Support Victorian solicitor Serene Taffaha in her battle against the corrupt legal system
Brussels courts rule against all coronavirus measures
From the Brussels Times
The Belgian State has been ordered to lift “all coronavirus measures” within 30 days, as the legal basis for them is insufficient, a Brussels court ruled on Wednesday.
The League for Human Rights had filed the lawsuit several weeks ago and challenged Belgium’s system of implementing the measures using Ministerial Decrees, which means it is done 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, reports Le Soir.
The current coronavirus measures are based on the Civil Safety Act of 2007, which enable the State to react quickly in “exceptional circumstances,” but the judge has now ruled that these laws cannot serve as a basis for the Ministerial Decrees.
“The judge ruled that the principle of legality has been violated because the current way of working is not foreseeable enough,” Kati Verstrepen of the Human Rights League confirmed to VRT, adding the consequences are “not so dramatic” that from one day to the next, the measures would no longer be valid.
For the time being, the current coronavirus measures will not change, and the verdict is currently being studied by the office of Interior Minister Annelies Verlinden, reports De Standaard.
Appealing against the court ruling is still possible, but as it concerns a summary judgment, an appeal would not suspend the execution of the judgment.
On Wednesday afternoon, the Chamber will debate Belgium’s upcoming pandemic law, which is supposed to provide “a permanent legal basis, for taking this kind of restrictive measures during a pandemic.”
Several legal experts already pressed the Belgian State to bring forward the law as soon as possible to avoid judges cancelling fines written out for violations of the measures, and this ruling only increases the pressure to quickly adopt it.
Maïthé Chini & Lauren Walker
The Brussels Times
It’s an uphill battle because most people are somehow willing to believe that the media, politicians and their bureaucratic masters are smart enough to know what they’re talking about, and incredibly, believe that they’re telling the truth. If a significant number refuse to comply then some of the sheeple will follow. Few are willing to take a stand. Affected businesses need to unite to save themselves by non compliance or none of them will survive. I agree that it’s abhorrent that one woman ie the health minister, has the power to destroy small business and even the State economy because she knows best. And everyone bends over. Beyond belief
And this news is clamped shut on every main news network, expected at least Fox News would get it out.
We cannot take away from our ministers their duty to make decisions, but the ministers authority should not be delegated to civil servants. Unless the legislature has passed laws on required behaviour of citizens there should be no punishments handed out.
Where I live in Qld just about everybody is wearing a mask around the shopping district except me.
I went to the Bank a couple of days ago and as I was about to enter I got pulled up by a person dressed in black demanding that I put on a face mask. I told the person that I have a medical exemption which the person then wanted to see, to which I replied, I don’t have to show it to you – it is private information. The person then said wait here while I see the manager. 10 seconds later I was waived in and fronted the tellers bench – finished what I had to do and walked out, wishing the grumpy official at the door a good day.
I have not ever bought a mask and I have no intention of ever doing so.