The legal dilemma of ex-post controls in Tourism: reflections on judgment 626/2026, of may 19, of the Spanish Supreme Court (Administrative Litigation Chamber) Alejandro Corral Sastre1 I. Introduction. – II. Prior Authorizations vs. Declaraciones Responsables: A Distinct Dichotomy. – III. The Interpretation of the Spanish Supreme Court. – 4. The Hierarchy of Public Interest: Proportionality in Oversight. – 5. The Structural Failure of Ex-Post Controls. – 6. Beyond Authorizations and Declarations: Intelligent Governance for Real-Time Oversight. – 7. Conclusions. This paper analyzes a judgment by the Spanish Supreme Court that equates the public interest protected via prior authorization systems with that defended through declaraciones responsables (responsible declarations). However, the European legislator clearly established a hierarchy of public interest through the concepts of “overriding reasons relating to the public interest” and proportionality. Notwithstanding the current framework, there is a clear trend toward moving past this traditional administrative oversight. Public administrations must increasingly evolve into predictive and proactive entities to ensure the adequate protection of the public interests at stake. Keywords: Services Directive, tourism activity, prior authorization, declaración responsable, predictive administration I. INTRODUCTION This paper analyzes Judgment No. 626/2026, of May 19, issued by the Spanish Supreme Court. In this ruling, the High Court puts forward an interpretation—which we deem erroneous—regarding the intensity of the DOI 10.60559/ijtthl2026-007 1 Professor of Administrative Law, Universidad Complutense de Madrid.
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