Belgian Government Appeals Against the Judgment to Lift Corona Rules

The Belgian government is appealing the verdict to lift the corona measures in the country within thirty days. Minister Annelies Verlinden (Internal Affairs) announced this in the House.

 

A court in Brussels ruled that the measures are based on laws that are not the correct basis for the ministerial decisions issuing the measures.

According to Verlinden, both the Council of State and correctional and civil courts in Belgium have previously ruled that the corona measures’ current legal basis is adequate. She also said that the verdict does not mean that Belgians must now stop complying with the measures. In Belgium, there has been a curfew for much longer than in the Netherlands, among other things.

The verdict followed a lawsuit brought by the League for Human Rights, an independent Belgian foundation that works for the rights of the individual or of the community. “We have been saying for so long that the corona measures are built on legal quicksand,” said League chairman Kati Verstrepen. “That is very dangerous because those measures are necessary.”

According to Verstrepen, it should not be difficult for the government to provide a solid legal basis within thirty days. There is already a preliminary draft of a pandemic law. “Most of the work has already been done, and the government must be able to complete this on time.”

The court orders the State to end the corona measures within thirty days, on pain of a penalty of 5000 euros per day and up to a maximum of 200,000 euros.