Spanish coastal protection law

Spanish Coastal Protection Act ("Ley de Costas") is the abbreviation for the Spanish law 22/1988 of July 28, 1988 on the coasts of Spain ("Ley 22/1988, de 28 de julio, de Costas"). It regulates the determination, protection, use and responsibility of the authorities for public property in the marine and especially coastal landscapes of Spain.

Purpose of the law

The law determines the restriction and expropriation of private property in order to protect the Spanish coasts and guarantees the general public's right to walk and walk on the entire coastal strip. The coastal residents must grant everyone a right of way within a strip of 6 to 20 meters to the sea line (measured at the highest water level). The exact route of the passage is determined by the coastal protection authority.

Protection zones

The Coastal Protection Act recognizes three protection zones:

• Protection zone 1: All direct beach properties are automatically expropriated if this zona maritima terrestre is affected.
• Protection zone 2 is the protection zone bordering the immediate coastal strip - zona de servidumbre de protección  - which comprises a coastal strip of terrain from 20 to 100 meters, in individual cases up to 300 meters.
• Protection zone 3: the rest of the coastline.

Constitutionality

With a judgment of July 4, 1991, the Spanish Constitutional Court confirmed the constitutionality of the Coastal Protection Act, because it grants the owners a right of use for a transitional period of initially 30 years, which can be extended for a further 30 years. The first period of use began when the law came into force in 1988 and ended in 2018.

Web links

The legal text can be found in Spanish under Ley de Costas