Covid restrictions in the Balearics were unconstitutional

Written on 20/11/2024
Andrew Ede

The Constitutional Court has ruled that the likes of the curfew were unconstitutional.

The Constitutional Court in Madrid has unanimously ruled that various measures established by Balearic decree law during the pandemic were unconstitutional.

As with a similar ruling in respect of Covid measures adopted by the regional government in Galicia, the Constitutional Court's opinion is that these were measures that could only have been regulated by Spanish organic law, which relates to fundamental rights and freedoms under the Constitution.

Decree laws signed by Francina Armengol as president of the Balearics were, in the court's view, almost identical to laws signed by Alberto Núñez Feijóo, now the national leader of the Partido Popular, when he was president of Galicia.

Therefore, and among other things, the court has determined that the curfew, limitations on movement and on gatherings, restricted opening hours or the closure of businesses were all unconstitutional.

Moreover, the regional government's insistence on diagnostic tests for all people who presented symptoms and collective screening tests were also unconstitutional.