Advocacy — Timeline of proceedings
Since 2021, the need for a framework of minimum equivalent fees (MEF/HME) for self-employed professionals has been formally raised before various Spanish administrations, including a judicial route already resolved (2021–2024) and continued academic work (COAM Congress 2025, article published in the Italian Labour Law e-Journal, 2026). In 2026, a new institutional route was opened, focused on updating the criteria of the National Commission for Markets and Competition (CNMC) in light of the most recent European regulatory framework, currently ongoing before the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Business and before the Spanish Ombudsman (Defensor del Pueblo).
Below is the complete timeline of the process, with links to the original documents for anyone who wants to consult the full case file.
The source documents linked below are official filings and rulings in Spanish administrative and judicial proceedings; they remain in their original Spanish and have not been translated — a translation would have no legal validity. The summaries on this page are in English.
Documentary timeline
Block 1 — Original petition and judicial route (2021–2026)
23/03/2021 — Petition under article 29 of the Spanish Constitution and Organic Law 4/2001, submitted to the Minister of Labour and Social Economy, requesting the establishment of a system of Minimum Professional Fees equivalent to the National Minimum Wage (SMI). View petition (ES)
29/03/2021 — The Ministry of Labour and Social Economy forwards the petition to the Technical General Secretariat of the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Digital Transformation (MINECO), as the matter falls within its remit.
12/10/2021 — In the absence of an express decision, an administrative appeal is filed before the Audiencia Nacional (National High Court, Administrative Chamber, Third Section; Ordinary Proceedings 1/2022, General Registry 17390/2022), admitted for processing by Order of 15/10/2021. View the admission order (ES)
10/02/2022 — Report of the Directorate-General for Economic Policy (DGPOLECO), of the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Digital Transformation (CSV 1471189-94538828), rejecting the substance of the request, based on earlier 2009 and 2012 reports of the now-defunct National Competition Commission (CNC), without analysing the subsequent European regulation and case law submitted with the petition. This report was added to the case file in the judicial proceedings, after the administrative appeal had been filed. View the DGPOLECO report (ES)
23/03/2022 — Filing of the statement of claim, with the substantive legal argument: breach of arts. 14 and 35 CE, compatibility of a system of Minimum Equivalent Fees with freedom of enterprise (art. 38 CE and art. 16 CFREU) in light of the proportionality test of Directive (EU) 2018/958 and Directive 2006/123/EC, and a point-by-point rebuttal of the DGPOLECO’s arguments, with data from the Architects’ Council of Europe on income and the gender pay gap between self-employed and salaried architects. View the statement of claim (ES)
23/05/2022 — Closing submissions, in response to the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Digital Transformation’s defence: rebuts its arguments point by point (the discretionary nature of the petition, Constitutional Court doctrine on the right of petition — STC 242/1993, STC 161/1988 —, the duties under arts. 9, 53 and 103 CE), submits Eurostat data on the gender pay gap among self-employed workers (up to 34.3% in 2009), and suggests, in the alternative, referring a preliminary question to the CJEU on the compatibility of a system of minimum equivalent fees with freedom of enterprise. View the closing submissions (ES)
03/07/2024 — Judgment no. 525/2024 of the Audiencia Nacional (Administrative Chamber, Third Section; Ordinary Proceedings 1/2022): dismisses the appeal and orders costs against the claimant (art. 139.1 LJCA). The judgment acknowledges that the petition should have been deemed admitted, since its inadmissibility had not been declared within the statutory time limit (art. 9.2 LO 4/2001), although it holds that this ground of inadmissibility nonetheless operates as a ground for dismissal. View the judgment (ES)
03/09/2024 — Notice of intention to appeal in cassation before the Supreme Court (Cassation Appeal 6564/2024) against the judgment. It argues, among other grounds: that the judgment orders costs despite acknowledging that the Administration breached the right of petition; that it ignores that the petition transmitted European regulation (Directive 2018/958, CJEU ECLI:EU:C:2019:562) unknown to the Ministry, which by itself would generate independent legal effects regardless of whether a ruling on the merits was warranted; and that the failure to properly notify the available routes of appeal cannot prejudice the petitioner. View the cassation appeal (ES)
16/10/2024 — The Supreme Court (Administrative Chamber, First Section)
declares the cassation appeal inadmissible by order, on strictly formal
grounds: insufficient reasoning of the objective cassational interest (art.
89.2.f and 90.4.b LJCA) and failure to justify the relevance test required
by art. 89.2.d LJCA. It does not rule on the merits. It sets costs of up to
€1,000 plus VAT. (Full-text transcription, with the names of the parties
and judicial staff redacted; CSV
E04799402-MI:kdc9-RGcS-ZKEZ-DQGa-G,
verifiable at sedejudicial.justicia.es.)
View the order (text) (ES)
27/10/2024 — A motion for annulment of proceedings (art. 241 LOPJ) is filed against the previous order, on the grounds that it breaches the right to effective judicial protection (art. 24 CE): it argues insufficient reasoning and arbitrariness in the application of the formal admissibility requirements for the cassation appeal. View the motion for annulment (ES)
25/11/2024 — The same Section, again by order, declares inadmissible
the motion for annulment filed against the previous order: it finds no
defencelessness, no arbitrary application of the law, and no patent error,
referring back to its earlier reasoning on the insufficient justification of
the objective cassational interest and the relevance test. The Audiencia
Nacional’s judgment becomes final. (Full-text transcription, with the names
of the parties and judicial staff redacted; CSV
E04799402-MI:dXdY-HWsh-cSSU-msoM-Q,
verifiable at sedejudicial.justicia.es.)
View the order (text) (ES)
31/12/2025 — The petitioner is formally notified that the judicial decision has become final.
06/03/2026 — Complaint to the Spanish Ombudsman (Defensor del Pueblo), not about the merits of the already-resolved judicial matter, but about the structural functioning of the right of petition in this case: the possible substantive hollowing-out of the right, the paradox of the admission/inadmission regime for petitions, the chilling effect of the costs regime on the exercise of fundamental rights, and the principle of good administration (art. 41 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union). View the complaint (ES)
04/06/2026 — Resolution of the Spanish Ombudsman (case file 26010099, Outgoing Registry 26078333): non-intervention, under article 17.2 of Organic Law 3/1981, on the grounds that the matter had already been examined by the courts. End of Block 1. View the resolution (ES)
Block 2 — Continued academic and advocacy work (2025–2026)
2025 — Presentation of the paper “Honorarios Mínimos Profesionales. Un elefante (legislativo) en la habitación” [“Minimum professional fees: a (legislative) elephant in the room”] at the 1st Congress of Architects of Madrid (COAM). View document (ES)
2026 — Development and publication of the resulting academic article, “Minimum Equivalent Fees: A proposal to re-establish income equality for equivalent work”, in the Italian Labour Law e-Journal (Issue 1, Vol. 19, 2026; ISSN 1561-8048). The article, which expressly develops and expands on the paper presented at the COAM 2025 Congress, incorporates the legal framework and empirical data (Architects’ Council of Europe, European Institute for Gender Equality, CJEU case law, Directive 2018/958, European Commission Guidelines 2022/C 374/02, the Italian equo compenso model) that underpin the Minimum Equivalent Fees proposal. Read the article (DOI) · See in Publications →
Block 3 — New institutional route, distinct subject matter (2026, ongoing)
07/03/2026 — A new petition, with a subject matter expressly distinct from that of 2021 (art. 8 LO 4/2001), submitted to the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Business (registry REGAGE26e00024522458). It has two dimensions: (a) formal transmission of regulation and case law that arose, or was not considered, after the 2022 DGPOLECO report — CJEU FNV Kunsten (C-413/13, 2014), Directive (EU) 2018/958, Directive (EU) 2019/790, CJEU Commission v. Germany (C-377/17, 2019, the HOAI case), European Commission Communication 2022/C 374/02, and the Italian Law 49/2023 on equo compenso — together with empirical data (ACE, EIGE) on pay discrimination between self-employed and salaried professionals; and (b) a request that the Ministry assess whether the CNMC’s current criteria are compatible with that framework and, where appropriate, press for its update. View petition (ES)
09/06/2026 — New complaint to the Spanish Ombudsman for failure to meet the three-month deadline under article 12 of Organic Law 4/2001 to respond to the March 2026 petition (which expired on 07/06/2026), requesting its joinder with case file 26010099. View complaint (ES)
13/08/2026 — The Spanish Ombudsman acknowledges receipt of the above complaint (Entry No. 26086717, Outgoing Registry 26111384). (The petitioner’s personal data has been redacted.) View the acknowledgement of receipt (ES)
Current status — Awaiting a response from the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Business to the March 2026 petition, and awaiting resolution of the new complaint before the Spanish Ombudsman.
Case status
| Administration | Registry/Case file | Date | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Audiencia Nacional / Supreme Court | Ordinary Proceedings 1/2022, Cassation Appeal 6564/2024 | 03/07/2024 – 25/11/2024 | Resolved (final) |
| Spanish Ombudsman (original case file) | 26010099 | 06/03/2026 – 04/06/2026 | Closed (no intervention) |
| Ministry of Economy, Trade and Business | REGAGE26e00024522458 | 07/03/2026 | Awaiting response |
| Spanish Ombudsman (new complaint) | Joinder requested with 26010099 | 09/06/2026 | Awaiting resolution |
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Last updated: September 2026