By Martin Cole-
A Belgian court on Wednesday ordered the Belgium government to draw up a pandemic law within 30 days or face the annulment of some of its anti-Covid restrictions.
The Brussels court of first instance made the order, after a complaint by the Belgian League of Human Rights challenged Belgium’s system of implementing the measures using Ministerial Decrees, without any input from parliament.
It is the first court to make the dramatic ruling, since national lockdowns were imposed around the world.
Last October, a regional high court in Madrid on Thursday (8 October) struck down government restrictions that sealed off the Spanish capital and nine of its satellite cities in a bid to curb soaring COVID-19 infection rates, saying the move lacked legal underpinning and breached residents’ “fundamental rights.”
Yesterday’s ruling, not very widely publicised, is the outcome of an appeal lodged by regional authorities in Madrid, comes as cities across Europe re-impose restrictions to get a handle on a second wave of the pandemic.
The regional authourities challenged Belgium’s system of implementing the measures using Ministerial Decrees, without any input from parliament.
The judge gave the Belgian State 30 days to provide a sound legal basis, or face a penalty of €5,000 per day that this period is exceeded, with a maximum limit of €200,000.
The ruling came in a lawsuit brought by the Belgian League of Human Rights, a nonprofit organization which has repeatedly called on the government to stop using ministerial decrees to implement infection-prevention measures without lawmakers’ consent.
Interior Minister Annelies Verlinden said the government would appeal the ruling and that Belgium’s current coronavirus restrictions, which include a night-time curfew, a ban on non-essential international travel and other measures to control infections, remain in effect
The Belgian federal government used emergency executive orders to impose restrictions effectively for months, bypassing the parliament in the process. The government proposed a new “pandemic law” at the end of February to underpin its rules, but the law still needs approval from parliament.
The Brussels government appealed the decision and insisted several other jurisdictions had greenlit the measures.
The Belgian government appealed the decision and insisted that several other jurisdictions had greenlit the measures, a statement said. The legal tussle matches similar battles in the Netherlands and Germany, where anger against anti-virus restrictions has also landed in courtrooms.
The court has confirmed the illegality of the measures and asked the Belgian state to do what is necessary to make them legal,” she added.
In Belgium, the lockdowns and restrictions to fight the spread of the coronavirus have all been ordered by ministerial decree, bypassing parliament. The government has also been criticised by the European Commission for border controls which limit free movement between Belgium and fellow EU member states.
Civil libertarians and ministers have have been agitated by the process in which the measures were introduced, and started efforts to draw up an appropriate law for future pandemics that would involve lawmakers more closely in the process. This, however, was expected to take much longer than the 30 days ordered by the court, putting the government of Prime Minister Alexander De Croo in difficulty.
Belgium is in the midst of a fight against the third wave of the pandemic, with schools shut, borders closed and appointments required to access non-essential shops.