The author of the communication is M.A.R.G., a Spanish national born on 22 May 1972. He claims to be a victim of a violation by the State party of his rights under article 27 (1) (a), (b), (g) and (i), read alone and in conjunction with article 3 (a), (b), (d) and (e) and article 5 (1) and (2) of the Convention. The Optional Protocol entered into force for the State party on 3 May 2008. The author is represented by counsel.
The author worked as a police officer in the Mossos d’Esquadra, the police force of the Autonomous Community of Catalonia. On 5 November 2004, he was involved in an accident that caused a series of injuries which left him unable to continue performing the same duties. By decision of the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs, the author was declared to be in a situation of total permanent disability as of 4 May 2006.
On 26 September 2007, the author applied to the Department of the Interior of the Generalitat of Catalonia (the Catalan government) for assignment to modified duty. The author states that, at this time, the Mossos d’Esquadra had yet to issue regulations governing assignment to modified duty, despite the adoption of such regulations being provided for in Act No. 10/1994 of 11 July 1994, concerning the Mossos d’Esquadra police force. The author formally requested that the regulations governing assignment to modified duty already in place within the fire service of the Generalitat of Catalonia should be applied instead, given the comparable situation. The author never received a response.
The author recounts that the concept of modified duty was defined and developed in Decree No. 246/2008 of 16 December 2008, regulating the special administrative situation of modified duty within the Mossos d’Esquadra. On 29 April 2009, the author again applied for assignment to modified duty and, on 28 November 2009, he was assigned to a position as a non-police support technician.
On 1 June 2010, the author applied to the Department of the Interior for payment of the social security contributions, corresponding salary payments and all other entitlements, such as the seniority supplement accrued during his service in the Mossos d’Esquadra, plus the interest legally due until payment of the principal debt, corresponding to the period running from the date on which he was declared to be in a situation of total permanent disability (4 May 2006) until the date on which he took up his position as a non-police support technician (4 December 2009). On 16 November 2010, the Department of the Interior dismissed this application. On 22 March 2011, the author filed an appeal against the Department of the Interior’s decision before Barcelona Administrative Court, which was dismissed on 21 May 2012. On 19 June 2012, the author filed an appeal against the judgment of the Administrative Court before the High Court of Catalonia. This appeal was dismissed on 4 June 2013. On 24 July 2013, the author filed a motion for nullity of proceedings before the High Court of Catalonia, which was dismissed on 1 October 2013. On 13 June 2014, the Constitutional Court notified the author of its decision to dismiss the amparo application he had filed.
The author claims that the State party failed to comply with its obligation to safeguard and promote the right to work for persons who acquire a disability in the course of their employment and that it did not take the necessary measures until years later, thus placing him in a situation of financial hardship.
On 24 January 2020, the State party submitted its observations on the admissibility and merits of the communication. The State party maintains that the communication is inadmissible ratione temporis besides being manifestly ill-founded and an abuse of the right to submit a communication under article 2 (b), (e) and (f) of the Optional Protocol. The State party asserts that the author’s claim arose from events that occurred prior to the entry into force of the Convention and the Optional Protocol. The State party also states that the author was assigned to a non-police position entailing general technical support duties by decision of 27 November 2009. The State party further states that the author filed a claim with the Department of the Interior of the Generalitat de Catalonia seeking compensation for the loss and damages caused to him by the Generalitat’s delay in issuing and effectively applying regulations governing assignment to modified duty within the Mossos d’Esquadra. The State party highlights that, by judgment handed down by the High Court of Catalonia on 21 October 2015, the author received €13,016.34 in compensation for moral damages and interest.
On 7 December 2022, the author submitted his comments on the State party’s observations on admissibility and the merits of the communication.
Meeting on 29 August 2024, the Committee noted that, by decision of 28 November 2009, the author was assigned to a position as a non-police support technician, and that, by judgment of the High Court of Catalonia, he was awarded compensation for the loss and damages caused to him by the Generalitat’s delay in issuing and effectively applying regulations governing assignment to modified duty. Accordingly, the Committee considers that the measures taken by the State party in favour of the author render the present communication devoid of purpose and decides to discontinue consideration of communication No. 63/2019.