The Balearic Government will appeal to the Supreme Court against the national system for the distribution of unaccompanied migrant minors in the Balearic Islands, which sets the ordinary capacity of the islands’ child protection and guardianship system at 434. On Friday, the Consell de Govern authorised the Autonomous Community’s Legal Service to lodge an appeal against Royal Decree 556/2026, approved on 30 June.
The new figure represents an increase from the 406 minors previously established by the Spanish Government for the Balearic Islands.
Balearic Government questions criteria for distributing unaccompanied migrant minors
The Balearic Government argues that the criteria used by the Spanish Government are not sufficiently justified and considers their application to produce an “opaque and arbitrary” outcome. It believes the system could favour certain autonomous communities over others and violate the constitutional principle of interregional solidarity.
The royal decree establishes eight different criteria, assigning different percentages and indices to calculate the ordinary capacity of each territory. The Balearic Government argues that the legislation does not sufficiently explain why these parameters were selected or how the final figure assigned to each autonomous community was reached.
The appeal will also challenge the Spanish Government’s authority to establish the ordinary capacity of child protection and guardianship systems through a royal decree. The Balearic Government maintains that child protection is an exclusive responsibility of the autonomous communities.
In previous appeals, the Autonomous Community has also argued that the requirements for declaring an extraordinary migration contingency were not put to a vote at the plenary session of the Sectoral Conference on Childhood and Adolescence held on 5 May 2025.
Third Balearic Government appeal against national regulations
The challenge to Royal Decree 556/2026 follows other legal action taken by the Balearic Government over national regulations governing the reception of unaccompanied migrant minors.
The Balearic Government has already lodged appeals against Royal Decree 658/2025 and Royal Decree 743/2025. The latter had set the ordinary capacity for the Balearic Islands at 406 minors, a figure now increased to 434.
The head of the Autonomous Community’s Legal Service issued a report on 15 July supporting the challenge to the new royal decree. Following authorisation from the Consell de Govern, the Legal Service can now lodge the appeal with the Administrative Chamber of the Supreme Court.
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