URGENT: Madrid High Court strikes down Health Ministry’s coronavirus restrictions

As a result of the decision, fines cannot be levied on citizens who break the rules and the continuance of the measures themselves is now hanging in the balance

The Madrid High Court ruled on Thursday that it would not ratify the coronavirus restrictions that were forced on the region by the central government, despite the opposition of the regional administration to implement them. The court reached its decision on the basis that the measures infringe on citizens’ fundamental rights.

As a result of the decision, fines cannot be levied on citizens who break the rules and the continuance of the restrictions themselves is now hanging in the balance.

The central government, run by a coalition of the Socialist Party (PSOE) and junior partner Unidas Podemos, has been engaged in a battle with the Madrid regional government, which is headed by the conservative Popular Party (PP) in coalition with center-right Ciudadanos (Citizens) and propped up by far-right Vox.

In recent weeks, the epidemiological situation in Madrid has worsened drastically, but the regional premier, Isabel Díaz Ayuso, has been unwilling to implement stricter coronavirus measures on the basis that they would do further harm to the economy.

The central government eventually reached an agreement that was voted on by the majority of Spain’s regional administrations that would see restrictions such as perimetral lockdowns and early closing times for businesses in municipalities with more than 100,000 residents should a set of criteria be met.

On Friday, only municipalities in Madrid met that criteria, and as such 10 cities in the region – including the Spanish capital – were confined from that night onward. The regional government, however, opted not to impose fines on citizens for breaking the restrictions until the national High Court, the Audiencia Nacional, ruled on a court appeal it filed on Friday against the measures on the basis they encroached on its powers.

Earlier this week, other regions followed suit, with Castilla y León, for example, confining the cities of León and Palencia. By Tuesday, 5.2 million residents of Spain were under the restrictions, which include capacity limits for bars and restaurants and closing times of 10pm for all establishments.

The High Court will now also have to rule on whether or not to suspend the restrictions as a precautionary measure while it considers the Madrid government’s appeal. The region has 10 days from the time it presented the appeal to file its arguments against the central government’s actions, which in turn will then have to be considered in a period of five days by judges.

The national High Court has already rejected the immediate suspension of the restrictions, as requested by Vox and a private attorney, on the basis that there “are no special reasons of urgency” to do so. The Madrid High Court has also done the same with a similar appeal filed there by the far-right party.

The ruling from the Madrid High Court comes despite support for the new measures on the part of the public prosecutor, whose report stated that they were in line with “criteria of proportionality” given the high risk of coronavirus infections in Madrid and on the basis that “the right to life and to health” should take precedence over any other consideration.

Source: El País Madrid – 08 OCT 2020 – 12:15 CEST

https://english.elpais.com/society/2020-10-08/madrid-high-court-strikes-down-health-ministrys-coronavirus-restrictions.html