The Spanish Constitutional Court’s ruling that last year’s strict Covid-19 lockdown was unconstitutional reportedly leaves the door open for people who were fined for breaking the rules to reclaim the money they paid, according to the BBC.
However, the court said it would not entertain lawsuits from people and businesses seeking to sue the government for losses incurred because of the lockdown.
The court voted by a slim majority of six to five that the declaration of a state of emergency was not enough to give the restrictions constitutional backing. It found that the regulations were equivalent to a suppression of fundamental rights.
The Spanish government declared a state of emergency on 14 March 2020 to curb the first wave of Covid-19 infections.
At the time, coronavirus cases and deaths were rising and hospitals were quickly becoming overwhelmed. Since then, more than 81 000 people in Spain have died with coronavirus.
Under the emergency rules almost all people in the country were ordered to stay at home, and were only permitted to leave for essential reasons. All but essential businesses were closed.
The laws were in place until June 2020, though some restrictions were reinstated later in the year when the country faced a second wave.
The court ruling was in response to a suit brought by the far-right political party, Vox.
[Image: Carabo Spain from Pixabay]