The administrative court of Martinique rejected on Monday a request to order the prefect to reopen the beaches, closed since the beginning of confinement, for lack of proposal from mayors to arrange a reopening of the beach. Seized by a professional of nautical activities, the administrative court, ruling in summary proceedings, refused to order the reopening of the beaches but also to pronounce the lifting of the ban on boating and nautical activities, decided by a prefectoral decree of May 11, 2020.
This decree imposes a quarantine until June 1 on anyone who enters Martinique by sea, prohibits pleasure and leisure navigation, prohibits nautical events at sea and regulates sports activities by referring to the regulations on the access to beaches. According to the court, "it did not follow from the investigation that the measures taken by the prefect of Martinique (...) seriously and manifestly unlawfully violate fundamental freedoms".
Mandatory procedures and controls to guarantee compliance with barrier gestures
The administrative court first recalls that the prohibition of access to the beaches was decided at the national level, by decree of the Prime Minister of May 11, 2020, and that it applies “to all sporting activities and nautical, which are therefore prohibited ”. However, the decree "allows, by way of derogation, the prefects to authorize access to the beaches", but "requires a proposal from the mayor, as well as the establishment by the municipalities of the procedures and controls likely to guarantee the compliance ”with barrier measures. The court noted that the prefect "invited the Martinican elected officials to study a possible opening of the beaches only on the time slot going from sunrise to 11 am".
But “at this stage, the mayors, who have a precise knowledge of the terrain and the issues at stake, have reserved their answers when they must find, (…) a fair balance between health security and the gradual resumption of activities” . The prefect "not being seized to date of any proposal from a mayor of a coastal town, the regulatory conditions to authorize derogatory access to the beaches are not met", considers the court.
The judge in summary proceedings also considers that "the bans on pleasure boating, nautical events as well as sports and nautical activities make it possible to ensure effective control of entries into the maritime territory of Martinique and compliance with measures to combat the spread of the Covid-19 virus by state services. "
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