Judicial condemnation of Christmas in Vigo: “The noise exceeded legal limits”

The Vigo City Council will have to adopt measures to prevent the Christmas parties, which have become the main tourist attraction in the city, from exceeding the acoustic levels allowed in local ordinances. This is established by a ruling from the Superior Court of Xustiza de Galicia (TSXG) that was announced this Wednesday and that assesses “conduct that is harmful to fundamental rights.” The ruling, which is not final and can be appealed in cassation before the Supreme Court, comes after a complaint from a neighbor who must be compensated by the council with 600 euros. She had claimed 1,640 for the damages caused during the two months of uninterrupted parties.

The court condemns the City Council chaired by the socialist Abel Caballero for violating the fundamental rights to personal and family privacy and the inviolability of the home of the neighbor, who lives in the central Arenal street, due to the noise she had to endure during the celebration of the Christmas 2022-2023. The ruling orders the local government to adopt “the necessary measures to avoid repetition of his conduct.” It also urges him to put in place the necessary means to guarantee “that exterior and interior noise levels do not exceed the thresholds set by the applicable standards.”

The third section of the Contentious-Administrative Chamber of the Galician high court thus partially accepts the appeal filed by the complainant against a ruling by the contentious-administrative court number 1 of Vigo that rejected her claim. In it, the woman complained about the noise caused by the Christmas themed market and the amusement park, located in the vicinity of her home, between November 20, 2022 and January 16, 2023. She requested compensation of 1,640 euros because it is equivalent to the rental price of a home with the same characteristics and situation during that period, but the TSXG has reduced the compensation considerably.

The magistrates consider it proven that “the noise suffered by the appellant was persistent, since its continuity lasted (during the permitted hours) for practically two months, and it was intense because it exceeded the permitted legal limits.” The affected person, according to the sentence, “had to carry out her daily life along with her two children, ages one and three” in circumstances that could “lead to a potential impact on people’s health.” . This excessive noise, they add, “implies a impairment of personality development, by making it impossible to carry out daily life, which violates the fundamental rights reported as violated.”

The ruling criticizes that the Caballero government “remained inactive regarding the noise pollution that was being produced, which is exclusively attributable to the local entity, which is the one that had control of the emitting source at all times, as the giver of the corresponding authorizations to hold the leisure activity and responsible for its supervision.” The TSXG reminds the City Council that “there is a duty of public powers” ​​to guarantee “minimum rest and tranquility, depending on the circumstances”: “The legal interest that must be prevalent, the most worthy of protection, is the right of the citizens to not receive annoying noises, as an expression of a decent quality of life.”

The woman filed a lawsuit in 2023. When it was dismissed in June of last year, she filed an appeal to which the Prosecutor’s Office joined. In order for the appeal to be dismissed, the City Council alleged the important attraction for tourism that these festivals represent for Vigo. The lawyers of the council defended before the Superior Court that the Christmas celebrations in which Caballero has dedicated himself since he has been mayor are for the most populated city in Galicia “a strongly rooted tradition that over time has expanded its celebration period”: “The lighting and recreational events located in different places in the municipality have become a real tourist attraction not only for residents of Vigo, but essentially at the regional and national level.”