appear and present themselves before the Chamber.
• Form: in legal form, as defendants, in accordance with Article 23 of the Law of Administrative Litigation Jurisdiction.
• Late appearance: anyone who appears after the deadline will be considered a party, but this will not rewind or interrupt the course of the procedure.
• Failure to appear: if they do not appear in a timely manner, the procedure will continue through its stages and no notification will be served to them.

The announcement does not quantify the number of interested parties nor identify potential co-defendants; therefore, the call remains open to anyone who can prove a legitimate interest in the outcome of the lawsuit.

Publication and scope of the announcement

The summons is inserted under the heading of the Ministry of Rural Development, Livestock, Fisheries and Food, the department to which the General Directorate of Forests and Biodiversity reports, the area competent in biodiversity management and, therefore, in matters related to wildlife.

The publication in the Official Gazette of Cantabria serves a dual purpose: it guarantees the publicity of the procedure to third parties and establishes the dies a quo of the nine-day period, which is counted from the appearance of the announcement in the gazette.

The text appears signed by the general director Ángel Luis Serdio Cosío and refers to judicial file 287/2026 as the sole reference for any appearance.

The struggle for public information

The case pits a conservation association against the regional Administration on a ground different from species management: that of access to information. The request was submitted on September 1, 2025, and, after the legal deadline passed without an express response, the entity opted for the contentious-administrative route.

For readers, the announcement marks two practical milestones: any person or entity with a legitimate interest has nine days from publication to appear as a defendant, and the litigation turns regional transparency into an object of judicial review. The outcome of procedure 287/2026 will determine whether the failure to answer an information request is protected or if, on the contrary, it obliges the Administration to respond and deliver what was requested.

Source: Official Gazette of Cantabria, no. 201, of October 20, 2026, page 53871 (official reference: CVE-2026-8110).