Anadi Tewari
In a close ratio of 6:5, the Supreme Court of Spain at the outset of the Coronavirus Pandemic, declared the implementation of lockdown by the Central Government in March 2020 as unconstitutional.
The Court went on to state that such a lockdown which saw the spanish people confined to their homes apart from the essential activities, should have been imposed under Spanish Law i.e. state of emergency, which requires prior parliamentary approval to limit fundamental rights.
This decision of the Court was possible after two meetings of the judges, during which a draft sentence on the state of alarm from the court’s conservative sector was debated. In the text, it was argued that the state of alarm imposed by the government in March, 2020 did not just limit the fundamental rights of free circulation and of assembly between private citizens, but suspended them altogether.
According to news reports, while upholding most terms of the state of emergency, the top court said provisions ordering the population off the streets except for shorts shopping trips, unavoidable work commutes and other essential business violated Spain’s Constitution.
Should have ensured the issuance if state of exception rather than state of emergency
Article 116 of the Spanish Constitution describes three legal categories for emergency situations: state of alarm, state of emergency and state of siege.
The Court said that in order to legally limit people’s freedoms to the extent they did last year, the government would have had to declare a state of exception rather than a state of emergency.
In Spain, a state of emergency known as a “state of alarm” in Spanish can be declared by the government and implemented before it is debated in parliament. This allows the government to put new rules into force quickly.
A state of exception, however, is not directly agreed by the government. Instead, the proposal needs to be taken to parliament first, which then has to declare the emergency.
Clarification from the Court
This decision leaves the door open for people who were fined for breaking the rules to reclaim the money they paid.
But the court has clarified that it would not accept lawsuits from people and businesses who want to sue the government because they lost money due to the lockdown.
Reaction from the Government
According to news reports, the Coalition Government of Spain was unhappy with the ruling of the Supreme Court. The executives have extended their respect for the ruling but have regarded the same as of unprecedented nature.