La adjudicación de espacios comerciales en los aeropuertosa propósito de los alquileres de AENA

Abstract

This paper deals with the legal nature of the allocation of airport premises for commercial activities, traditionally regarded as permits or licences on public land. Along with the liberalisation of the sector came the possibility of managing public assets through private leases, which are excluded from the laws on public procurement, thus raising the question of how to comply with the principles of publicity, transparency, concurrence and objectivity in the exploitation of public assets. Supreme Court´s ruling 317/2021, of 8 March 2021, solved it by considering these leasings as service concession contracts. It is not, however, settled case-law, and it raises questions that justify the present attempt at revisiting the applicable legal framework. To this end, the classic understanding of these leases, their specialties in the airport sector, the impact of the EU Directives and how these have been implemented into domestic law, are analyzed.