- The Netherlands should suspend its COVID-19 curfew immediately, the Dutch Court of Justice ruled on Tuesday.
- The use of a law to impose a curfew during emergencies was illegitimate in this case, Rechtbank said.
- The curfew violated people’s rights to freedom of movement and privacy, he added.
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The Netherlands’ COVID-19 curfew should be lifted immediately, the Dutch court in The Hague ruled on Tuesday.
During curfews, people must stay at home between 9:00 pm and 4:30 am, unless they have a valid reason, and whoever leaves the house without the correct paperwork may be fined.
The curfew lacks an adequate legal basis, the court ruled.
It had been introduced through a law that allows the cabinet to impose a curfew in exceptional circumstances, without having to go through the normal legislative process first. As the Dutch authorities had previously discussed introducing a curfew, it did not meet the necessary urgency requirements and was therefore not legitimate, the court ruled.
The curfew was not an emergency in the same way that it would be, for example, a breach of a dyke, the court added.
The government did not make it clear why curfew was necessary, as infection rates were falling, the court said. The curfew violated people’s rights, the court said in a demonstration.
The case was brought up by a group known as the Virus Truth Foundation.
The curfew was introduced on 23 January and last week it was extended until 2 March. Dutch authorities were due to meet on February 23 to review the curfew and other blockade measures.