Jorge Ulises CORONA, Director of Aliona Abogados en Santander, has recently published an article in La Ley - Temas de Hoy  entitled "A New Administration: modernity and technology". A comprehensive summary is avalaible.

TRANSLATION PROVIDED BY GOOGLE TRANSLATE 

 

SUMMARY:-I. Approaching the Administration ElectrónicA II. FRAMEWORK FOR DEVELOPMENT: Policies for the Promotion of E-Administration: 1 -. The precursors. 2 -. This of e-administration. -- III. LEGALITY: 1 -. An overview. 2 -. The e-ID: Electronic Signatures. 3 -. The Data Protection Administration. -- IV. Pioneering e-Administration: 1 -. Bill for Electronic Citizens Access to Public Administrations. 2 -. Draft Law on Public Sector Contracts. -- V. Conclusion.

 

- I. Approach to Electronic Administration.

The still recent emergence of new technologies in our lives has given rise to what is being called "Information Society", thereby fostering a revolution in the way we act as individuals and social putting our grasp new knowledge for the sole requirement to connect to a vast source of information stored in ones and zeros: a data network.

The government had not been able to remove this phenomenon and, for years, been making great efforts to adapt to new technologies by developing plans and strategies that seek to transform their mode of action, both indoors, as for the citizens and businesses with whom they interact.

This new way of relating to the government, as defined by the immediacy and ease of access to information, it plays a strategic role, gives a power to the people that the Administration could not ignore. This is giving a major shift in relations-managed Administration, lighting what is now known as Electronic Administration or e-administration.

But what is really what we are talking about, what we thought when we refer to the e-Administration? The European Commission gives us one of the best definitions are approaching the changes that new technologies are emerging in the field of public affairs, "the use of information technology and communication in public administrations, combined with a change organizational and new skills to improve public services and democratic processes boosting support for public policies. "

 

II. FRAMEWORK DEVELOPMENT: Policies promoting e-government.

1 -. The precursors.

The first reference in Spanish law exists for the inclusion of new technologies in a body of law dates back to the Commercial Code in 1885 when Article 51 incorporates the telegraphic correspondence as a way to produce obligations between the contracting parties. True imposed a contact prior written, but this approach, not far from current model digital certification identity of the user, as we shall see later.

Since that telegraph to the Internet today has spent a lot of time, we even changed twice in a century, and that is that the technologies that we have today could not even imaginarlas twenty years ago. A good summary of what you can assume these changes is the decision of the European Commission that before 2010 all Government contracts are accessible online.

But the reality in Spain is somewhat different, the beginning of efforts by the administration to bring new technologies to society by designing a comprehensive policy action, dates back to 1999 with the adoption by the Council of Ministers of the Action Plan INFO XXI. This attempt failed to meet expectations generated then, four years later, our country appeared to queue all the statistics on implementation of new technologies, as well as a large portion of the funds and programmes announced never arrived to execute.

Similarly, in early 2000, was presented at the society called "White Paper for the Improvement of Public Services", taking as its starting point the analysis of the "state of science", concluded that policies to improve care for citizens and human resources "can not run correctly without resorting to huge potential for progress for public administrations is contained in the information technology and communications." Or, to put it another way, that facing the new challenges it faces every day to the citizens as a result of the Information Society, the Administration must be modernized and updated, and it passes through the inclusion of new technologies throughout their administrative areas, using them to improve their internal processes, and for a more positive relationship with citizens.

So, having verified the ineffectiveness of the measures of the Plan INFO XXI, the same architects prompted a new strategy embodied in the program España.es which, based on the report of the Committee of Experts of the Internet-Soto Commission - and ends with some more ambitious than its predecessor, sought to put our country in the global forefront of the use of new technologies in the administration. These objectives sought achieved through the implementation of six concrete actions, one of the most important development of eGovernment under the name administración.es, but the baton of policy makers was a new change of programme and content.

 

2 -. This of e-administration.

However, the Plan España.es in the form of administración.es, it served as the starting point for the development of the Plan for Modernization Technology and Administrative Simplification of the State General Administration Plan 2004-2007 or Connect. It covered various initiatives outlined with the primary objective of establishing an efficient eGovernment creating five areas for action: Certifies e-ID, Ciudadano.es, simplifies and Map.es. It even came to establish an immediate goal easily verifiable: delete 80% of the certificates to the State General Administration requires citizens, a goal which today begins to become a reality because, since early 2007, it is no longer necessary -- nominally submit a photocopy of their national identity card or certificate of registration when doing something with AGE.

These five areas of reference are projected at 43 other performances ranging from the above-mentioned the elimination of certificates to the introduction of the electronic ID-even today a reality-through the creation of new complaints, care and communication citizens, reducing costs and response times or improvement and momentum of the corporate image.

In recent times is taking his baton the current 2006-2008 Plan of Action for improving the administration or Modernize Plan, which contains the most significant of the previous framework and integrates them into 16 new measures to develop, with one noteworthy apart from the other: the future Law for Electronic Access Citizens to Public Administrations, which later analyze carefully.

This modernization plan also provides some important developments, such as the redesign and simplification of a number of formalities citizens who pursues the one hand, avoid unnecessary movements and perfectly avoidable of citizens to the various headquarters of the Administration and, Furthermore, a streamlining of the administrative tasks that should lead to a meeting deadlines more realistic by the Administration. All this would entail a double positive effect: a marked improvement in the perception that has managed services to be provided and a saving of resources for the entity that allows the processing line.

Equally interesting is the project that aims Red interadministrativas that before 2010 all public administrations are interconnected. This is surely one of the improvements that involve better results: avoid duplication in administrative procedures, delays in communications, streamline decision-making and a long list of benefits that would finalize most of the criticisms that he made Administration traditional. However, it is commendable goals but very difficult-if not impossible-to achieve, because its success would get to agree, sharing information, all actors of the public present in Spain: General Administration and Local CCAA.

With a more general approach of the e-administration, November 4, 2005, the Council of Ministers approved the Avanza Plan, the fruit of the work of the paper created within the Advisory Council for Telecommunications and Information Society and a number of working groups composed of players in the sector and representatives of government. In this new programming designed to meet the Lisbon Strategy, the Administration is still considering electronics as one of the main pillars of the development of the Information Society in our country. The plan contains specific actions to implement under the umbrella of the Public Services Digital gamble on "Electronic Administration focusing on the user and not the provider, which exceeds the most serious problems of electronic services offered by government Spanish: development and its uneven quality and the lack of integration of services provided by various departments and administrations. " And it is that lack of cooperation between the different administrations is one of the fields where they can best help the new technologies to improve both in the services they provide to the public, and in its own internal organization, creating a way to work more efficiently and getting that this improvement is really appreciated by the customer-managed.

Collect other very ambitious goals, such as doubling the number of electronic services that are offered by 2010 or create structures for cooperation between the various public administrations-General Administration of the State, and Local-SCAN, but surely the other key point of this improvement plan is to ensure the right of citizens and businesses to interact electronically with the AAPP, as marcándose challenge that in the year 2010 all services provided by the government offer at least some of their services over the Internet must have at least 80% of these services with interactivity total, can be completed entirely online.

 

III. LEGALITY

But all these policies, changing relationships and innovations, when we speak of Public Administration and new technologies are to be chaired by the formality that is, e-administration needs covered in a web rules giving legal effect to their actions.

 

1 -. An overview.

The already repealed Administrative Procedure Act (LPA) of 17 July 1958, was among the late streamline and upgrade administrative procedures and, as far as new technologies are concerned, Article 30 was a nod to modernization when with the aim of improving the organization of work bureaucratic promoted "the use of so-called adequate machines, with a view to implementing a progressive mechanization and automation in public offices." But we must not forget that this legislation was not replaced until 1992 and that both dates half a huge difference from the technological point of view. Suffice it to recall that at the time of approval of the LPA for locating a computer was necessary in a huge room, the phone had just arrived at a million lines installed in Spain and coaxial cable had made its appearance two years ago with the opening coaxial cable Madrid - Zaragoza - Barcelona.
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