Facts
BOSCO is an application developed by the Ministry for the Ecological Transition that reference electricity suppliers use to check whether applicants for the social electricity discount (bono social) qualify as vulnerable consumers; once the applicant's data are entered, it returns whether the requirements are met. In September 2018 the Fundación Ciudadana Civio requested, through the Transparency Portal, the application's technical specification, test results and the source code in production. The Council of Transparency and Good Governance (CTBG) partly upheld Civio's complaint but refused access to the source code on intellectual property grounds. A central administrative court in 2021 and the National High Court (Audiencia Nacional) in 2024 dismissed Civio's challenges.
What was the legal question in Fundación Ciudadana Civio v. Consejo de Transparencia y Buen Gobierno (BOSCO)?
The question of cassational interest was whether, under Articles 14 and 16 of the Transparency Law (Ley 19/2013), the source code of a computer application that determines eligibility for a social benefit must be disclosed. The State argued that the source code is protected as a computer program by intellectual property and that disclosure would endanger public security, so that the limits in Articles 14(1)(j) and 14(1)(d) applied. Civio sought full access or, at least, access to the part of the code that takes the decision.
What did the Supreme Court of Spain (Tribunal Supremo), Contentious-Administrative Chamber, Third Section decide?
The Supreme Court held that access to public information is a constitutional right that individuals can enforce, and that where administrations use automated decision-making systems, especially to grant social rights, transparency may require access to source code. BOSCO is protected as a computer program, but the bare risk of unauthorised exploitation cannot by itself bar access: the State built it for a public task, and conditions such as bans on dissemination or confidentiality undertakings can reduce the risk. The security risk was not substantiated. A functional explanation was not enough, because only access to the algorithm allows its legality to be checked. The court set aside the earlier rulings and ordered the State to give Civio the source code.
Why does Fundación Ciudadana Civio v. Consejo de Transparencia y Buen Gobierno (BOSCO) matter?
The Supreme Court laid down, as case law, a right of access to the source code of automated decision-making systems used by the administration. It noted that automated systems multiply the effect of errors and that unexplained outcomes weaken the right to challenge them. Although BOSCO is a rule-based application, the reasoning has become a reference point in debates on the transparency of algorithmic systems in the public sector, including AI systems that affect social rights.
Related stages
Earlier stages: CTBG, 18 February 2019 (R/0701/2018); Central Administrative Court No. 8, 30 December 2021; Audiencia Nacional, 30 April 2024 (appeal 51/2022). The hearing took place on 8 July 2025; the rapporteur was Justice Juan Pedro Quintana Carretero. The court's press release is dated 17 September 2025. Whether the code has actually been handed over could not be verified. On algorithms in the public sector, see syri-welfare-algorithm-hague and colombia-constitutional-court-chatgpt-judge.